Credit card for car hire only.

Olenna

DullGreyGuy said:

vacheron said:

We only hire cars when overseas so we use our Halifax Clarity card and this is free for overseas currency purchases, for the holding deposit as this has sometimes been as high as 2500 euros. We also use it for all our overseas purhases and cash withdrawls to save being ripped off by travel money companies both on the way in and especially on the way out! 

Assuming you dont damage the vehicle or return it late etc then if the card has an FX fee or not is irrelevant as nothing is actually charged to the card

It depends on the location - last few rentals, they've actually debited the deposit amount and then subsequently refunded the deposit on the return of the car. If a card charges a forex fee then you'd be charged when debited but not usually refunded unless the initial transaction is reversed (which is fairly rare) rather than just refunded. 

lr1277

I am led to believe certain car rental companies abroad, require cards with a raised number. However with some new cards having flat numbers, this maybe a problem.

Might be worth asking the question, especially if you are  renting directly at a company abroad.

Olenna

vacheron said:

If for UK car hire, almost all basic credit cards will be free for what you want. The only consideration is making sure the credit limit is high enough.

We only hire cars when overseas so we use our Halifax Clarity card and this is free for overseas currency purchases, for the holding deposit as this has sometimes been as high as 2500 euros. We also use it for all our overseas purchases and cash withdrawals to save being ripped off by travel money companies both on the way in and especially on the way out! 

Many local ATMs surcharge and Halifax also charges interest so not always a no brainer for foreign cash;
As for purchases, there are lots of forex free options out there now too.