Metro Bank credit card

NoodleDoodleMan

The much expected bad news letter just dropped through the letterbox - no surprise really.

When Metro Bank advised no new credit card applications a few weeks ago the writing was also on the wall for existing CC holders.

Compounded by a more recent announcement that their debit cards would no longer be fee free (as of 29th August) in SEPA countries as was previously the case.

I suspect a lot of MB customers will start ditching their current accounts by choice to complement the involuntary loss of their credit cards.

 

SacredStephan

lr1277 said:

I had the old John Lewis card which I used to pay for my car tax. However after the card was closed I wanted to SORN the car. I should have got a refund, but then it might have been messy getting the refund.

In Aug 2022 my car tax refund from DVLA arrived in the form of a payable order.

MummyWhisperer

Argh I loved how easy it was to manage everything in the app and see my bank and credit card.
What's the best alternative that also means no fees if spending abroad (not that I have been abroad in years LOL!)?

Is it Santander?

BTW I HATE Barclaycard - so that is a big No No.

WillPS

MummyWhisperer said:

Argh I loved how easy it was to manage everything in the app and see my bank and credit card.
What's the best alternative that also means no fees if spending abroad (not that I have been abroad in years LOL!)?

Is it Santander?

BTW I HATE Barclaycard - so that is a big No No.

Santander Edge is great, but you need to be spending at least £300 (£150 in Y1) to cover the monthly fee and no more than £1500 (£750 in Y1) to get maximum cashback.

Natwest's Travel credit card might be worth a look too (1% on travel spend, 0.1% elsewhere), and finally the venerable Halifax Clarity (no cashback). There's also Barclaycard but I'll skip over that since you're not interested in their offer.

Finally, it's worth considering the fee free debit card offers from Starling and Chase, the latter of which also offers cashback for jumping through a few hoops.

NoodleDoodleMan

"What's the best alternative that also means no fees if spending abroad (not that I have been abroad in years LOL!)?

Is it Santander?"

As already mentioned, the Edge credit card is good for use abroad - although the monthly spend requirement to achieve the maximum cashback might be a disincentive - likewise the monthly £3 account maintenace fee.

We use it for all household purchases and vehicle fuel etc. - and the cashback easily covers the £3 requirement.

There are other good cards for holidays - for example, the Virgin Money Travel Card is worth looking at.

lr1277

I think NatWest have two travel credit cards.

One with rewards and one without. The card without rewards however does allow fx fee free spending abroad.

Here is a link to the card without rewards. Though I don't know if you need a NatWest current account before you can apply.

https://www.natwest.com/credit-cards/the-natwest-credit-card.html