Best cards to use abroad?

JustAnotherSaver · 24 April 2018 at 10:58PM

My sister needed some credit cards to help with her direct debits after Tesco pulled the plug on its savings accounts creating direct debits (current account interest criteria) so she took out some travel cards as she was looking at going abroad.

She'll soon be going & i thought i'd take a look to see if she should use one more than the others or some kind of 'order' - try x-card first, if it doesn't work (or whatever) then try y-card, then z-card. If there is no such order then fine but if there is then i thought i'd just take a look to see.

But then i read about there being no charge for things like withdrawals but then the webpage started mentioning getting charged and i was getting lost in it all, which is why i'm here.

She has (all opened this year):

Halifax Clarity
Santander Zero
Aqua Advance
Barclaycard Platinum Travel

** now regardless of which she uses, ALL are currently set up to pay the balance in full.

She was wondering about the possibility of withdrawing cash from cash machines abroad - whether they charge her or not. If she can use any of those cards charge-free to withdraw from cash machines abroad then would there be any need in taking cash with her?

Obviously if she gets charged then she may as well take cash with her and then pay by the old chip-&-pin on cards when she can.

PeacefulWaters · 24 April 2018 at 11:04PM

The Barclays Travel card won't charge her interest for cash. Others will.

Some ATMs overseas will charge a flat fee. Spain and USA make this common. Usually cheaper than changing currency in UK or abroad though.

I've often travelled without local currency and withdrawn it on arrival.

Never ask ATM or retailer to do the currency conversion. Always leave that to MasterCard or Visa.

stevenhp1987 · 24 April 2018 at 11:24PM

Of those I'd use:

- Halifax Clarrity (or Barclaycard Travel) for regular card transactions
- Halifax Clarity (or Barclaycard Travel) for card transactions requiring a ZIP code (enter numbers from your postcode with 0's at the end to make 5 digits, e.g. AB12 3CD becomes 12300) and it works (Using it at self-serve "gas" pumps and for paying for food on GrubHub or Groupon has been exceptionally useful!)
- Barclaycard Travel for cash withdrawals (I personally use Starling bank for that, I recommend it especially as some places in USA charge differently for Debit, which this worked on for me recently!)

Not sure what Santander Zero brings to the table that Halifax & Barclaycard don't. Aqua is behind both on terms of usefulness - I do note that Aqua Reward is a better foreign spend card (foreign free spend with 0.5% cashback). Why did they go for Aqua Advance over Aqua Reward?!?

Also, what country is she going to? Some charge for ATM withdrawals (e.g. USA) so paying as much as possible on card is often easier; While some countries will be more cash-heavy and not take card at all (or rarely)!

rainbowskies · 24 April 2018 at 11:52PM

I know this is a credit card board but for withdrawing cash, a Starling bank debit card would be perfect. Absolutely no fees and it!!!8217;s a MasterCard so the rates will be slightly better than Visa!!!8217;s. I have used mine in several countries and it worked really well.

JustAnotherSaver · 25 April 2018 at 8:37AM

I know it's certainly Europe she's going to. She's mentioned Spain and Greece. I have a feeling this one is Spain but if it makes a difference between the two then I'll ask to be sure.

So - she may be better NOT taking cash (in hand) with her then and instead using her Barclaycard to withdraw cash from the machine?

How would she know whether she'd be better off doing that (before she goes away)?

Thanks.

agrinnall · 25 April 2018 at 8:54AM

If she lives anywhere near a Metro bank then their debit card allows fee free withdrawals in Europe, and when I got mine they issued the card and PIN to me on the day. I think it may also be possible to apply online now.

chattychappy · 25 April 2018 at 9:03AM

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Halifax Clarity
Santander Zero
...
** now regardless of which she uses, ALL are currently set up to pay the balance in full.

With these two cards in the case of cash, interest is charged from date of withdrawal. This is pennies if paid promptly, but could be significant (though not punitive) if you let a DD pay the balance up to 56 days later.

zagfles · 25 April 2018 at 9:28AM

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

I know it's certainly Europe she's going to. She's mentioned Spain and Greece. I have a feeling this one is Spain but if it makes a difference between the two then I'll ask to be sure.

So - she may be better NOT taking cash (in hand) with her then and instead using her Barclaycard to withdraw cash from the machine?

How would she know whether she'd be better off doing that (before she goes away)?

Thanks.

With the cards she has she'll definitely be better off getting cash out locally provided she's aware of how to use them. Changing cash in the UK generally costs around 5% or so (charge hidden in the exchange rate). I'd use the Barclaycard with Halifax as backup. Or maybe Barclaycard for cash and Halifax for spending.

Things to watch out for:

Barclaycard (and probably the others) have a cash limit, maybe a third of the overall credit limit. This isn't made very clear, IIRC it's not even mentioned on internet banking, but it's on the paper statements
Watch out for DCC as above. Always take the "without conversion" option at an ATM. Always ask for the card to be charged in Euros when paying for stuff.
Some ATMs in Spain are starting to charge, but the fee will likely be far less than the cost of changing cash, provided you get a reasonable amount out (eg 100+)

JustAnotherSaver · 25 April 2018 at 11:05AM

Just very quickly as I'm at work (in case this makes a difference):
I asked her and it's actually Greece she's going to, not Spain so I was wrong.

Candyapple · 25 April 2018 at 11:46AM

If she's going to Greece they are a very cash heavy society. She'd be better off using the Clarity or Barclaycard to withdraw Euros from the Moneycorp ATMs in Gatwick (if she's flying from there) as depending on which part of Greece you go to, a lot of the ATMs I found were very far and few between.

eDicky · 25 April 2018 at 1:20PM

Candyapple wrote: »

She'd be better off using the Clarity or Barclaycard to withdraw Euros from the Moneycorp ATMs in Gatwick

This is dangerous advice without emphasising the necessity to select 'Without Conversion' when the ATM displays the option, in order to avoid the dreadful Moneycorp rates. Be very careful, and if the option is not given, cancel and retrieve your card.

Best cards to use abroad?

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