Which card to use when abroad

MargeryKempe

Hi all, we are driving to France (via a ferry) in a couple of weeks and I got the Chase current account and debit card some months ago as Martin said this was the best one for travelling. I also have a first direct current account and received an email from them recently saying that they are offering free cash withdrawals abroad and free payments with debit card as well. Neither of these is my main current account. We never do any foreign exchange before travelling abroad and always only use debit and credit cards and cash machines whilst we are there. Is the Chase account still the best one to transfer money into and use when we are abroad (because of the cash back?) or would it be the same if I use the first direct account for our spending in France? Thanks so much and please do let me know if this was the incorrect place to post and I should have posted elsewhere, Thanks! M

MargeryKempe

Also I’ve just read on my email from first direct that there may well be foreign atm charges charged by the specific French bank at the cash machine itself that are irrespective of what your own bank/current account are charging you for the transaction. Presumably these would be the same regardless of whether I used a Chase card or a fd card for my cash withdrawal? Thanks!

NoodleDoodleMan

Some people are mislead by the fee free "user friendly" debit card scenario - the card itself (Chase and now First Direct, for example) are among those that don't take a fee when used at ATMs abroad - however as you are aware the ATM owner bank may take a usage fee.

Santander are about the worst (in Spain at least), they grab 7 Euro per transaction last I heard.

I'm not au fais with that aspect for French ATMs - maybe other members can advise ?

You can use the Chase card to settle up for goods and purchases either contactless of with PIN without fees - not sure if that applies to FD card though.

Remember always to pay in local currency, the without conversion option - that'll be the left hand touchscreen button in my experience. Do not be tempted to pay in GBP - that will cost you more bottom line.

I would also recommend a similarly "user friendly" credit card - see MSE advice.

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

eDicky

Take both cards, ready for use in case there's any problem with one of them. Fees charged by the ATM, if any, will be the same for any foreign card.

Le_Kirk

MargeryKempe said:

Hi all, we are driving to France (via a ferry) in a couple of weeks and I got the Chase current account and debit card some months ago as Martin said this was the best one for travelling. I also have a first direct current account and received an email from them recently saying that they are offering free cash withdrawals abroad and free payments with debit card as well. Neither of these is my main current account. We never do any foreign exchange before travelling abroad and always only use debit and credit cards and cash machines whilst we are there. Is the Chase account still the best one to transfer money into and use when we are abroad (because of the cash back?) or would it be the same if I use the first direct account for our spending in France? 

We have just returned from Brittany and used the Chase Debit card (and accidentally the Santander Debit Card - NOT recommended, expensive).  Chase does not charge fees and you still get your Cashback/Rewards.  The average rate we paid across the 16 days was 1.1647 and todays rate is 1.15.  Word of warning though, we used Contactless in Supermarkets and restaurants with no problem but when it came to buying petrol, the pump did not have an option for contactless and no cashier, we had to use the card in the pump and it was declined (twice) hence why we had to use Santander.  The reason for it being declined (I found out later) was because it had not been set up for European use!  There's me thinking, well Contactless works, it is the same card/account it should be fine but, no, there is an option within the app to sort it.  Bonne Vacances!

NoodleDoodleMan

The best case scenario with a Santander UK debit card is only when taking currency from a branded Santander ATM in the 11 countries where such withdrawals are allowed without fees.

Using it to pay for goods and services is not user friendly - as I discovered the single time I used mine to settle for snacks and drinks at a bar in Spain.

Deb2008

We used a Starling card in France and Spain and it worked contactless everywhere with no fees, we have used it for at least 4 years now, infact 3 years ago I swapped and use it for my normal banking too.  It is an app on your mobile, no physical bank shop. Daughter has Monzo and that works with no issue too.

