Halifax Clarity vs Nationwide Select vs Santander 123

RememberMe

Hey everyone

Yesterday after a few previous attempts I got accepted for the Halifax Clarity (yay!), I already hold the Nationwide Select and Santander 123 that are both currently 0% fees on foreign transactions. Please bear in mind that I usually just get forex over here from PO/bank and spend cash abroad but I like the sound of not having to walk around with £500 worth of cash, a bit of plastic seems much more appealing!

Now I got the Clarity as 1. I believe there are no fees on foreign transactions and cash withdrawals, only interest from the moment the cash is withdrawn, however if this is paid asap then the interest is minimal and this is therefore better than going to the PO/bank for cash as you get the MasterCard rate (is my understanding correct?) and 2. My 123 is also a Mastercard and currently 0% on foreign transactions (not cash withdrawals) but I was told back in Jan 17 that this is "until further notice"meaning there doesn't seem to be a timescale for this, so when it doesn't eventually run out I do have a MasterCard to use.

Now my question is as Nationwide Select is VISA and the other two are MasterCards, is there a particular exchange rate that is better? Also, I am going to Spain (Tenerife) in Aug and USA (New York) in Oct, are both VISA and Mastercard as widely accepted in these countries as they are here? I plan on taking all three anyway as well as my debit card for total back up in case of emergency, I'm just trying to gage how common they are really especially as I have never been to America before.

Thank you for all of your time and sorry for he long post, I really appreciate it!

bigadaj

Anecdotally it appears that MasterCard rates are marginally better than visa, or so some have reported on these boards.

Card acceptance will be far wider in the us then here in the uk, Tenerife probably slightly less but not significantly so. However Spain won't charge you for ATM withdrawals, just make sure you opt to take cash out and undertake any transactions in the local currency, not in pounds, as the rate will be far worse in pounds, the banks make a larger spread, it's called dynamic currency conversion.

An issue in the us is that virtually all ATMs will charge you a fee for cash withdrawals, however you can get by without my cash, so a single moderately large withdrawal at the start of your trip would minimise a flat fee, and most things can be just taken on the cards.

RememberMe

Thank you for your feedback bigadaj, I hadn't realised I should ask in local currency so that is a big help!

I will probably stick to the Clarity for cash withdrawals, the Select for my personal spending and the 123 for joint spending with my partner (that's the arrangement we have here) if the diff between MC/VISA is only minimal.

PeacefulWaters

It's more than possible to spend a year in the USA and never use cash.

Credit cards accepted all over.

Tips and street vendors for cash.

Missus_Hyde

We went to New York and the Caribbean last November and used the Clarity primarily, with the Creation Everyday and Nationwide Select as back ups.

We had no problems at all with the three cards (although I did notify the Halifax, Creation and Nationwide that we would be using them abroad and gave them details of the places we were visiting.)