Which card for travel to Colombia?

9BooHon

I've contacted Halifax about the charges that I would have with my Debit Card.
They are £1.50 for a Foreign Currency Cash Fee and 2.99% for Foreign Currency Transaction Fee. This is without any further charges that I may be charged by ATM in Colombia! I have looked at the Post Office Mastercard and Halifax Clarity but have read not so good reviews.

What card is best for 0% fees across the board - 0% Foreign Currency Transaction Fee and 0% hidden fees etc....

I appreciate all help :money:

chattychappy

I've found both Halifax Clarity and Santander ZERO excellent. I have used them both throughout Europe, SE Asia and (rarely) the US and Canada.

I have had occasional refusals, but they are rare. No charges at all. Just bear in mind interest on cash starts on the day the transaction hits the account. So if you can, pay off cash transactions soon afterwards. If you have purchases already statemented but unpaid, then you must pay these at the same time to ensure money is allocated to cash withdrawal. But frankly even if you delay a couple of weeks, 2 weeks' interest on cash is pretty minimal - typically 1% of the amount withdrawn.

AVOID at all costs "DCC" (Dynamic Currency Conversion) - where the ATM/merchant offers/pushes to bill you in GBP - this will be at their awful exchange rate. Always bill in the local currency.

AND, take backups. Declines are more likely when overseas. So keep a float of cash and/or a couple of other cards.

Some ATMs apply local charges as they do in the UK. Not much you can do to avoid these.

9BooHon

chattychappy wrote: »

I've found both Halifax Clarity and Santander ZERO excellent. I have used them both throughout Europe, SE Asia and (rarely) the US and Canada.

I have had occasional refusals, but they are rare. No charges at all. Just bear in mind interest on cash starts on the day the transaction hits the account. So if you can, pay off cash transactions soon afterwards. If you have purchases already statemented but unpaid, then you must pay these at the same time to ensure money is allocated to cash withdrawal. But frankly even if you delay a couple of weeks, 2 weeks' interest on cash is pretty minimal - typically 1% of the amount withdrawn.

AVOID at all costs "DCC" (Dynamic Currency Conversion) - where the ATM/merchant offers/pushes to bill you in GBP - this will be at their awful exchange rate. Always bill in the local currency.

AND, take backups. Declines are more likely when overseas. So keep a float of cash and/or a couple of other cards.

Some ATMs apply local charges as they do in the UK. Not much you can do to avoid these.

Please explain what you mean?

gt94sss2

With most credit cards, you don't pay any interest as long as you pay the full balance off by the due date. However, if you take money from an ATM then interest starts being charged immediately.

The one exception is https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/credit-cards/platinum-cashback-plus

If you want a debit card, have a look at Starling Bank.

It's worth you reading https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/

9BooHon

Looks like that idea is out of the window then? I was hoping to just get a credit card to avoid any fees whilst abroad!

JayMawds82

The one you don't mind getting er "product " on.

chattychappy

9BooHon wrote: »

Looks like that idea is out of the window then? I was hoping to just get a credit card to avoid any fees whilst abroad!

Well.... Halifax/Santander don't charge fees.

BUT, they do charge interest on CASH withdrawals. Depending on the APR you get, £100 might cost you 50p if you pay back a week later. That's 0.1%... No fees, no loading, just 50p.

Purchases - no interest/fees, provided you pay the statement in full.

I'm not sure what you expect. A couple of posters have posted alternatives.

Enjoy Columbia. I almost made it myself, but the airline expected a fee for giving me a ticket. So that idea went out the window!!

Ben8282

9BooHon wrote: »

Looks like that idea is out of the window then? I was hoping to just get a credit card to avoid any fees whilst abroad!

You could always take cash ... but you might be charged commission for exchanging it so that idea is probably out of the window too.

callum9999

Ben8282 wrote: »

You could always take cash ... but you might be charged commission for exchanging it so that idea is probably out of the window too.

There's no "might" about it, you're ALWAYS charged commission for changing money (either as a fee, or more commonly, by using a bad exchange rate) and the only time that is ever a sensible idea is if you are going somewhere without ATMs (unlikely) or that has a black market for currency (doesn't apply to Colombia). Even the worst debit cards almost always have lower fees than changing cash.

adindas

9BooHon wrote: »

Looks like that idea is out of the window then? I was hoping to just get a credit card to avoid any fees whilst abroad!

Unless they are doing a promotional offer (eg. Barclaycard Platinum travel credit card) all credit cards will charge you interest from the day you withdraw cash using your credit card.

Even in the UK, if you are using your credit card to withdraw cash you will still pay interest from the day you withdraw cash for obvious reason. Sometimes you even be hit with cash advancement charge. So what more are you expecting here ? What is out of the window here ?

If you want to keep the interest to minimum then you should pay as soon as possible after you withdraw the cash. Even better if you do not withdraw cashusing cc, just use it to purchase while you are abroad. Alternatively, apply Barclaycard Platinum travel credit card

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

But this card is using Visa exchange rate, which is known marginally worse than mastercard exchange rate.

chattychappy

adindas wrote: »

But this card is using Visa exchange rate, which is known marginally worse than mastercard exchange rate.

Sounds like a candidate for the window? 0.1p is 0.1p, afterall.