Best no fee foreign purchases credit card

[Flobochin]

Looking for recommendation for a Best no fee foreign purchases credit card.

Ta

Think ours is nationwide

Nationwide isn't free abroad anymore I don't think? We have a Barclaycard for abroad, but I think it was a special offer when we opened the account. Money Savings Expert will have an updated list though.

There you go:
www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/

I got a Halifax one as it was recommended. The only catch is that once you make the purchase, you need to transfer the money onto the credit card immediately or else you'll pay interest from day one.

Halifax Clarity card.
Confused by previous comment- I spend on it and then pay it off at the end of the month by DD - no interest.

The credit card I have for nationwide doesn't have fees for purchases. The debit card I have didn't have a fee for cash advances. Maybe it depends which card you have

Is it not cash advances that incur interest from day 1 rather than purchases ?

Revolut is great. Not a credit card exactly - more like a current account/debit card for transactions in any currency. No transaction fees and exchange rate should be better than CC company would use. Depends if you want the credit part of the card, or low costs ...

Revolut, linked to a credit card. Has made our holiday so much easier.

Is it not cash advances that incur interest from day 1 rather than purchases ?

Yes, I may have gotten that assways.

I got it as I didn't want to be carrying loads of cash with me, and could use it without charges. The only thing would be if I used it to withdraw cash, I'd have to transfer money from my current account to cover it on the same day.

I got a ridiculously high rate of interest on it, so you'd need to be on the ball with transferring the money to cover the cash withdrawals.
I believe it has a good conversion rate too and no fees for purchases or withdrawals. (The Halifax one that is).

TransferWise. Not a credit card, but you can set up an account into which you transfer pounds and they're converted to [whatever currency] at a very low cost. You can then use your transferwise debit card to spend that money. Halifax clarity credit card is the best around (0 commission) at the moment.

PS I also thought you'd have to pay off credit card in full to avoid interest on a cash withdrawal, because they'll put your payment against previous purchases in the order they happened, won't they??

Halifax clarity is one of the best 0 interest if paid in full plus you get the daily spot rate when used, which can be about an extra £40 per 1k per holiday

I've just applied for a Barclaycard platinum cashback card for this reason. No fees for purchases or cash withdrawals abroad.

I've just switched from a Halifax Clarity card to a Starling current account, with a Santander Zero credit card as a back up, and also for hire car use. This is just for overseas spending and separate to my normal current account.

Reason being that you need to quickly pay off the credit card to not be charged interest, also cash withdrawal is seen as a negative on your credit file, and many of the places I use overseas still charge extra for credit cards, despite it being illegal in the EU.

My Halifax credit limit is only £1k, which is often insufficient when paying for accomodation and activities in addition to food and drink etc, so I now stick a lump of money in my Starling account and spend from that - totally fee free for paying by card and withdrawing cash. I would use the Santander Zero credit card for the hire car deposit and as a back up if I lost the Starling card.

Creation credit card is good

@Walkacrossthesand

I have an acct with transferwise, can you explain the card please and how I use it overseas when travelling.

I don't have one myself, but w friend told me her post office credit card had no international fees on.

@Flobochin , it took a bit of clicking around the website, but essentially you order a debit card - as part of that, you set up a 'borderless account' which means you can transfer and convert GBP into whatever currency, at their usual good rates. Then, you can make purchases using the debit card against that currency, topping up as needed. I saw that the limit is £300 ish in 30 days, after that there's a 2% charge.
The website says there are delays in card issuing but mine came within a few days.

@Walkacrossthesand

Thanks, that's sort of what I thought, will see about getting one ordered.

I have a Halifax credit card. I've traveled to lots of different places & never had any issues. I've also used it to take money out of ATMs abroad. I pay it off as soon as I return home, so that I don't receive any charges.
If you have online banking you can add the start & end date of your travels & the destination, so that your bank is aware when you are abroad
There is more info on money saving expert website

A Monzo is fantastic - you can withdraw up to £250 cash a day with no fees. Any foreign purchases with the card are also fee-free.
You can also get real-time view of what you’re spending, in a handy little app. And if you manage to lose your card, you can freeze it on the app straight away.

I’ve used mine for a few foreign holidays now and it’s been just the ticket.

It’s a debit card though, not a credit card, so you wouldn’t be protected by the normal credit card Section 75 protection on purchases greater than £100.

@anxiousplanner do you have to top up the card with £ before you can use it?