Metro Bank Account for European Travelling only query

dzug1

randomname1994 wrote: »

i just wondered if theres any way of them penalising me if i do only use the card when i'm out of the country, since besides the whole european usage thing theres not really any benefit to me migrating fully over, and my nearest branch is further away than my local barclays so its a bit more of a pain depositing money into it should i migrate fully.

Well in theory they could close the account but from what others have said that seems unlikely. Policies could change though.


I got mine to use overseas - but in reality it's hardly ever been used for that. Other cards have usually been better. I keep it ticking over with a few transactions a month - since they issued me with a contactless card it's been mainly in the likes of Aldi and Lidl for a few ££ a go.


When they started charging for non euro transactions I considered giving it up - indeed other than inertia I'm not sure why I'm keeping it.

benjus

dzug1 wrote: »

When they started charging for non euro transactions I considered giving it up - indeed other than inertia I'm not sure why I'm keeping it.

Same here really - even in Europe I use my other fee-free cards more.

Just to be pedantic though - if by "euro" you meant the currency, it's not quite correct as they offer fee-free transactions in all SEPA countries, including non-Euro countries like Croatia and Switzerland.

djpailo

Just wanted to say, I opened an account for similar reasons. When they asked why I was opening it, I said it was for Euro travel. Nothing was said to me about switching nor was I pressurized to switch. In fact, switching was never mentioned. What I did find strange was that I wasn't told ANYTHING about the terms and conditions of the account. When I went with my partner to Nationwide and Santander once upon a time, both advisors there discussed the main terms of the respective accounts with us.

Just a random question, is there any activation thing required to use the card in Europe?

YorkshireBoy

djpailo wrote: »

Just a random question, is there any activation thing required to use the card in Europe?

No "activation" as such, but if you view the help files in online banking you'll see...

Travelling Abroad

I will be travelling abroad; do I need to let you know?

Yes, please do. This helps us ensure that your account is secure while you travel. You can notify us by simply visiting your local Store, sending us a message or by calling our team on 0345 08 08 500 or +44 203 402 8312

djpailo

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

No "activation" as such, but if you view the help files in online banking you'll see...

Thanks, I just sent them a message now.

I find it strange they don't have two factor authentication, though I'll have a look around the help files if you can enable it!

adindas

dzug1 wrote: »

When they started charging for non euro transactions I considered giving it up - indeed other than inertia I'm not sure why I'm keeping it.

benjus wrote: »

Same here really - even in Europe I use my other fee-free cards more.

I also have almost all (apart from N&P) of the best cards to withdraw foreign currencies, including credit cards, Supercard, Revolut. I also have Metro which I already have it since 2011, but it never comes to mind to close it.

The reason is simple.
- There are not many DEBIT cards in these leagues. You have Santander Zero, N&P, Cumberland (not many could get it thoug) what else??. Indeed Metro is only for some European countries but for many people in Britain, it is the countries where you visited the most.
- There is not any additional work needed apart from credit the money when you are about to use it every time.
- It does no harm for your credit worthiness ....

Could you guys elaborate your reason of thinking for closing it. What I have been missing here ???

benjus

adindas wrote: »

I also have almost all (apart from N&P) of the best cards to withdraw foreign currencies, including credit cards, Supercard, Revolut. I also have Metro which I already have it since 2011, but it never comes to mind to close it.

The reason is simple.
- There are not many DEBIT cards in these leagues. You have Santander Zero, N&P, Cumberland (not many could get it thoug) what else??. Indeed Metro is only for some European countries but for many people in Britain, it is the countries where you visited the most.
- There is not any additional work needed apart from credit the money when you are about to use it every time.
- It is doing nothing no harm for your credit worthiness ....

Could you guys elaborate your reason of thinking for closing it. What I have been missing here ???

Nothing much really - I just feel vaguely uneasy about having lots of (mostly) unused accounts, as any issues with them would probably go unnoticed for a while. But it's just a feeling and it's not been enough to motivate me to actually close the account...

djpailo

benjus wrote: »

Nothing much really - I just feel vaguely uneasy about having lots of (mostly) unused accounts, as any issues with them would probably go unnoticed for a while. But it's just a feeling and it's not been enough to motivate me to actually close the account...

I think so long as you are aware of any changes to the account, everything should be fine. It may be good to use the switch current account service rather than closing the account outright to get £100+ from one of the many switching account offers.

colsten

No current account offers DDs to another current account.

apt

I just use my Metro Account for foreign travel and they've not objected.