Best card for spending abroad

Giraffe76

Hi all,

Just booked to go to Greece in may and wanted to know what the best card for spending abroad is?
I still have a starling account but wanted to know if there are any better accounts available for spending abroad

Kind regards Mark 

bagand96

Starling charge no fees for spending or ATM withdrawals abroad.  They convert the transactions at the Mastercard rate on the day without any load/commission.

The only way it gets better than that is if you wanted cashback on your spending like the Chase debit card offers, but I assume if that's something you were interested in you'd already have it because it works on spending at home too!  

Worth a read of the MSE article which lists current offers Top travel cards: the best credit and debit cards to use abroad (moneysavingexpert.com)

badger09

I have Starling account & have used card extensively in Greece with no problems. If you want cash, watch the ATMs which try to add 9% or thereabouts, conversion fee. Opt for your bank’s rate & typical fee is 2.5euro 
I also use Halifax Clarity credit card extensively. Always pay in local currency. 

Yammas

ionh

badger09 said:

I also use Halifax Clarity credit card extensively. 

I've just been checking recommendations for overseas use, and was horrified to discover that, according to MSE, the Clarity card -- which has been my go-to standard for overseas spending for years -- now charges around 25%(!!) interest on ATM cash withdrawals.    When did that little bit of daylight robbery creep in?

bagand96

ionh said:

badger09 said:

I also use Halifax Clarity credit card extensively. 

I've just been checking recommendations for overseas use, and was horrified to discover that, according to MSE, the Clarity card -- which has been my go-to standard for overseas spending for years -- now charges around 25%(!!) interest on ATM cash withdrawals.    When did that little bit of daylight robbery creep in?

It has always charged interest on cash withdrawals - there's no interest free period on cash advances.

Don't forget that's an annual interest rate, which makes it sound a lot worse. To withdraw £100 would cost around 7p per day. 

Pay this off as soon as it posts to the account (not before) and then only pay a day or so interest. 

Or just have a travel friendly debit card for ATM withdrawals. 

hugheskevi

ionh said:

badger09 said:

I also use Halifax Clarity credit card extensively. 

I've just been checking recommendations for overseas use, and was horrified to discover that, according to MSE, the Clarity card -- which has been my go-to standard for overseas spending for years -- now charges around 25%(!!) interest on ATM cash withdrawals.    When did that little bit of daylight robbery creep in?

As bagand96 says, a long-standing term that is of little cost.

A bigger issue is that Halifax Clarity is a Mastercard, and in quite a few countries around the world VISA will be more reliable for withdrawals (typically less developed countries). As many travel-friendly debit cards are also Mastercard, I prefer to have the Barclaycard Rewards credit card available for ATM withdrawals (in addition to travel-friendly debit cards).

Giraffe76

So the other question I have off the back of the comments is would it be better to use my starling card at the ATM and withdraw cash or just use it for each payment as I go along day by day?

eDicky

More convenient to pay by card wherever possible (always in euros if a choice is offered by the terminal), than withdrawing and using cash, perhaps ending with leftover excess (and the temptation to spend it unnecessarily).

400ixl

Better to use the card in local currency as you likely do at home. Ideally if would be a credit card rather than debit.

Can't say I have ever had an issue if Mastercard over Visa anywhere in the world. Certainly not in the last 15 years.

I always do carry both, more for any back end issues if one is having technical issues which can happen.

badger09

Agree with others. Pay with Starling card in local currency. 

We travel quite a lot so always like to have some Euro available. Prefer to leave tips in cash. 

Another advantage with Starling is (usually) instant notification of what you’ve spent.  

Giraffe76

400ixl said:

Better to use the card in local currency as you likely do at home. Ideally if would be a credit card rather than debit.

Can't say I have ever had an issue if Mastercard over Visa anywhere in the world. Certainly not in the last 15 years.

I always do carry both, more for any back end issues if one is having technical issues which can happen.

Sorry I thought if I used a credit card abroad I'd get a worse rate than if I used my debit card on my starling card but your saying otherwise. I'm now confused