USA - Cards / Cash which ones . Confused!

ontheupslope

Hi Folks,
I'm going to the states in 3 weeks. I have following cards currently:

Halifax Credit card - Master card
Natwest - Visa Debit card
Virgin Money - Mastercard / Debit
Vanquis - Visa Credit card

I was going to take around £600 worth of dollars and use the above cards. Would anyone have any suggestions which would be best to use ? I've also seen a pre paid Post Office Travel credit card, but I really have no clue what I should be doing. Every way of spending (other than cash) seems to incur ridiculous fees.

Can anyone guide a numpty through this please ?

Thanks :beer:

EveryWhere

ontheupslope wrote: »

Hi Folks,
I'm going to the states in 3 weeks. I have following cards currently:

Halifax Credit card - Master card If the Clarity, this can suffice for all purchases & cash advances.
Natwest - Visa Debit card No
Virgin Money - Mastercard / Debit If the Essentials account Issue 2, this may suffice for all purchases & cash advances as a back up card or if you have a running balance on the Clarity.
Vanquis - Visa Credit card No

I was going to take around £600 worth of dollars and use the above cards. Would anyone have any suggestions which would be best to use ? I've also seen a pre paid Post Office Travel credit card, but I really have no clue what I should be doing. Every way of spending (other than cash) seems to incur ridiculous fees.

Can anyone guide a numpty through this please ?

Thanks :beer:

In short, if you don't have the Halifax Clarity, use the Virgin card for all purchases and take the max out each time you make an ATM withdrawal, as there is a £1.50 charge for ATM withdrawals abroad. No other fees.
The Clarity has no fees other than interest, so clear balances asap.

Another option; https://www.starlingbank.com/travel/

From whence do you intend to obtain the "£600 worth of dollars"?

eDicky

Buying cash dollars will also cost you more than necessary, from the percentage margin made by the exchange bureau. Cash is rarely necessary in north America, cards can be used to pay for virtually everything. Take cash dollars from an ATM in US, nearly all charge a few dollars so take out what you need at once to minimise cost.

Obtain and use the cards recommended in the MSE articles on holiday money. If your Halifax card is a 'Clarity', that's one, if not it isn't. The same if your Virgin card is the Virgin Money Essential account. Avoid using your other cards but take them as backup.

Avoid prepaid cards from supermarkets, travel agents and the Post Office that you have to load with dollars at their crummy rates, then pay to recover the excess back to pounds. Keep your money in pounds until using your fee-free cards. Loot is a good choice of prepaid card https://loot.io/ Starling Bank is excellent.

ontheupslope

Many thanks all.

So I had a bit of a brain fade lats night and signed up to Monzo, Revolut and Starling!

Should I bin the other two and just use the card I've ordered from starling for everything ?

The cash I was taking was going to be ordered online from the Post Office and collected at the local PO.


Thanks for your patience :T

eDicky

ontheupslope wrote: »

Should I bin the other two and just use the card I've ordered from starling for everything ?

No! That's perfect, take them all, unless you want to save the fiver for the Revolut plastic.

Any card can be lost or fail for some reason, so you should always travel with two or more. I carry seven for overseas including a Clarity CC.

I'm surprised you can get the Monzo, I thought they are transitioning to bank account now. There's percentage fee on cash withdrawals by Revolut and Monzo for more than £200/month, but that may be all you need.

heatherw_01

I take cash and cards, I never rely on just cash or just cards

EveryWhere

ontheupslope wrote: »

Many thanks all.

So I had a bit of a brain fade lats night and signed up to Monzo, Revolut and Starling!

Should I bin the other two and just use the card I've ordered from starling for everything ?

The cash I was taking was going to be ordered online from the Post Office and collected at the local PO.


Thanks for your patience :T

No. :money:

Revolut is good if there is a moment when the US$ weakens and you want to lock the rate in.

Starling Bank is good all round.

Revolut, Monzo, Starling Bank and Virgin Essentials are all perfect for purchases in the USA.
Starling Bank is the best overall for ATM withdrawals.

Now that you have that all sussed, time to track down which ATMs in your intended location offer fee free ATM withdrawals

Robin9

I've just come back from a couple of weeks in the New England part.

I found that the US was not so far advanced as the UK - chip and pin but also still swipe and sign; contactless almost unheard of; ATM's not so abundant.

You will go through a lot of cash - street food, buses, metro. It's still very much a cash society as opposed to CC. Tipping is almost mandatory and in cash.

Part of my trip included a coach tour - Boston, NY, Washington, Niagara. All in cash (no doubt to the guides advantage)

ontheupslope

So you wouldn't recommend taking any cash at all and getting it all out there ? I'm not sure I want to spend my holiday searching for ATMs that don't incur fees to be honest. From what I've read they are in the scarce.

Robin9

I know this is a money saving site but practicality comes into this. I don't want to go on ATM hunts

I took 400 dollars and drew 300 out there.

HogMan

Agreed even at US gas prices you could spend more driving to find a fee free ATM than you end up saving. When I am away my time is much more valuable than saving maybe a couple of pounds.