For ALL Pre-loaded cards / debit cards / credit cards - What is best for travel?

As I have often stated, use two cards abroad. One like Caxton for getting cash at ATMs and a proper credit card like the Post Office Card for everything else from purchases to hotel reservations on booking.com

In reality, I use 3 cards. I usually use a 3rd card, my everyday UK card, a cashback Barclaycard for booking.com reservations, a Santander Zero card for cash at ATMs (no longer available to new customers) and the PO Mastercard for purchases. The latter has a credit limit that is high enough to withstand the pre-authorisations done by hotels when you check in and automated petrol pumps and leave some credit for me to spend!

an update, Santander have reintroduced the Zero card - this makes preload cards redundant if you live in the UK and can pass the credit check. Just load a credit balance and draw cash from any ATM, no fee, no currency commission, any currency, no interest. Also, unlike a preloaded card, if you use it in an automated pump, the pre-authorisation will go against your credit limit, not the cash balance. http://www.santander.co.uk/uk/credit-cards/zero-credit-card
 
Just looked into this too. I went to Nationwide who are getting me a Natinwide Select Plus credit for transaction-free purchases and Nationwide Flexplus Debit for transaction-free ATM withdrawals. Hopefully between them I should be covered.
 
an update, Santander have reintroduced the Zero card - this makes preload cards redundant if you live in the UK and can pass the credit check. Just load a credit balance and draw cash from any ATM, no fee, no currency commission, any currency, no interest. Also, unlike a preloaded card, if you use it in an automated pump, the pre-authorisation will go against your credit limit, not the cash balance. http://www.santander.co.uk/uk/credit-cards/zero-credit-card

No foreign transaction fees on purchases or cash withdrawals made abroad
Use your Zero Credit Card abroad and you won't be charged any foreign transaction fees on purchases or cash withdrawals made in the local currency. Please make sure you choose the local currency option when using your card abroad. If you choose sterling, it means that the retailer or bank will handle the conversion and may charge you a fee.

No fees on cash withdrawals at home and abroad
With the Zero Credit Card, we won't charge you a cash withdrawal fee, giving you peace of mind if you do need to use it for emergencies. However, it's important to remember that interest is charged on cash withdrawals and is charged immediately so there's no interest free period. To keep these interest charges to a minimum, you would need to clear your full balance as well as any recent transactions as soon as possible after the cash withdrawal. Some independent cash machine providers may still charge a fee for using their machine - this is different to a cash withdrawal fee on a credit card.

That might appear to be an issue
 
No foreign transaction fees on purchases or cash withdrawals made abroad
Use your Zero Credit Card abroad and you won't be charged any foreign transaction fees on purchases or cash withdrawals made in the local currency. Please make sure you choose the local currency option when using your card abroad. If you choose sterling, it means that the retailer or bank will handle the conversion and may charge you a fee.

No fees on cash withdrawals at home and abroad
With the Zero Credit Card, we won't charge you a cash withdrawal fee, giving you peace of mind if you do need to use it for emergencies. However, it's important to remember that interest is charged on cash withdrawals and is charged immediately so there's no interest free period. To keep these interest charges to a minimum, you would need to clear your full balance as well as any recent transactions as soon as possible after the cash withdrawal. Some independent cash machine providers may still charge a fee for using their machine - this is different to a cash withdrawal fee on a credit card.

That might appear to be an issue

I only use it for cash withdrawals. I put a credit balance on the card and draw this down so I never pay interest. I use a different card (Post Office) for purchases.

My point is that this card is a better option than the preloaded cards such as Caxton as if you do decide to use it in a fuel pump your cash balance is not affected by the £100 pre-authorisation.
 
an update, Santander have reintroduced the Zero card - this makes preload cards redundant if you live in the UK and can pass the credit check. Just load a credit balance and draw cash from any ATM, no fee, no currency commission, any currency, no interest. Also, unlike a preloaded card, if you use it in an automated pump, the pre-authorisation will go against your credit limit, not the cash balance. http://www.santander.co.uk/uk/credit-cards/zero-credit-card
This sounds like an excellent idea and I seriously considered applying. However, I've just spent 45 minutes on the phone talking to various people in various departments at Santander trying to find out how their exchange rate is calculated. No-one could tell me. It's like applying for a loan and not knowing the interest rate till afterwards.
If I look on FairFX's app it tells me that today £1 buys €1.114, clear and simple. I know rates change daily and that tomorrow's rate may be different, but no-one at Santander could tell me what today's exchange rate is, they couldn't even say 'Ah well, it's usually x% below the Bank of England rate'. The best the advisor on the phone could say was to apply for it and look on the statement!
That's great if my €100 bill costs me £90 to settle (£1/€1.114) but not so good if it's going to cost £200 for example.
The fact that there are no charges, other than those noted above, kind of suggests to me that they make their money from giving poor exchange rates.
So, a question to those that have a Zero Card: How does the exchange rate compare generally, is it favourable or is it poor?
Many thanks,
Mick.

Edit:
Just downloaded their terms and conditions and found this, although it doesn't state that that is the rate they will actually use:

653af54a101990e8e6cafa74db901f9b.jpg
 
For feck's sake, just how many thousands of pounds do you intend to load with each transaction that makes knowing the rate today (for transactions you might make in the future) so vital?

Tell you what, buy one less beer in the rip-off tourist bar, frequented by like minded bikermates and you'll make up the difference.
 
However, I've just spent 45 minutes on the phone talking to various people in various departments at Santander trying to find out how their exchange rate is calculated....

Thanks Wap, helpful as always!


