Travel credit cards

Shugg_McGlummfer

Bear in mind that you may be offered a derisory limit with Barclays. I have a 900+ credit rating and they gave me £400 and wouldn't increase it, so I immediately cancelled the card and opened a Halifax Clarity which is perfect. Bear in mind also that for Europe, if you want to use a debit card to control your spending, Metro Bank is way the best. I live in Edinburgh and obtained one on one of my trips to London.

pollypenny

Could be of interest to some - the Saga card is to finish in March.

It was one of the recommendations, if you qualified as over 50.

chog

Got the Clarity card to replace the Saga one. It says there is no fee for cash withdrawals but when I phoned, I was told if I paid for foreign currency in this country, I would be charged 3% and interest from day 1. This compares very poorly with Saga which charged no fee and no interest if the statement was paid in full. Are ther any cards which mirror the Saga one?

EveryWhere

chog wrote: »

Got the Clarity card to replace the Saga one. It says there is no fee for cash withdrawals but when I phoned, I was told if I paid for foreign currency in this country, I would be charged 3% and interest from day 1. This compares very poorly with Saga which charged no fee and no interest if the statement was paid in full. Are ther any cards which mirror the Saga one?

What's the point of paying for foreign currency in this country with the Clarity? You have it all topsy turvy...

eDicky

chog wrote: »

It says there is no fee for cash withdrawals

... From an overseas ATM. Simply use your Clarity for payment whenever possible.

EveryWhere

chog wrote: »

Got the Clarity card to replace the Saga one. It says there is no fee for cash withdrawals but when I phoned, I was told if I paid for foreign currency in this country, I would be charged 3% and interest from day 1. This compares very poorly with Saga which charged no fee and no interest if the statement was paid in full. Are ther any cards which mirror the Saga one?

Indeed, perhaps my reply was to abrupt.
These days, the thing is to use the card abroad. Purchasing and withdrawing cash from the ATM abroad brings you the best benefits(much better exchange rate than obtaining foreign cash in the UK).
The caveat is that you need to pay off any balances asap, as ATM withdrawals begin to accrue interest straight away.

If you want a card that is similar or better than the SAGA Platinum, the accepted replacement is the Barclaycard Platinum Travel or the Barclaycard Platinum Cashback Plus.

With these cards, for a limited time(three to four years), there is no interest on cash withdrawals and purchases made abroad, as long as you pay off the full statement balance.

https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/platinum-travel-credit-card

https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/credit-cards/platinum-cashback-plus

adamsb

following Martin's advice on last week's programme I also took out the Barclaycard Platinum Cash Plus.In looking at the small print I see that it says there is a 2.88% charge for every transaction. I never had this with Saga( who are unformtuantely going) and will use my Halifax card Has anyone experiende this charge for using the Barclaycard abroad.
It may be good for cash but that means you have to get the cash out of a machine and then run off and make a transfer to the card. you can't always do this quickly on holiday
What do people find to be the best replacement to the Saga card

eDicky

https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/credit-cards/platinum-cashback-plus

No fees abroad. This means you won’t pay fees on non-sterling purchases and cash withdrawals until 31 August 2023

It's only after that date that the terms revert to the fees you saw.

veryintrigued

Hi there

Seasoned travellers here and we've been amazed that whatever bank we try to withdraw cash from using our trusted Barclaycard Credit Card charges us a minimum of 3000 won for each withdrawal.

Looking on the internet (where lots of US travellers have fedback similar experiences) am struggling to find much recent UK experience. And the KB banks that are recommended still charge

We have a Barclaycard and Clarity with us.

TIA

Neil49

veryintrigued wrote: »

Hi there

Seasoned travellers here and we've been amazed that whatever bank we try to withdraw cash from using our trusted Barclaycard Credit Card charges us a minimum of 3000 won for each withdrawal.

Looking on the internet (where lots of US travellers have fedback similar experiences) am struggling to find much recent UK experience. And the KB banks that are recommended still charge

We have a Barclaycard and Clarity with us.

TIA

Your best bet is to withdraw larger amounts of cash each time and minimise the number of £2 ish charges imposed by the bank.

I think you will have to accept the fact that banks in South Korea charge for ATM withdrawals and just get on with enjoying your holiday.