Fees for using cards abroad

PatKettle

Following the advice on MSE I applied for a Barclaycard Rewards card for use when we go abroad next month. It does say on their website ‘No fees on purchases abroad. You’ll be able to spend and withdraw cash from a cash machine abroad without any charges, and you’ll get Visa’s competitive exchange rate’. However on the leaflet which came with the new card it states ‘There’s just a single non-sterling purchase fee of 2.99% every time you make a purchase abroad. If you withdraw cash in a foreign currency you will be charged a cash transaction fee of 2.99% (minimum fee of £2.99).’ When I rang Barclays to query this apparent contradiction the customer services advisor (who was really helpful and sympathetic) said this is a charge made by Visa, the card provider, over which Barclays have no control. He did agree that the above information on their website could be seen as misleading and he would feed my comments back to his Head Office. It does mean that we won’t be using the new Barclaycard abroad now but will use our Chase card which is a Mastercard and doesn’t incur any fee at ATM’s abroad (unless the local bank make a charge).

I thought this might be helpful for anyone else in our situation with a holiday abroad coming up.

[Deleted User]

You can go ahead and use it - there's no fee.

That fee doesn't relate to your Rewards card.

denow

Chase is the better option as you get better cashback rate but there are definitely no fees with the Barclaycard Rewards card as that was my choice of holiday spending card before Chase came along and can backup what zx81 is telling you.

Use your Barclaycard as a backup on your trip with confidence.

eDicky

PatKettle said:

When I rang Barclays to query this apparent contradiction the customer services advisor (who was really helpful and sympathetic) said this is a charge made by Visa, the card provider, over which Barclays have no control.

He may have appeared to be helpful and sympathetic, but he was incorrect. It's the bank that adds fees for non-sterling card use, not Visa, who simply convert currency at their daily rate. For the Reward card, if that's what you actually have, there are no such added fees.

Gerry1

The Barclaycard Rewards credit card is very useful because you can use it for ATM cash withdrawals without incurring any interest or charges (except possibly by the local machine).  You also get 0.25% cashback on all purchases so it's the only card you need to use abroad, although it's obviously sensible to have a MasterCard as a back-up.

The Chase debit card also looks good  but the cashback only lasts for a year.

daveyjp

I also applied for a Reward card a few months ago purely because of no charges for ATM withdrawals when abroad. 

The Barclaycard website can be confusing due to the number of cards, but the terms and conditions when you sign up for Rewards state 0% for all foreign transactions.

I've used it for a foreign transaction and no charges.

TOP_CAT

When they send any type of barclaycard I seem to remember the generic barclays credit card leaflet they send .
This leaflet doesnt apply to the specific  travel type of card you get sent at all .......so hell knows why the muppets send it in the first place  .
They sent me the same leaflet for a .5% cashback card which did not apply to that card 

penners324

The t&Cs received are the generic t&Cs for all credit cards. The Reward card has a special offer of 0% on forex transactions.

The customer services person is talking nonsense 

NoodleDoodleMan

denow said:

Chase is the better option as you get better cashback rate but there are definitely no fees with the Barclaycard Rewards card as that was my choice of holiday spending card before Chase came along and can backup what zx81 is telling you.

Use your Barclaycard as a backup on your trip with confidence.

Chase is not a credit card.

denow

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Chase is not a credit card.

Who said it was? The OP is talking about all cards, not just credit cards.

NoodleDoodleMan

denow said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Chase is not a credit card.

Who said it was? The OP is talking about all cards, not just credit cards.

The OP was talking about his Barclay Rewards credit card from the start and throughout until he mentioned the Chase card in the final sentence.

He was unsure (thanks to Barclays confusing information) about using the Reward card abroad, then stating that the Chase card would be a better option.

That is debatable.

The Chase debit card requires funds paid in "up front" before it can be used on holiday, and will need to be replenished if the balance falls too low  - the Barclay Reward credit card does not - it can be used to pay for goods and services with no fees - likewise to draw currency from an ATM without fees, except any imposed by the ATM bank, these are unavoidable and would also apply to a Chase card.

So it is not unreasonable IMO to point out that the two cards are fundementally different.