45 minutes on the phone at whatever you charge an hour, waiting for some chimp to tell you something. You'll have spent whatever it is you are trying to save. All whilst the answer you sought was on the page in front of you:

^ Mastercard exchange rate of €1 = £0.875944 as at 1 June 2017
The exchange rates reflect the rate applicable when the relevant payment scheme (Mastercard or Visa) processed the transaction and not the date on which the transaction took place.

If you are given the option of paying in either local currency or sterling, please make sure you choose local currency unless you are certain that the exchange rate is more favourable. If you choose sterling, it means that the retailer or bank will handle the conversion and may charge you a conversion fee, a foreign usage fee, or both.

When you use your credit card to buy goods or services in a currency other than sterling, we will convert the amount into sterling using the exchange rate set by Visa or Mastercard (subject to card type) on the date the transaction is charged to your account, together with any applicable foreign usage fees as set out in the table above.

So, go ask Visa and / or MasterCard what their exchange rates are and then compare them with whatever bank or banks you like to chose. Then work out how much you'll lose / gain each time you move £10 or £10,000,000.

Happy to have helped.
 
Not really, would you for example apply for a loan that you didn't know the interest rate of? If Santander are offering a substantially lower exchange rate than the pre-paid cards that I already have then it would be foolish to change don't you agree? Not penny pinching at all, merely trying to make an informed decision. Sorry if that offends anyone!
 
Edit:
Just downloaded their terms and conditions and found this, although it doesn't state that that is the rate they will actually use:

653af54a101990e8e6cafa74db901f9b.jpg


It won't, will it? That document is a "key terms" pdf that is only edited once in a blue moon. Santander do not fix the rate, Mastercard does. Santander add Zero, fuck all, etc etc to the rate they get from the card provider. This rate fluctuates in real time but transactions are generally entered on the account at a set rate each day. Every Mastercard will use the same base rate each day, with or without a loading from the card issuer.
Just for clarity as you seem to be struggling still. Mastercard set the conversion rate each day. You can look this up every day, on the Mastercard website. Santander add abso-fucking-lutely nothing to that rate and do not need to know the daily rate as Mastercard does the sums for them.
 
Not really, would you for example apply for a loan that you didn't know the interest rate of? If Santander are offering a substantially lower exchange rate than the pre-paid cards that I already have then it would be foolish to change don't you agree? Not penny pinching at all, merely trying to make an informed decision. Sorry if that offends anyone!


So, now you know that (not surpridingly, perhaps) Santander track the Visa / Masercard exchange rates, is you going to place your neck on the block?
 
... Santander add Zero, fuck all, etc etc to the rate they get from the card provider. This rate fluctuates in real time but transactions are generally entered on the account at a set rate each day. Every Santander add abso-fucking-lutely nothing to that rate and do not need to know the daily rate as Mastercard does the sums for them.

That's all I wanted to know. Fuck me drunk, we got there in the end! What I couldn't get my head around was that the bods at Santander didn't know and couldn't tell me that!
 
I only use it for cash withdrawals. I put a credit balance on the card and draw this down so I never pay interest. I use a different card (Post Office) for purchases....
.

Wessie, do you use the Santander 'app' to load funds onto your card from a current account. If so, how long does it take for those funds to become available, is it instant or do you have to pre load it before you go away to give it time to clear.

Answers from people other than Wessie will be ignored
 
Wessie, do you use the Santander 'app' to load funds onto your card from a current account. If so, how long does it take for those funds to become available, is it instant or do you have to pre load it before you go away to give it time to clear.

Answers from people other than Wessie will be ignored

I have a current account with Halifax that my wages go into. Halifax & Santander are part of the FAST payment scheme. I simply transfer money from the current account into the Santander Zero account. This is usually there straight away, like any other FAST payment.
I have set up the Halifax account to have my Zero account as a payee - this means I can transfer funds using the Halifax Android app or Halifax website with a couple of clicks.

Santander don't make it easy to put credit funds onto the card - easy to pay off a balance with a debit card don't have a mechanism to upload credit funds. So, just remove Santander from the equation and use the source account to transfer funds. Computers are happy to transfer funds if you use a generic Santander sort code and account no. then add your 16 digit Mastercard no. in the reference box. Halifax knew the generic details once I put Santander into the payee box.

The only time I use the wanky Santander website is to check my transactions at the end of a trip. I usually stick £500 on the card which has always been enough for 7-10 days away as it's only beer & food paid in cash. Fuel, wine tours & hotels go on another Mastercard. For the trip ending last weekend, I have over £200 credit on the card which I can withdraw as cash or, as I did a few minutes ago, use to pay for groceries etc.
 
I have a current account with Halifax that my wages go into. Halifax & Santander are part of the FAST payment scheme. I simply transfer money from the current account into the Santander Zero account. This is usually there straight away, like any other FAST payment.
I have set up the Halifax account to have my Zero account as a payee - this means I can transfer funds using the Halifax Android app or Halifax website with a couple of clicks.

Santander don't make it easy to put credit funds onto the card - easy to pay off a balance with a debit card don't have a mechanism to upload credit funds. So, just remove Santander from the equation and use the source account to transfer funds. Computers are happy to transfer funds if you use a generic Santander sort code and account no. then add your 16 digit Mastercard no. in the reference box. Halifax knew the generic details once I put Santander into the payee box.

The only time I use the wanky Santander website is to check my transactions at the end of a trip. I usually stick £500 on the card which has always been enough for 7-10 days away as it's only beer & food paid in cash. Fuel, wine tours & hotels go on another Mastercard. For the trip ending last weekend, I have over £200 credit on the card which I can withdraw as cash or, as I did a few minutes ago, use to pay for groceries etc.
Brilliant info, thanks 👍
 


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