UK credit cards in the States

_Chris__2

Hi all, I'm a UK citizen and  will be in the States for my first time next month, on the east side for three weeks.  I don't want to carry much cash with me, so want to pay for almost everything by card. 

All the hotels have been booked and paid for and I don't have enough liquid money for every day stuff, restaurants etc, so what would be the best way of paying for that?  I imagine it would be by UK credit card?  If so, what one would give the best exchange rate and low charges please?

mebu60

Best Card for spending abroad — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Barkin

Me? I'd use a debit card from Chase/Starling/Monzo.

Brie

Almost all restaurants (maybe not street vendor type) will take credit cards and there is normally a tip included in the bill or the option to add one on the card reader. 

But some places will appreciate you using cash - you might want to check how much your UK bank charges for withdrawals at a cash machine, keeping in mind that there will likely be from your bank a minimum charge (say £3) plus a percentage fee plus likely a fee for the ATM use by that bank.  So when withdrawing like this I tend to go for one big amount ($200?) to get the best value.  And yes this isn't as economical as getting a zero fee card of some sort but might be more reassuring to not have a huge pile of cash on you at any one time.  

I know some people have done well with getting a US type account/card - say with Chase.  There are also cards that you can load with X amount of USD but again check if there are going to be fees for using a ATM in the States.  Again if you get something that is related to a US bank (i.e. like Chase) there may be no fees for using the Chase ATMs.  

I also ensure that my credit card has a couple of payments scheduled to it while I'm on hols so that I know there's no problem of hitting my card limit.

Have fun.  Don't forget to get your ESTA from a legit source not a costly agency.

Neil49

If you can open an account with Chase UK you can use their debit card for general transactions and to withdraw cash from Chase ATMs in the USA without any additional charges. The exchange rate will be as good as it gets. They have branches in most states but check before travelling. 

Alternatively you can use something like a Starling or Monzo card for day to day transactions but you would incur atm charges when withdrawing cash.

Don't forget that many US hotels impose a mandatory "resort charge" on top of what you have already paid to cover wifi etc. You may have to pay for this on arrival so make sure you have enough in your account to cover it (or get a suitable credit card).

Have a nice day. 

jbrassy

Neil49 said:

Alternatively you can use something like a Starling or Monzo card for day to day transactions but you would incur atm charges when withdrawing cash.
 

Just to note: Monzo have limits on how much cash you can withdraw from ATMs fee-free. Starling (and First Direct for that matter) allow unlimited withdrawals fee-free. This is ignoring any fees the ATM provider may charge. 

As other's have said, Chase allow you to withdraw completely fee-free from Chase ATMs in the US. However, this is limited to £1500 a month.  

_Chris__2

Thank you all for the ideas so far.  Sorry, maybe I didn't explain properly, but I don't have the ready money for the every day stuff and would need a credit card of some type and then pay it off gradually when I get back to the UK.  So any ideas along that front would be great please.

ColdIron

_Chris__2 said:

Thank you all for the ideas so far.  Sorry, maybe I didn't explain properly, but I don't have the ready money for the every day stuff and would need a credit card of some type and then pay it off gradually when I get back to the UK.  So any ideas along that front would be great please.

If you don't pay the full balance on your CC at the next statement the interest payments could work out expensive. Ideally you would use a 0% purchase card that gives you a year or so to pay it back (with minimum payments that you must pay) and one that doesn't charge foreign Fx fees with good exchange rates

You could look at Chase

https://www.chase.co.uk/gb/en/product/chase-credit-card

You need a Chase current account but that debit card could be handy for taking cash out of ATMs if you had to, it has the same Fx deal

sausage_time

Don't think this has been said here yet - always pay in (or withdraw in) US$ with no conversion at the point of the transaction.

The US seems much better in this regard versus the Euro zone where I seem to be forever fighting dynamic currency conversion (DCC). 

lr1277

I looked on the site finder: google Finder credit cards

From the resulting web page, you can see cards based on certain characteristics like a travel card or say purchase cards.

The following is not a recommendation.

The only card that almost meets your requirements is the Santander all in one card. It has 0% interest for 15 months plus no foreign transaction fees. Do not draw cash out on this card. The only downside is a £3/month fee.

Details here:

https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/credit-cards/all-in-one-credit-card

There are other requirements but I am sure you can read the web page and determine if you are eligible.