Going abroad. credit cards, debit cards or cash?

First holiday abroad in 20 years! Off to Ireland with the family and I’ve been tasked with finding the most efficient way of doing the money. So obviously I’m asking on here.

Credit card has a 2.5% fee

Debit card has a 2.99% fee

Cash is cash, but obviously you get a fee built in to the exchange rate.

My question is do the credit and debit cards also have a lees than favourable rate, so in effect you get charged twice?

I’m sure others will be along shortly, but I have a Monzo+ card for overseas travel.

CC is for emergencies and the debit card is left at home.

Revolut for my travels.

I’ve got a credit card with no fees (Jaja) It just uses whatever the MasterCard exchange rate is, so costs the same as my debit card. I was in Ireland last year and cash was very useful, card for petrol stations and supermarkets, cash for cafes and smaller places

We just use credit card for everything

First Direct don’t charge fees if you bank with them.

not used cash abroad in years

There are plenty of banks offering zero fee cards now. I’ve got an HSBC global money one which works out much better value for currency conversion than any high street cash exchange and doesn’t have any fees for use.

Monzo for me. No additional fees.

It can get very complicated trying to compare as exchange rates vary from bank to bank.

One tip is to always pay in local currency if the card gives you the choice.

We use whatever is to hand in Ireland (and cc for big expenses) but one thing to do is never take the exchange rate offered on the card machine and if they do it for you get them to change it back to euros.

Open a chase account. But also check with your bank if they have a scheme for overseas travel.

Turns out that my bank do a travel credit card with no fees… so I’ve applied for it.

Nationwide CC for purchases. Nationwide FlexPlus for cash. Mainly CC as no fees and get the visa day rate. Try to avoid cash which is easy these days.

Starling are another that don’t charge for foreign transactions.

Having a separate card to your main account is handy if you are travelling somewhere you’re worried about it being stolen as you can just preload it with money for a few days at a time over online banking.

Country by country basis.

Plenty of countries where cards are pretty much not accepted outside of the big chains.

Others where western cards just are not accepted.

Throwback from traveling lots with work and sometimes not coming back to the UK….. Always traveled with some dollars (more versatile than a travellers cheque every was) …. And if I can get it before I go some of the local currency + a nationwide cc for the bigger transactions.

There is nothing quite like having. A lovely dinner for 6 and finding out none of your cards work when you come to pay.

Revolut card ?

Country by country basis.

Plenty of countries where cards are pretty much not accepted outside of the big chains.

For Ireland, from our experience, I don’t know anywhere that does not take cards. Even our favourite restaurant which was always cash only up until three years ago takes cards now (The Point at Waterville if you’re down in the southwest )

I have a Halifax Clarity credit card for travel. It’s worth checking Money Saving Expert for their best buys, I believe that some cards have better exchange rates than others.

I like to have some cash on me, I used to get it from Tesco, but these days I just take it out in an ATM whenever I get low as the difference is only a pound or two.

Wise is my preferred payment card when abroad. Funded by bank transfers and any top-up over cellular connection not wifi. You get the choice of either a currency account or a GBP one. Mid-market exchange rates, fees are around 0.35%.

but what padlock are you taking?

I use Chase bank for travels

Lots of cards say no fees, but then give a woeful exchange rate on the transactions.

Halifax Clarity credit card, Starling debit card for free cash withdrawals.

Starling account in particular is very easy to set up and I just transfer in money from my main current account.

One thing to watch out for is machines offering payment or withdrawals in GBP. The rate is always terrible. Pay in the local currency.

My bank charge a fee (about 40c) per transaction plus a pretty poor automated exchange rate when abroad. Last time I worked it out I came to the conclusion that cash was best for sub €10, €10-20 it was pennies of a difference and over €20 I used a card. No idea if this maths still holds true.

Fee free cards usually use the standard Mastercard or Visa rate which is fine – Halifax Clarity and Starling both definitely do. So I just use the credit card for everything I can, and cash for the rest.

Obviously if you’ve got a per transaction fee, then that changes the game, but it’s so easy to get a fee free card there’s no reason not to.

On way back from croatia at the moment.  Use a Halifax clarity cc for all purchases and have monzo if I need cash.

Didn’t need any cash this trip at all

Cash

My Nationwide credit card has zero commission for foreign currency and also gives me 0.5% cashback. I also take a Halifax Clarity card which is zero commission. They’re both Visa so I take an MBNA Mastercard “just in case”. That also gives cashback, but charges a currency fee.
Nationwide Debit Card for cash withdrawals via ATM.

