Best Card for spending abroad

Ian82s

Now CHASE bank is stopping (from April 7th) a lot of the ways you can get the 1% spending cashback, and completely so when abroad, does anyone have suggestions as to what card to use abroad?

Now I don't get the 1% cashback while travelling, I have even less use of my Chase Account now, if there is an equally good alternative option. Any ideas?

CliveOfIndia

The usual advice is to go for one of the "Travel" cards which don't charge an FX fee on foreign-currency transactions.

I think (I may be wrong) the Barclaycard Rewards is the only one that offers fee-free currency conversions and cashback.  But in most cases, the fees charged by the majority of cards would outweigh any cashback you earn anyway - so a fee-free card is still a good option, even if it doesn't earn you any rewards.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/

GeoffTF

CliveOfIndia said:

The usual advice is to go for one of the "Travel" cards which don't charge an FX fee on foreign-currency transactions.

I think (I may be wrong) the Barclaycard Rewards is the only one that offers fee-free currency conversions and cashback.  But in most cases, the fees charged by the majority of cards would outweigh any cashback you earn anyway - so a fee-free card is still a good option, even if it doesn't earn you any rewards.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/

Barclaycard Rewards is fee free.

CliveOfIndia

GeoffTF said:

CliveOfIndia said:

The usual advice is to go for one of the "Travel" cards which don't charge an FX fee on foreign-currency transactions.

I think (I may be wrong) the Barclaycard Rewards is the only one that offers fee-free currency conversions and cashback.  But in most cases, the fees charged by the majority of cards would outweigh any cashback you earn anyway - so a fee-free card is still a good option, even if it doesn't earn you any rewards.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/

Barclaycard Rewards is fee free.

That's what I said.  What I meant was that it's the only I'm aware of that is fee-free and also offers cash-back.

TwiceNightly

The NatWest Travel Reward Credit Card is worth considering.

No fees abroad
1% cashback on planes, trains, car rental, ferries, buses, hotel accommodation, travel agents, cruises, campsites, etc
0.1% cashback everywhere else

They also have the cashback offers, like the Barclaycard Rewards card does.

sausage_time

Trading 212 debit card gives 0.5% with no FX loading.

Gerry1

Barclaycard Rewards is about the best because it doesn't charge interest on cash advances if the next statement is paid in full by the due date.  Also gives 0.25% cashback on purchases.

That means you can use just one card for purchases and cash from ATMs, although it's always wise to have some other cards available in case of Visa / Mastercard outages or a lost/stolen card.

Remember that Chase ATMs can be few and far between in some states in the US, and virtually all US ATMs charge hefty fees if you're not a customer with them.  Cashback from store checkouts is sometimes available.

Withdrawing cash on credit cards is frowned upon by credit reference agencies, so consider this if applying for a mortgage.

SuzeQStan

Gerry1 said:

Barclaycard Rewards is about the best because it doesn't charge interest on cash advances if the next statement is paid in full by the due date.  Also gives 0.25% cashback on purchases.

That means you can use just one card for purchases and cash from ATMs, although it's always wise to have some other cards available in case of Visa / Mastercard outages or a lost/stolen card.

Remember that Chase ATMs can be few and far between in some states in the US, and virtually all US ATMs charge hefty fees if you're not a customer with them.  Cashback from store checkouts is sometimes available.

Withdrawing cash on credit cards is frowned upon by credit reference agencies, so consider this if applying for a mortgage.

Good advice but Chase is a debit card not a credit card 

Gerry1

SuzeQStan said:

Gerry1 said:

Barclaycard Rewards is about the best because it doesn't charge interest on cash advances if the next statement is paid in full by the due date.  Also gives 0.25% cashback on purchases.

That means you can use just one card for purchases and cash from ATMs, although it's always wise to have some other cards available in case of Visa / Mastercard outages or a lost/stolen card.

Remember that Chase ATMs can be few and far between in some states in the US, and virtually all US ATMs charge hefty fees if you're not a customer with them.  Cashback from store checkouts is sometimes available.

Withdrawing cash on credit cards is frowned upon by credit reference agencies, so consider this if applying for a mortgage.

Good advice but Chase is a debit card not a credit card 

Yes, I know.  I'm just pointing out that Barclaycard Rewards is a very good all rounder.  Being a credit card it has the Section 75  advantage over Chase but a possible slight drawback because CRAs frown on credit card cash advances.

ircE

There's also the Virgin Money Everyday Cashback Credit Card that offers 0.25% cashback abroad up to a maximum of £15pm. However, unlike the Barclaycard Rewards card, cash withdrawals abroad are not free (from what I can tell).

Remember that with credit cards you can use the time in between the point of purchase and point of repayment to mini-stooze so, if you're willing to put the effort in, the money you make from spending on it is a combination of cashback from your credit card and savings interest. That's going to worth much more than headline cashback rates from debit cards and has the accompanying benefits of credit card usage.

COIAHLGW

Cashback from store checkouts won't be available in the USA from a Chase debit card, as it gets processed by Mastercard rather than a local debit affiliated network processor (such as Pulse, so no UK cards unfortunately)