Barclaycard Travel Card Help!

TRich

Hi all.

I am travelling to America in late May. I am spending 6 nights in Vegas and 3 in LA. We have reserved accommodation for Vegas but not paid for it yet (we will probably pay when we arrive - booked via booking.com). I am not sure at all how much spending money I will need. We are going to be doing a lot of trips, events and some gambling etc so I am thinking I will need around 5000 USD to spend.

I am looking at taking a specialist travel credit card though so I can spend AND withdraw cash when I am there. My logic being that way I don't have to worry about how much to take before I go and have to think what I will do with leftover dollars etc.

I have been 95% approved for the Barclaycard Travel Card, via the MSE eligibility calculator, and I just want to make sure I understand it right before appying. It states:

Exchange rate fee: Europe: 0% | Worldwide: 0%
Cash withdrawal fee: None | Interest on cash withdrawals? Only if not repaid in full
Representative APR on spending: 14.9% (see Official APR Examples)
Interest rate on ATM withdrawals: 27.9%
Card issuer: Visa

Does this mean that I can spend and withdraw cash from a cash machine without paying no fee and interest if I pay the card in full when I return? I believe this is the best one for me because on other cards you get charged interest until you repay it?

Also on a side note I used a different credit card to book the flights in November. This now has zero balance. I ideally wanted to cancel this card because the 0% has finished and I did not want too much open credit. If I cancel the card/account will I still be covered by the section 75 protection for the flights I have booked?

Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks.

glentoran99

TRich wrote: »

Hi all.

I am travelling to America in late May. I am spending 6 nights in Vegas and 3 in LA. We have reserved accommodation for Vegas but not paid for it yet (we will probably pay when we arrive - booked via booking.com). I am not sure at all how much spending money I will need. We are going to be doing a lot of trips, events and some gambling etc so I am thinking I will need around 5000 USD to spend.

I am looking at taking a specialist travel credit card though so I can spend AND withdraw cash when I am there. My logic being that way I don't have to worry about how much to take before I go and have to think what I will do with leftover dollars etc.

I have been 95% approved for the Barclaycard Travel Card, via the MSE eligibility calculator, and I just want to make sure I understand it right before appying. It states:

Exchange rate fee: Europe: 0% | Worldwide: 0%
Cash withdrawal fee: None | Interest on cash withdrawals? Only if not repaid in full
Representative APR on spending: 14.9% (see Official APR Examples)
Interest rate on ATM withdrawals: 27.9%
Card issuer: Visa

Does this mean that I can spend and withdraw cash from a cash machine without paying no fee and interest if I pay the card in full when I return? I believe this is the best one for me because on other cards you get charged interest until you repay it?

Also on a side note I used a different credit card to book the flights in November. This now has zero balance. I ideally wanted to cancel this card because the 0% has finished and I did not want too much open credit. If I cancel the card/account will I still be covered by the section 75 protection for the flights I have booked?

Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks.

for 9 nights? that seems a lot expecially if its going to be on credit !!

TRich

Up to 5000 USD as a maximum. This will cover everything though:

- Hotels
- Gambling
- Car hire from Vegas to LA
- Shows/events
- Trips out

This is my first time to Vegas so I will be doing some expensive tourist stuff like Grand Canyon by helicopter ride etc

I will be paying it off in full when I return which I already have the money for. Either that or a balance transfer to a 0% card but I am wary to apply for yet another card so soon after this one.

TRich

Any advice?

stevenhp1987

One thing to be wary about is that US ATMs charge you for withdrawals. Best to withdraw at least $200 in one go to make it worth it.

That card seems to fit what you want, although I'd be wary about using it to fuel gambling (you could easily eat up your credit limit!).

The only downside to it is that Visa tends to have worse exchange rates than MasterCard. If you could supplement it with a Revolut (pre-paid card) or a SuperCard (it charges your credit card the amount in £) then you'd be golden?

We used Revolut for cash withdraws last year, but they've recently lowered the amount you can get before you are charged so it more than likely would be no good for withdrawing cash if you plan on spending cash (e.g. gambling). Spending on it would be fine though.

$5000 is quite a lot... We did a road trip, doing LA, Vegas, San Francisco and San Diego for around £2000 total last year including "touristy things".

If you've got a hire car, perhaps drive to the Grand Canyon? We are going in May this year too and will be driving out and spending a night in Williams, Arizona.

Also, I wouldn't cancel your existing card. It's possible that you might need it to collect any tickets you've purchased on it.

TRich

Thanks for that Steven. Please can you explain the SuperCard in a bit more detail for me? I have done a bit of research and it looks like I link my UK cards to the supercard so that when I spend on the supercard comes out of my UK bank account but I don't have to worry about fees or charges (unless withdrawing from an overseas ATM).

My question is what if I link my 0% on purchase UK First Direct credit card to the supercard? Will that still benefit from the 0% on my FD card or will it be treated as a cash withdrawal?