No fee card for spending when abroad

Bicycleman22

I know its not the question but if you use a cash machine in Spain you can be heavily charged no matter what card you use. I found unicaja to be the only bank I could withdraw euros fee free. Along with a starling card using unicaja atms saved me a lot of money in charges.

NoodleDoodleMan

Being as Chase give 1% cash back on most debit card spend, subject to having credited the account £500 or more the previous month, that’s my standard overseas spend card.

It rises to £1500 after the first year.

Only needs to sit in the account briefly, then can be transferred back to the source account.

Neil49

Bicycleman22 said:

I know its not the question but if you use a cash machine in Spain you can be heavily charged no matter what card you use. I found unicaja to be the only bank I could withdraw euros fee free. Along with a starling card using unicaja atms saved me a lot of money in charges.

If you have a Santander Edge current account you can withdraw cash from their ATMs with no additional charges. 

NoodleDoodleMan

Neil49 said:

Bicycleman22 said:

I know its not the question but if you use a cash machine in Spain you can be heavily charged no matter what card you use. I found unicaja to be the only bank I could withdraw euros fee free. Along with a starling card using unicaja atms saved me a lot of money in charges.

If you have a Santander Edge current account you can withdraw cash from their ATMs with no additional charges. 

Indeed. Although I'm thinking that's only at their fully branded Santander machines, located at bank branches.

Last time I was in Mallorca, about a year past, the local Banca Marche ATM was fee free for "user friendly" cards like Chase and Starling etc.

Their network is not so widespread across Spain & Canaries as other banks though.

SiliconChip

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Being as Chase give 1% cash back on most debit card spend, subject to having credited the account £500 or more the previous month, that’s my standard overseas spend card.

It rises to £1500 after the first year.

Only needs to sit in the account briefly, then can be transferred back to the source account.

That may be true for you, but it's not for everyone. I opened my Chase account in February 2023 and I'm still getting the 1% cashback for depositing £500, which I did today and had a confirmation of cashback elegibility message seconds later.

Doshwaster

Bicycleman22 said:

I know its not the question but if you use a cash machine in Spain you can be heavily charged no matter what card you use. I found unicaja to be the only bank I could withdraw euros fee free. Along with a starling card using unicaja atms saved me a lot of money in charges.

Banca March is also free in Spain but I think they are mostly in the Canaries.

NoodleDoodleMan

Doshwaster said:

Bicycleman22 said:

I know its not the question but if you use a cash machine in Spain you can be heavily charged no matter what card you use. I found unicaja to be the only bank I could withdraw euros fee free. Along with a starling card using unicaja atms saved me a lot of money in charges.

Banca March is also free in Spain but I think they are mostly in the Canaries.

They are based in Mallorca with ATM network largely in the Balearics.

Some in the Canaries.

https://www.bancamarch.es/en/branches-and-atms/

NoodleDoodleMan

"I'm heading to Spain soon and would prefer to pay on my card again so this will mean setting up an account that does not charge a fee."

May I ask which resort ?

If it has a Banco Santander bank branch I would recommend thinking about the Edge credit card as it is fee free for goods and services, as well as ATM use at the branch. Avoid the standalone machines though.

https://www.bancosantander.es/en/buscador-oficinas-cajeros

Branches are oficinas in Spanish.

Doshwaster

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Doshwaster said:

Bicycleman22 said:

I know its not the question but if you use a cash machine in Spain you can be heavily charged no matter what card you use. I found unicaja to be the only bank I could withdraw euros fee free. Along with a starling card using unicaja atms saved me a lot of money in charges.

Banca March is also free in Spain but I think they are mostly in the Canaries.

They are based in Mallorca with ATM network largely in the Balearics.

Some in the Canaries.

https://www.bancamarch.es/en/branches-and-atms/

Ah - I've seen a few of them scattered around the Canaries but not haven't come across one on mainland Spain where I tend to use Unicaja. Haven't been the to the Balearics for years

BlueonBlue

NoodleDoodleMan said:

The Santander Edge CC is my "go to" credit card for abroad - no fees for goods and services.

https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/credit-cards/santander-edge-credit-card

The monthly fee of £3 can be easily covered by the cashback - we use it for regular spending such as supermarket runs and vehicle fuel etc., so it pays for itself.

If you want to have the additional option of fee free cash withdrawals in Spain & The Canaries - have a look at the Santander Everyday current account - when used at a Banco Santander fully branded ATM as located at their bank branches it is totally fee free, you'll get the best deal around for taking our readies.

https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/current-accounts/everyday-current-account

No strings attached conditions - no minimum monthly pay in or Direct Debit requirements (unlike just about every other bank) - and its a decent account for everyday (hence the name) use at home.

A bit of a no brainer IMO if you are heading for Spain.

Spains different to other locations so the advice above is the answer.
The spainish ATM,s will charge you ......where the above wont.