Cards for travel (Credit or Debit)

bm_999

bm_999

bm_999

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Morning all, just wondering what credit or debit cards does everyone have and if any specifically for travel (0 fx fees, free atm withdrawal etc....)

Currently my Amex would charge 2 or 3 % per transaction not in £.

Ive got a starling but would like some more protection (that credit cards offer) especially if we are taking it abroad
 
BarclayCard Rewards

Barclaycard Rewards | Barclaycard

Barclaycard Rewards with 0.25% cashback and no transaction fees on purchases when you’re abroad
www.barclaycard.co.uk www.barclaycard.co.uk

/thread

Edit: to be clear this is substantially better than the Clarity as it allows fee free cash withdrawals. Clarity no longer does. It also includes 0.25% cashback (every little helps).

Edit2: The god tier answer is to couple the BC Rewards card with Revolut, because you can exchange your money during the work week and hold it in the foreign currency. Almost all fee free card will have a 2% weekend charge.
 
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bm_999 said:
Morning all, just wondering what credit or debit cards does everyone have and if any specifically for travel (0 fx fees, free atm withdrawal etc....)

Currently my Amex would charge 2 or 3 % per transaction not in £.

Ive got a starling but would like some more protection (that credit cards offer) especially if we are taking it abroad
Click to expand...
Been using Wise for years. You can hold money in multiple currencies and the conversion fee's are really low.

Paid without issue with the card in the US, Thailand etc with no extra fee.
However there is a 2-3% charge for cash withdrawals from ATMs.
 
CAPTAINBUMFLUFF said:
Been using Wise for years. You can hold money in multiple currencies and the conversion fee's are really low.

Paid without issue with the card in the US, Thailand etc with no extra fee.
However there is a 2-3% charge for cash withdrawals from ATMs.
Click to expand...

It's better than that.

"

Fees To Withdraw Cash From Wise​

You can use your Wise card like any other bank card and withdraw money at ATMs around the world. The fees will depend on your card has been issued.

Wise Cards that were issued in Europe and the UK: You can withdraw money for free twice a month. The condition is that the total amount is under £200/€200. Once you exceed this limit, Wise charges £0.50/€0.50 per transaction. This is a fixed fee. If you withdraw £200/€200 in one month, Wise will charge you 1.75 percent on top of that."
 
It's also worth noting that if you do withdraw cash, that some ATM's in Europe charge drastically different fees.

In Spain
Santander is free for UK Santander customers, but charge €7 for other cards
Most other banks also charge around €7 for withdrawls regardless of value
Sabadell only charge €1.80

So worth trying a few different ATM's. Then you've got the 3rd party ATM's who will charge whatever they want

(Note the above fees were with a Barclaycard Rewards card where i agree with @Classic Blue Theme. It's the daddy)

EDIT - There is a hard limit on Barclaycard Rewards though for cash withdrawls. I'm not sure if it's a set figure or a % of credit limit. However, i hit it a couple of times without feeling like i was overly reliant on cash and was nowhere near my limit. We're talking somewhere between €500-€1000 a month i think, with my credit limit being ~€5k
 
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I've used Halifax Clarity for years and had no idea it was no longer the top choice for travelling.

Looks like Barclays Rewards is the way to go if you want a credit card for the protection. No fees for cash withdrawals and 0.25% cashback on top?
 
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Robi said:
I've used Halifax Clarity for years and had no idea it was no longer the top choice for travelling.

Looks like Barclays Rewards is the way to go if you want a credit card for the protection. No fees for cash withdrawals and 0.25% cashback on top?
Click to expand...
Correct. Plus a Revolut for weekend spends.
 
Robi said:
I've used Halifax Clarity for years and had no idea it was no longer the top choice for travelling.

Looks like Barclays Rewards is the way to go if you want a credit card for the protection. No fees for cash withdrawals and 0.25% cashback on top?
Click to expand...

Yeah. Clarity do have cash back, but only for selected retailers, rather than across the board for Barclays. Simply put, Barclays Reward is the go to card now.
 
Classic Blue Theme said:
Make sure you pre-exchange your currency Mon-Fri for weekend spends to avoid the 2% fee on Sat/Sun (y)
Click to expand...
Yes.

Also I found another, related, gotcha with this. I am off to NYC this Friday with my kids. So I got an under 18 card for my son which is linked to my own account. Disappointingly their under 18 card can't hold money in different currencies. So it will always perform a conversion when used, which means hitting the 2% conversion charge on that card at weekends. I had got it so we each had a card to use for contactless subway payments.

But apart from the weekend conversion fee I've found Revolut to be great. Just make sure money is converted before the weekend and convert it back afterwards if needed.
 
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Robi said:
I've used Halifax Clarity for years and had no idea it was no longer the top choice for travelling.

Looks like Barclays Rewards is the way to go if you want a credit card for the protection. No fees for cash withdrawals and 0.25% cashback on top?
Click to expand...
Same here, I've held on to my Clarity card for years just for this. Looks like dumping it for Barclays is the smart move.
 
A2Z said:
I've always used Clarity too, just checked and it says cash withdrawals still have no fee?
Click to expand...
It is sneaky marketing. It was "free free" before, i.e. no charge and it was treated as a purchase (i.e. 56 days interest free). It is now treated as a cash advance so interest is charged from the second it is withdrawn.

  • Interest charges will apply from the day you make a cash withdrawal.
 
Classic Blue Theme said:
It is sneaky marketing. It was "free free" before, i.e. no charge and it was treated as a purchase (i.e. 56 days interest free). It is now treated as a cash advance so interest is charged from the second it is withdrawn.

  • Interest charges will apply from the day you make a cash withdrawal.
Click to expand...
Okay.. but this is nothing new. It has been like that since I got my card back in 2017.

Just checked my email when I got approved and it's there in writing 'interest charged on cash withdrawals from date of transaction'.
 
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