Always always always press the Euro option if offered a conversion option by the card machine.

My phone defaults to my Nationwide CC and it’s been accepted for about 80% of all transactions.

I usually carry a bit of cash but I’ve only used it for buskers and local markets.

This year I’ve used these methods in Canaries, Western Sahara, Morocco, Spain and France with not one issue. I’m a bit concerned it might not be quite so simple next week in Wales though.

I’ve used Revolut for years

Gotta be traveller’s cheques, but ONLY if carried in some sort of bumbag thing under your t-shirt. Otherwise they’re officially worthless.

One thing I always do is make sure that my different cards are always kept in different places. So if I lose my wallet I haven’t lost every means of payment.
And because our Nationwide cards are joint accounts I try to persuade MrsBigJohn not to keep all her cards in the same purse. Never happens though.

Sometimes I take a “sacrificial wallet” in case of mugging. Expired card, expired driving licence, 5 euro note.

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

One tip is to always pay in local currency if the card gives you the choice.

Agree with that, conversion rates at the time of purchase can be punitive. ATMs in Crete were offering 1:1 if they converted, got much better rates letting my bank do the conversion.

I have a Halifax Clarity credit card for travel. It’s worth checking Money Saving Expert for their best buys

Came here to make both of these points.

When offered the choice always pay in the local currency, a random shop’s exchange rate will be horrific.

I usually carry a bit of cash but I’ve only used it for buskers and local markets.

Out in Chicago a couple of years back, I’ve never known a city with so many beggars.  One time I replied “sorry mate, I’m from England, we abolished cash years ago” and he was like “oh, wow, sorry, I had no idea!!”

On a recent trip to Dublin I used HyperJar (pre-paid debit card). Easy to transfer more money onto it, if required, and you get the Mastercard exchange rate with no other fees.

I found a lot of cafes etc were card only. Even pubs assumed you’d be paying by card rather than cash. No idea if the rest of Ireland is similar.

Halifax Clarity credit card, Starling debit card for free cash withdrawals.

am i right in thinking tho that the ATMs generally take a small fee, maybe a couple of euros per transaction?  so altho your debit card may not charge, it still costs for each withdrawal, so its better to take a couple of hundred out at a time say.

mrs expunk always gets a load of euros in before each holiday and we just use cash.  we always go to the greek islands and we do generally feel safe there. ive tried explaining that id still be happier withdrawing a few hundred at a time from the ATM but im met with ‘we’ve never lost it yet’.  ho hum, pick your battles 🙂

Much like the UK, it varies. My experience in France is that if you go to an ATM at a proper bank in a town, there’s no fee. Service stations etc will charge a fee, but they will warn you.

And as above, watch out for cash machines offering to do the conversion for you.

Just out of curiosity, checked today’s mastercard vs travelex rates. Mastercard very slight better – 0.854 GBP/EUR vs. 0.862 for cash from Travelex. So if you can withdraw cash with no fees, that’s the winning plan, and easier to avoid ending up with lots left over.

I’m going to say open a Nationwide current account, cos not only that they don’t have charges for foreign use, but because they’re a mutual which is a good fit for STW’s (and my) lefty leanings. And I work there, full disclosure.

However, another way to look at it is not to stress it, just use the debit card you have to pay or take cash out. You’ll pay a fee, sure, but unless you’re some sort of high roller it won’t come to that much in the grand scheme of holiday expense.

In Lake Garda at the moment (which is mint, if not a bit too hot). I opened a foreign account linked to my Natwest current account with a few taps in the app, transferred money across at an OK rate, now paying contactless for everything in euros, couldn’t be easier. My wife did the same with her HSBC account but they send you a separate card to use for some reason, left it too late for it to arrive so she is just using her phone

I got a Chase card last year, you got cashback I think for new customers.

I have traveled a lot for work, and not, and what I have found always works is zero forex fee  credit cards like Halifax Clarity and Barclaycard. As others said above, you get the perfect exchange rate, so it is the cheapest possible option: for more info read the Money Saving Expert website.

For cash I just withdraw what I want from ATMs in the foreign country on my CC. I then transfer an additional payment into the credit card to avoid paying any CC interest – although in reality that is still small compared to the ursury of getting forex in the UK.  And if you really really need the security blanket of taking forex from the UK then order it in advance for collection at the post office or airport – again it’s a lot cheaper than the ripoff of being a walk-in.

And finally, as has also been said above always refuse the offer of convert to GBP on foreign CC transactions and cash withdrawals.