Which card to use abroad

jeff_chandler

Hi all. 
I have booked a week in Corfu leaving early September. I normally exchange money before i go, say Asda or Tesco.  I'm a bit of a fossil where tech is concerned but people tell me to use a card to purchase drinks or meals etc as opposed to taking money. Will my Halifax debit card be ok or would i need some other card for that purpose. If I exchange pounds to Euro's I will possibly only get one euro seven to my pound. Would that apply to a card or would i get international rates as shown on Sky News etc. 
Kind regards Jeff. 

bradders1983

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/

bagand96

Start by having a read of the MSE guide to travel cards (both credit and debit). https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/

It has a tool which shows you what your card will charge. Halifax debit cards are "cards from hell" they will charge you 2.99% on the exchange rate, plus a £1.50 fee per cash withdrawal or transaction! By comparison the best cards will charge no fee, and give you the MasterCard/Visa exchange rate, which is very close to the interbank rate.

Halifax do however do an excellent credit card, the Clarity which might be worth looking at. 

Plenty of debit cards available. Starling bank are great, although maybe not ideal for a tech "fossil" as it's all app based. Metro bank are good for Europe as are Virgin money, which are both banks with branches so might be better for you. 

All explained in the guide above. 

SweetPotatoPie

Debit card will charge fees. You need a card that won’t do this - I use Halifax Clarity Credit card as there are no fees and it uses the MasterCard exchange rate for that day. There are other cards that are good for using abroad but I’m sure someone else could help. 

NoodleDoodleMan

"Debit card will charge fees."

Starling and Virgin debits cards should be fee free - although the ATM bank may charge for the transaction.

Guidance here - https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/

PS - does anybody from the Cumbria etc. area use the fee free debit card available form the Cumberland Building Society as listed in MSE above ?

Just curious.

Voyager2002

NoodleDoodleMan said:

PS - does anybody from the Cumbria etc. area use the fee free debit card available form the Cumberland Building Society as listed in MSE above ?

Just curious.

I do.

It does the job: what is annoying is that you have to make a telephone call in order to log on to online banking (expensive if you are travelling). Annoying also that you have to receive a text message in order to buy something online: impossible if you are abroad and using a local SIM. At least it works for cash withdrawals.

NoodleDoodleMan

Thanks for that - so, clearly not as convenient as Starling or Virgin etc.

Would be useful if MSE included that information in their guide methinks.

jr2921

Have you looked at the curve card? From what I can remember there’s no transaction fee and it uses the IB rate. I use it whenever I’m abroad, but this was a while ago so it might be worth double checking that. Hopefully it gives you another option if you don’t want to open a new credit/debit account though!

Voyager2002

jr2921 said:

Have you looked at the curve card? From what I can remember there’s no transaction fee and it uses the IB rate. I use it whenever I’m abroad, but this was a while ago so it might be worth double checking that. Hopefully it gives you another option if you don’t want to open a new credit/debit account though!

I used Curve when I travelled earlier this year, and it worked very well. I linked it to my Barclaycard that pays cashback so I got a perfect exchange rate (better than Cumberland) as well as half per cent back! The downside is that ATM withdrawals are limited to £200 per day and your maximum spend is £2,000 in any month. Still very useful.

If opening a Curve card, don't forget to visit the referall board and get a code: five pounds for you and for the person who refers you.

NoodleDoodleMan

What is the advantage of using a Curve card rather than an established "user friendly" card such as the Barclaycard which incurs no ATM fees and gives cashback ?

Voyager2002

NoodleDoodleMan said:

What is the advantage of using a Curve card rather than an established "user friendly" card such as the Barclaycard which incurs no ATM fees and gives cashback ?

My barclaycard charges for foreign currency transactions. If I make such transactions via Curve I still get the cashback but avoid the fees.