Spending abroad

Alan331

My partner and I are going to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa later this year and I am looking to find the best way to pay for accommodation, etc. online before we travel and also the best card to use for purchases when we are there.  We booked our flights through Hays Travel who have offered us a Money Currency Card with preferential rates and an ability to switch between currencies.  Should we go with the Hays card or which others should I be considering and are they suitable for pre-holiday booking as well as on holiday spending?  I'm looking for advice on the most cost efficient way to go.

DullGreyGuy

For whilst you are on holiday have a look at https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/ and compare them to what you are being offered.

For bookings made here, if they are in GBP then use your preferred reward method of purchase. If its not GBP then use whichever international solution you choose. 

daveyjp

If you have a good credit rating foreign exchange fee free cards (either debit or credit) are the most cost effective way. 

eDicky

Alan331 said:

 Hays Travel who have offered us a Money Currency Card with preferential rates and an ability to switch between currencies.

"Preferential" is meaningless, unless it refers to their profit every time you convert. Stick to the range of 'travel' debit and credit cards (in above-mentioned link) that keep your funds in GBP until converting at ideal rates at the time of transaction without margin or fees. Choose at least two in case of possible failure/loss. Avoid 'currency' cards from travel agents, supermarkets and Post Office.

CKhalvashi

I can only echo the above.

There are specialist travel card products and also specialist companies like Wise if you're not eligible for any of those (I use them mainly for transfers but do have one of their debit cards, please note they are not strictly FSCS protected in the unlikely event they become insolvent but do hold money in client accounts).

There is no real need for any of the 'currency cards' sold in PO's, travel agencies etc to exist.

youth_leader

I'm going to NZ later this year, and haven't researched properly yet, but believe the Chase account card is 'fee' free? 

NoodleDoodleMan

youth_leader said:

I'm going to NZ later this year, and haven't researched properly yet, but believe the Chase account card is 'fee' free? 

Indeed - but the ATM may well incur a usage charge.

Doshwaster

Golden rule is that whatever card you choose make sure you take at least one other as a backup and don't keep them all in the same place.

youth_leader

Great tip Doshwaster, I almost fell foul of this on a NY trip with my daughter for her 21st.  My friend recommended I carry my cards in a 'running belt' with two zipped compartments.  Thing is I don't run and don't have the body for a running belt, getting at the cards was very obvious, and very difficult! 

mgdavid

Have a look at Halifax Clarity Mastercard, fee-free foreign currency transactions and reasonable rates. Make sure you have all your online banking capability with you, it sounds like you'll be away for a few weeks so will want to pay off the Clarity before interest accrues. I use Barclays debit card as an emergency backup, reasoning that in an emergency a few quid in charges is the least of my worries and it works well worldwide. Next I keep a BA Amex card for any emergency flight costs as it has a stupidly large credit limit and gets me points if I have to use it. I also recommend carrying (securely hidden) two or three hundred in USD or Euros as emergency spends should you lose all the cards (robbery etc). A bit of cash goes a long way to get you a taxi, bed and food for a few days while you sort out the emergency. Hopefully you won't need any of the emergency stuff, I never have (yet). Have a good trip :-)

Doshwaster

mgdavid said:

Have a look at Halifax Clarity Mastercard, fee-free foreign currency transactions and reasonable rates. Make sure you have all your online banking capability with you, it sounds like you'll be away for a few weeks so will want to pay off the Clarity before interest accrues. I use Barclays debit card as an emergency backup, reasoning that in an emergency a few quid in charges is the least of my worries and it works well worldwide. Next I keep a BA Amex card for any emergency flight costs as it has a stupidly large credit limit and gets me points if I have to use it. I also recommend carrying (securely hidden) two or three hundred in USD or Euros as emergency spends should you lose all the cards (robbery etc). A bit of cash goes a long way to get you a taxi, bed and food for a few days while you sort out the emergency. Hopefully you won't need any of the emergency stuff, I never have (yet). Have a good trip :-)

I also use my BA Amex as my absolute emergency backup "card of last resort" because as you say it has a very high credit limit and I trust the American Express customer service more than that of my other cards but it isn't the cheapest to use.

For day to day debit card spending and cash withdrawals  I use Starling with the HSBC Global Money card as a backup. For credit cards (hotel bookings, flights etc), I use Halifax Clarity as there is no foreign exchange loading. My normal UK cards are  HSBC Advance debit and Tesco credit but they remains strictly out of bounds for travel as the overseas fees are terrible.

Some USD cash is also a good idea especially when travelling outside of Europe. If you get into trouble in Asia then there aren't many things which a crisp $100 won't magically fix.