MargeryKempe

Le_Kirk said:

MargeryKempe said:

Hi all, we are driving to France (via a ferry) in a couple of weeks and I got the Chase current account and debit card some months ago as Martin said this was the best one for travelling. I also have a first direct current account and received an email from them recently saying that they are offering free cash withdrawals abroad and free payments with debit card as well. Neither of these is my main current account. We never do any foreign exchange before travelling abroad and always only use debit and credit cards and cash machines whilst we are there. Is the Chase account still the best one to transfer money into and use when we are abroad (because of the cash back?) or would it be the same if I use the first direct account for our spending in France? 

We have just returned from Brittany and used the Chase Debit card (and accidentally the Santander Debit Card - NOT recommended, expensive).  Chase does not charge fees and you still get your Cashback/Rewards.  The average rate we paid across the 16 days was 1.1647 and todays rate is 1.15.  Word of warning though, we used Contactless in Supermarkets and restaurants with no problem but when it came to buying petrol, the pump did not have an option for contactless and no cashier, we had to use the card in the pump and it was declined (twice) hence why we had to use Santander.  The reason for it being declined (I found out later) was because it had not been set up for European use!  There's me thinking, well Contactless works, it is the same card/account it should be fine but, no, there is an option within the app to sort it.  Bonne Vacances!

Thanks so much, do you know where the option is within the Chase app to sort this out? M

MargeryKempe

Deb2008 said:

We used a Starling card in France and Spain and it worked contactless everywhere with no fees, we have used it for at least 4 years now, infact 3 years ago I swapped and use it for my normal banking too.  It is an app on your mobile, no physical bank shop. Daughter has Monzo and that works with no issue too.

I actually also have a Starling account so I could potentially use that too… (I use it for money pots/managing money that I can’t afford/don’t have time to put away in locked-in savings) I guess I should have that ready for use as well. Is using the Starling card better than the first direct one? And do I need to do anything else to any of the cards to set them up for use in Europe as Le Kirk says? (And if so how?) I remember I used to have to tell HSBC (still my main current account) when I was travelling abroad as initially my card would sometimes get declined because of ‘unusual activity’ but I thought in recent years when I’d tried to contact them about that they’d said it was no longer necessary….?

MargeryKempe

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Some people are mislead by the fee free "user friendly" debit card scenario - the card itself (Chase and now First Direct, for example) are among those that don't take a fee when used at ATMs abroad - however as you are aware the ATM owner bank may take a usage fee.

Santander are about the worst (in Spain at least), they grab 7 Euro per transaction last I heard.

I'm not au fais with that aspect for French ATMs - maybe other members can advise ?

You can use the Chase card to settle up for goods and purchases either contactless of with PIN without fees - not sure if that applies to FD card though.

Remember always to pay in local currency, the without conversion option - that'll be the left hand touchscreen button in my experience. Do not be tempted to pay in GBP - that will cost you more bottom line.

I would also recommend a similarly "user friendly" credit card - see MSE advice.

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

I’ll definitely steer well clear of Santander. Why would you say I would need to use a credit card? For emergencies and stuff? I know it used to be better (in terms of fees) to pay by credit card rather than debit card abroad (although obviously not for cash machines!!), I think we did that the last time we drove in France (around 2015 I think!!!)

eDicky

Le_Kirk said:

MargeryKempe said:

Hi all, we are driving to France (via a ferry) in a couple of weeks and I got the Chase current account and debit card some months ago as Martin said this was the best one for travelling. I also have a first direct current account and received an email from them recently saying that they are offering free cash withdrawals abroad and free payments with debit card as well. Neither of these is my main current account. We never do any foreign exchange before travelling abroad and always only use debit and credit cards and cash machines whilst we are there. Is the Chase account still the best one to transfer money into and use when we are abroad (because of the cash back?) or would it be the same if I use the first direct account for our spending in France? 

The reason for it being declined (I found out later) was because it had not been set up for European use! 

This could well be untrue and sounds unlikely, CS agents often invent something as an explanation. Pay-at-pump does not always work with some cards, and in reality it's often impossible to determine exactly why a card payment is declined or fails. That's why it's best to travel with a range of cards to reduce the risk of getting stuck.