Travel card options

TobyCG

So I'm going to the US in a few months and looking to get some kind of fee-free spending card to use over there.

I was trying to get Barclaycard to switch me to their Rewards card which would have been ideal but, after they point-blank refused, even though I've been with them for 20+ years and put 5 figures a year through the card, I've told them to take a hike and cancelled my account.

Looking for other options, MSE seems to be recommending a couple of debit cards at the moment.  Frankly I prefer credit as you don't need to top it up with funds beforehand and get Section 75 protection.  Is this a reasonable attitude or are debit cards worth looking at?

I guess one issue with a credit card is what limit they'd give me as I'll be spending thousands on it while I'm there.

For a credit card, is the Halifax Clarity still a good bet?  It seems to be and MSE were recommending it a couple of months ago but it's disappeared off their travel cards page.

Any other recommendations welcome.  I'm not fussed on cashback or rewards, just looking to avoid the 3%-ish fees standard cards charge.

400ixl

Always good to have more than one type of card. For the US having a Chase account will give you a debit card which will have no ATM charges at one of their many US branches and a good exchange rate.

Halifax Clarity works well, again good exchange rate but doesn't have things like points or cashback if that is your need as well.

Gandalf644

TobyCG said:

So I'm going to the US in a few months and looking to get some kind of fee-free spending card to use over there.

I was trying to get Barclaycard to switch me to their Rewards card which would have been ideal but, after they point-blank refused, even though I've been with them for 20+ years and put 5 figures a year through the card, I've told them to take a hike and cancelled my account.

Looking for other options, MSE seems to be recommending a couple of debit cards at the moment.  Frankly I prefer credit as you don't need to top it up with funds beforehand and get Section 75 protection.  Is this a reasonable attitude or are debit cards worth looking at?

I guess one issue with a credit card is what limit they'd give me as I'll be spending thousands on it while I'm there.

For a credit card, is the Halifax Clarity still a good bet?  It seems to be and MSE were recommending it a couple of months ago but it's disappeared off their travel cards page.

Any other recommendations welcome.  I'm not fussed on cashback or rewards, just looking to avoid the 3%-ish fees standard cards charge.

Further to 400ixl's reply, also try the Natwest Travel Rewards Credit Card. It has no foreign transaction fees on purchases abroad and also gives 1% back in rewards (cashable) on travel related expenditure (Flights, holidays, hotels, car hire, ferries, Ubers, taxis, trains etc) and 0.1% elsewhere.

You can do an eligibility 'soft search' on the Natwest website which also gives an indicative credit limit.

https://www.natwest.com/credit-cards/travel-reward-credit-card.html#eligibility

sausage_time

If you apply for one of the credit cards and get a limit that is below your "thousands" requirement, remember you can always pay some into the card to clear part or all of the balance.  But if you are going to do that, chase with 1% cashback might be a better alternative overall. 

Also, be aware of car hire and hotels holding onto some of your credit limit for authorisation.

jbrassy

If you want a credit card, Halifax Clarity is still a good option, although the Natwest Travel Rewards card is probably better as it pays cashback on some purchases.

It's probably a good idea to get a debit card alongside a credit card in case you need to withdraw cash or as a back-up. Chase is a good option, but Starling and First Direct are also worthy options.

TobyCG

Thanks for the input all.

If I were to hedge my bets and look at getting both a credit and debit card, would applying for both of these in quick succession not potentially set of alarms and harm my credit report?

Nasqueron

TobyCG said:

Thanks for the input all.

If I were to hedge my bets and look at getting both a credit and debit card, would applying for both of these in quick succession not potentially set of alarms and harm my credit report?

A new current account and credit card may both need hard checks (I think Chase doesn't for debit card) but the effect will largely diminish over the next few months

Olenna

I would personally avoid Starling and First Direct as neither have US ATMs so you'll be surcharged circa $5 a go.
Chase has their own ATMs everywhere and Santander has a decent network in the East Coast. 

I would personally go for either Barclays Reward, NatWest Travel Reward or Virgin Money Everyday cashback cards rather than Halifax Clarity. All three are superior for spending and Barclays is superior to Clarity for ATM usage. 

TobyCG

Olenna said:

I would personally avoid Starling and First Direct as neither have US ATMs so you'll be surcharged circa $5 a go.
Chase has their own ATMs everywhere and Santander has a decent network in the East Coast. 

I would personally go for either Barclays Reward, NatWest Travel Reward or Virgin Money Everyday cashback cards rather than Halifax Clarity. All three are superior for spending and Barclays is superior to Clarity for ATM usage. 

As I said in the OP, Barclays can take a running jump and aren't an option.  Will look into the Natwest Travel card though.

TobyCG

On second thoughts, scratch the Natwest card.  Just filled out the eligibility thing and it indicated a credit limit of £3k which isn't near enough.  I'll be putting the hotel on the card and that alone will eat most of that.  Sure I could pre-load the card with credit (if they let you) but then I may as well get a debit card then.

CliveOfIndia

TobyCG said:

Sure I could pre-load the card with credit (if they let you) but then I may as well get a debit card then.

You can't do that anyway - deliberately putting a card into credit is against the T&Cs.  Theoretically it can result in the closure of the account, in practice it's more likely that the payment will either be declined straight away or else refunded very shortly after it's made.