Cards for travel (Credit or Debit)

bm_999 said:
Think im also going to apply for the barclays rewards and use that abroad and in the UK (if a non amex is needed) and also stick with my Amex for normally purchases - possibly loll
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This is god tier combo fyi

Hades said:
Unfortunately it looks like Revolut are moving to their own currency conversion rate rather than the standard rate. No doubt this will be worse. So I may well move away from it.
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I can't decipher if its just a language thing or an actual change. They've always used the "live" rate, and they said that is ambiguous as there isn't such thing - although there would be a "generally accepted" live rate. Easiest solution is to rename it.. we shall see.
 
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Amex back home in the UK for absolutely everything and anywhere that takes it. It is my first card on Apple Pay, it is linked to PayPal as the default card so if i but online, it comes out of Amex.

If a place don't take Amex, Barclays Reward is used.

I can't remember the last time I used my regular current account for payment.
 
tlrBeta said:
As others covered, the most expensive and the one with the highest risk. However, I do appreciate some people may budget better this way.

I haven't taken cash abroad with me for over 10 years. Most of the time, I haven't even needed to withdraw cash whilst out there either - all card payments with 0% FX fees (some of the companies covered above)
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I am driving abroad this summer and have always taken cash out for the fuel on the way. Obviously prices are ridiculous for fuel at the moment and I will be spending ~600 on fuel alone.

Would I be better off getting a Barclaycard Rewards for this then using my Barclays current account to clear it off once I get to my destination?
 
adam cool dude said:
I am driving abroad this summer and have always taken cash out for the fuel on the way. Obviously prices are ridiculous for fuel at the moment and I will be spending ~600 on fuel alone.

Would I be better off getting a Barclaycard Rewards for this then using my Barclays current account to clear it off once I get to my destination?
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For me yes I would do that, there is a number to chose from.

If you dont fancy credit, then most of the fintechs do free FX fees on card payments (just be warned, using the card at pump will mean a hold charge for c30 days).
 
We are off to Tenerife the end of next week. We will be on an all-inclusive basis, so need for further spending should be quite low, but I was considering taking a smallish sum of cash like 100 Euros.

However, doing this the old fashioned way and buying Euro's before going obviously doesn't give great bang for buck, especially factoring in the buyback for any we bring back.

I have at my disposal a Halifax Clarity card and a Revolut account/card. Obviously I can spend away on the Clarity card fee free at a near bang on exchange rate should I need to, but the cash withdrawal interest is not so good. Am I right in thinking I can load up my Revolut account with a desired amount and withdraw cash with this card fee free and interest free? (currently at a decent exchange rate). I am aware they will be changing their exchange rate, but not for 60 days it seems so won't affect this trip. (also aware of the 1% weekend charge thing).

Seems like my best combo without applying for the Barclaycard or anything else?
 
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Clarkson said:
We are off to Tenerife the end of next week. We will be on an all-inclusive basis, so need for further spending should be quite low, but I was considering taking a smallish sum of cash like 100 Euros.

However, doing this the old fashioned way and buying Euro's before going obviously doesn't give great bang for buck, especially factoring in the buyback for any we bring back.

I have at my disposal a Halifax Clarity card and a Revolut account/card. Obviously I can spend away on the Clarity card fee free at a near bang on exchange rate should I need to, but the cash withdrawal interest is not so good. Am I right in thinking I can load up my Revolut account with a desired amount and withdraw cash with this card fee free and interest free? (currently at a decent exchange rate). I am aware they will be changing their exchange rate, but not for 60 days it seems so won't affect this trip. (also aware of the 1% weekend charge thing).

Seems like my best combo without applying for the Barclaycard or anything else?
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Yes
 
Clarkson said:
We are off to Tenerife the end of next week. We will be on an all-inclusive basis, so need for further spending should be quite low, but I was considering taking a smallish sum of cash like 100 Euros.

However, doing this the old fashioned way and buying Euro's before going obviously doesn't give great bang for buck, especially factoring in the buyback for any we bring back.
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I still have a memory fresh in taking just cash and travellers cheques abroad, so I'm a financial caveman. Be gentle.

I have a Clarity credit card too which I can use for spending abroad, that's fine, but when it comes to taking cash out of an ATM in a foreign country without incurring any charges, and without taking any cash with you, is it a bit of a minefield picking an ATM that doesn't impose some sort of fine print or additional charge? I've got a Chase debit card which I can top up. Taking cash out abroad just feels.... Weird!!
 
