UK credit cards in the States

Barkin

Brie said:

No one seems to have mentioned the cash loading cards.  

Probably because they're not the best option these days, IMO.

I've a FairFX card that I've had for years, and keep as a 'just in case', but it's been years since I actually used it.

Mark_d

_Chris__2 said:

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?

When I go abroad I withdraw a small amount of cash from a bank ATM using my Kroo bank card.  There are no charges for this.
Wherever possible I pay for things on my Halifax Clarity credit card.  (I keep the foreign cash in my wallet for emergencies).  I have a direct debit to may my credit card bill in full each month from my Kroo current account.

MyRealNameToo

Barkin said:

Brie said:

No one seems to have mentioned the cash loading cards.  

Probably because they're not the best option these days, IMO.

I've a FairFX card that I've had for years, and keep as a 'just in case', but it's been years since I actually used it.

Probably mainly because the OP says they dont have the funds so need credit - the suggestions of debit cards and pre-paid cards is a little pointless unless paired with a suggestion of what loan to get to get the cash and the difficulty of that is not knowing what the total amount needed is at this point hence why a Credit card is probably the better option. 

The previously supplied link to the MSE site covers both credit cards and debit cards thankfully. 

ColdIron

lr1277 said:

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.

It's not a bad card in itself but the £3 monthly fee kills it for the OP. Same benefits as the Chase card with cashback added on. The break even point for 0.5% cashback and the £3 fee is £600 spending. The OP wants it for 3 weeks spending but to take advantage of the 0% purchase charge and pay the minimum payments they will need to spend that £600 every month until it's paid off. The Chase card still wins as I see it

lr1277

ColdIron said:

lr1277 said:

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.

It's not a bad card in itself but the £3 monthly fee kills it for the OP. Same benefits as the Chase card with cashback added on. The break even point for 0.5% cashback and the £3 fee is £600 spending. The OP wants it for 3 weeks spending but to take advantage of the 0% purchase charge and pay the minimum payments they will need to spend that £600 every month until it's paid off. The Chase card still wins as I see it

Fair enough. I hadn't paid much attention to the Chase credit card. Also as far as I remember, it is not listed as a card on the Finder site either under travel card or 0% purchase card.

As far as I could tell on the Finder site, only the Santander card had a 0% for purchases and fee free fx transactions.

I suppose that means I stop looking at the Finder site for a comprehensive list of credit cards. 

Also I note the following MSE page on travel credit/debit cards:

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

Doesn't mention the Chase credit card. It only mentions the Chase debit card.

_Chris__2

ColdIron said:

lr1277 said:

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.

It's not a bad card in itself but the £3 monthly fee kills it for the OP. Same benefits as the Chase card with cashback added on. The break even point for 0.5% cashback and the £3 fee is £600 spending. The OP wants it for 3 weeks spending but to take advantage of the 0% purchase charge and pay the minimum payments they will need to spend that £600 every month until it's paid off. The Chase card still wins as I see it

Thank you for this.  How do you mean the £3 fee would kill it?

ColdIron

The card has a £3 monthly fee. If you didn't spend £600 every month you would have to pay up to £3 every month until you pay it off or cancelled the card. The Chase card has no fee

_Chris__2

ColdIron said:

The card has a £3 monthly fee. If you didn't spend £600 every month you would have to pay up to £3 every month until you pay it off or cancelled the card. The Chase card has no fee

Thank you.

NoodleDoodleMan

If you don't have a Chase debit card I suspect applying for their credit card could well be difficult.

I had the former for some time before they offered the latter - unsolicited.

Worth a try ? 

Theleak250

Just a warning, when you pay for a restaurant bill, some places will give you the bill ,you pay the bill, then they will bring another receipt where you add your tip, you write down what you will tip and then leave, the tip is then charged to your card. (you have the card, they can still charge to it)