Using my debit card abroad

[momlife3]

Hi. We're travelling to Cyprus next year.
Am I able to use my rbs debit card to make purchases. Will I be charged any fees?
I don't want to take lots of euros but I don't want to fall victim to fraud either.
Can any of you lovely lot advise?

I have a Chase MasterCard that has no foreign currency fees, the exchange rate is the going rate + 0.1%. It’s chipped so works wonderfully on all things from toll booths in France to arcade games at fairs in the Netherlands to independent market stalls in Italy to ferries in Malta to museums in Turkey to noodle stands in China. I earn points for every £ spent that translate into free hotel stays worldwide. It comes with worldwide travel insurance (minus repatriation), car rental insurance, 24/7 travel assistance, and concierge for booking tickets anywhere I go.

Worth getting a Monzo card for this. Regular banks do end up expensive. Monzo is free to use with a very reasonable exchange rate. Great service if you lose the card abroad too

You don't get charged for using your credit or debit card if you find the right card. You don't need a preloaded cash card. See Martin Lewis page for this https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/

I have both a debit and a credit card for travelling. They are so much easier to use than preloaded cards. The debit card is used for cash withdrawal at ATMs and the credit for buying all the stuff.

Chase are great. Used the card and apple pay in a fair few countries (from Caribbean to european) with no issues or fees.

You also get 1% cashback on spending. App is also easy to use.

Looks like some of the credit cards now allow interest free cash withdrawal so you only need one! I'm a bit out of date. But I got the Halifax Clarity and a Starling current account so will continue to use those. But apply for one of the recommended ones.

"I know that Monzo used to have a limit of £250 being spent abroad but that may have changed now."

That's never been the case. They limited cash withdrawals from machines to £200 per month but it's unlikely the OP will need cash. You can spend as much as you like using Monzo

I do too as some places abroad like grocers do not accept credit cards, only debit cards. They definitely do not accept Monzo. Only Visa or MasterCard debits.

Revolut card for this. They find the best exchange rate and no fees.

Monzo is a Mastercard. No issues using it aboard. No charges and no limits as long as the funds are in the account.

Use Monzo but it is my main account so I can use it unlimited with no fees, I think if it’s not your main account (criteria is deposits and DDs but I can’t remember exactly) there is a limit before charges.
I carry about 200e in cash but mostly just use my debit card

HSBC is not great, tbf. I have a foreign currency account with them called a Global Money debit account that is supposed to be fee-free when used abroad. It's operated via the mobile banking app.
You load it up with euros or whatever before you go or while you're abroad via mobile banking, and it is free to use for purchases but we found that to withdraw cash, bank cash machines (in Spain) always added a charge on top, varying from about €2 to €7!

I have the Halifax credit card too. Moneysavingexpert will have the best credit cards to get

Iirc that's just for cash withdrawals not card payments

do too as some places abroad like grocers do not accept credit cards, only debit cards. They definitely do not accept Monzo. Only Visa or MasterCard debits.

Completely untrue. Monzo is a Mastercard. Many people use it as their main bank account as it's so simple and has loads of extra features ;that some other banks are now copying) so simple to transfer money to/from via app. I use it abroad regularly you can use it EVERYWHERE that accepts card payments

I use my debit card abroad all the time, i am with barclays and the fees arent that much

We used our Nationwide debit and credit cards as they didn't have extra fees

https://www.rbs.co.uk/life-moments/travel/spending-abroad.html#will-i-be-charged

I got a Chase Mastercard Debit because we had a couple of trips abroad this year. No fees and a decent exchange rate.

I also have an RBS current account so I just transferred the money I estimated we'd need across to the Chase account before we left, and transferred anything remaining back when we got home. No hassle. I even changed the PIN on the Chase card to the same as my RBS one so I didn't even have to think about it.

If I'd been running low on funds while away then I could have easily used the RBS app to transfer more to Chase. It's also an app based account so you get alerts on spends and can instantly see what your balance is.

That's an expensive way to do it. Open a wise account and use that. It's almost free to exchange money I sue it regularly

*use

We use the post office travel card which you pre load.
Helps us with budgeting.
Charges loads if you withdraw cash though.

"I do too as some places abroad like grocers do not accept credit cards, only debit cards. They definitely do not accept Monzo. Only Visa or MasterCard debits."

And this is why you should never ask for financial advice on social media. What a load of old shit 😅

www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money/#prepaidcards

Martin the Money Expert is the person to ask.

I've just got a Monzo card for travel, as so many people recommended it. It's really easy to transfer funds into.