Travel card options

Olenna

TobyCG said:

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.

Have you tried a slightly different strategy; a polite, written conversion request to Barclaycard's application department will likely be sent to a human underwriter -  which may make all the difference.

There is even a freepost address (to their applications department) on their own website. 

lr1277

This is not a recommendation as I don't have this card but have you thought about Yonder.

Pros:

fx fee free transactions

You can credit the card with upto 10k before spending the money. (Edited to add they allow you to pre-load the card).

Downsides (as I see them):

It has rewards but I suspect they are London-centric or Bristol centric. There might be some rewards in Manchester.

They want open banking access to your main current account.

Edited to add: not all banks allow the open banking API's.

There is a paid version and a free version. There might be a referral code system, but you would need to search the internet. Though on the forums for Head for Points, there is a thread about Yonder and somebody offered their referral code.

Further edit: The following review says Yonder uses open banking instead of the traditional credit check.

https://www.finder.com/uk/credit-cards/yonder-credit-card-review

jbrassy

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?

If you're worried about credit checks, I don't think Starling do a hard check, so long as you don't apply for an overdraft.

Olenna

jbrassy said:

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?

If you're worried about credit checks, I don't think Starling do a hard check, so long as you don't apply for an overdraft.

Why would you opt for Starling - same rate as any other Mastercard, zero cashback and no/limited free ATMs in the USA.

jbrassy

Olenna said:

jbrassy said:

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?

If you're worried about credit checks, I don't think Starling do a hard check, so long as you don't apply for an overdraft.

Why would you opt for Starling - same rate as any other Mastercard, zero cashback and no/limited free ATMs in the USA.

Because the OP was worried about credit checks, hence I was addressing that point.

NoodleDoodleMan

Chase has their own ATMs everywhere and Santander has a decent network in the East Coast.

Interesting - Santander UK have "user friendly" debit and credit cards that would likely be ideal for US based branches and ATMs for currency withdrawals.

TobyCG

jbrassy said:

Because the OP was worried about credit checks, hence I was addressing that point.

To clarify, my credit rating is near-perfect, I'm just concerned at damaging it by applying for multiple new cards in short order.

TobyCG

Bit surprised no one has mentioned Revolut actually - or have they fallen out of favour these days?

400ixl

TobyCG said:

Bit surprised no one has mentioned Revolut actually - or have they fallen out of favour these days?

It would be the last option I would ever recommend unless you like taking risks that you won't be able to access your money when you need it abroad.

jbrassy

TobyCG said:

Bit surprised no one has mentioned Revolut actually - or have they fallen out of favour these days?

Revolut is a prepaid card and yes they have fallen out of favour for various reasons. If you want a debit card, Chase, Starling and First Direct are much better options.