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Karl said:
I still have a memory fresh in taking just cash and travellers cheques abroad, so I'm a financial caveman. Be gentle.

I have a Clarity credit card too which I can use for spending abroad, that's fine, but when it comes to taking cash out of an ATM in a foreign country without incurring any charges, and without taking any cash with you, is it a bit of a minefield picking an ATM that doesn't impose some sort of fine print or additional charge? I've got a Chase debit card which I can top up. Taking cash out abroad just feels.... Weird!!
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It depends on the country, TripAdvisor forums are a good place to start to research any fee free ATMs. Nothing weird about taking cash out abroad, so much easier and safer than exchanging etc.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Amex back home in the UK for absolutely everything and anywhere that takes it. It is my first card on Apple Pay, it is linked to PayPal as the default card so if i but online, it comes out of Amex.

If a place don't take Amex, Barclays Reward is used.

I can't remember the last time I used my regular current account for payment.
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Yeah, I had started doing this combo too. Now switching a bit from AmEx to Virgin Atlantic card for those flight points. Though the app and customer service really don't seem up to par with AmEx.

Which AmEx card do people mostly use? I had just the cashback one before the switch to Virgin Atlantic.
 
Karl said:
I still have a memory fresh in taking just cash and travellers cheques abroad, so I'm a financial caveman. Be gentle.

I have a Clarity credit card too which I can use for spending abroad, that's fine, but when it comes to taking cash out of an ATM in a foreign country without incurring any charges, and without taking any cash with you, is it a bit of a minefield picking an ATM that doesn't impose some sort of fine print or additional charge? I've got a Chase debit card which I can top up. Taking cash out abroad just feels.... Weird!!
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Even with ATM fees it's still substantially cheaper than getting euros this side of the trip.
 
Sudden said:
Yeah, I had started doing this combo too. Now switching a bit from AmEx to Virgin Atlantic card for those flight points. Though the app and customer service really don't seem up to par with AmEx.

Which AmEx card do people mostly use? I had just the cashback one before the switch to Virgin Atlantic.
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Use the British Airways Amex card and use it for everyday spending. If you spend £12,000 on a year you can get a Companion Voucher which allows you to have buy 1 get 1 free on a BA flight or a 50% discount if travelling solo.
 
Bit late to thread, but I have a Clarity and have for many years, its always been interest charged from date of withdrawl on cash withdrawls, like every CC I have ever had even taking out in the UK.

I used to withdraw a big chunk of cash when I first arrived, send an amount from my current account to my Clarity account, same day or even a day in advance.
Received no interest that way.

Then just use card as normal when away.

Now we use so little cash when abroad (places like France) we have Euros from years ago. They slowly get whittled down, but even mountain top places now have card machines so its hard to find anywhere that needs cash.
Mainly using cash for tips for waiters etc and when maybe just buying a couple of french bread sticks/croissants etc for breakfast.
 
Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
Now we use so little cash when abroad (places like France) we have Euros from years ago. They slowly get whittled down, but even mountain top places now have card machines so its hard to find anywhere that needs cash.
Mainly using cash for tips for waiters etc and when maybe just buying a couple of french bread sticks/croissants etc for breakfast.
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I've been surprised in Spain a few times, when entering a restaurant and finding it's cash only. These are places in town centres too. Made the habit of just sticking a 50 in my wallet for such instances.

Although it was also favourable for the times we were out with my parents and i couldn't pay :D
 
Martynt74 said:
I've been surprised in Spain a few times, when entering a restaurant and finding it's cash only. These are places in town centres too. Made the habit of just sticking a 50 in my wallet for such instances.

Although it was also favourable for the times we were out with my parents and i couldn't pay :D
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It can happen of course. As can the system going down.
We always carry 100 euro/dollars or so in cash just in case.
 
Sudden said:
Yeah, I had started doing this combo too. Now switching a bit from AmEx to Virgin Atlantic card for those flight points. Though the app and customer service really don't seem up to par with AmEx.

Which AmEx card do people mostly use? I had just the cashback one before the switch to Virgin Atlantic.
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just have the ba amex. But also am really thinking about switching to the platinum versions (whichever is still free) for the lounge access aswell
 
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