Best Credit Card for overseas use

Nationwide

Nationwide

because of these reasons:

The only reason why I currently support not going into the Euro - as soon as Nationwide stop offering 0% commission/charges on foreign currency transactions, then I want the Euro (if only to stop making banks even more profit from me!).

They claim 0% commission. Is it truly 0% or does that mean they don't add any extra on to what Visa/Mastercard charge? If you compare what you pay for a transaction against the Interbank rate listed online, how much is it off by?

It's 0% - zilch - nothing.

You used to be able to get cash on the Nationwide credit card with no charge and only 0.5% interest treated as a normal purchase but they finished that a while a go. They're still the best CC and ATM for oversease travel.

No they don't and even do not pass on the 1% Visa/Mastercard charge card companies for currency conversion. In my experience the rates have always been very close to interbank rates, though with daily fluctuation in exchange rates (it can move 1-1.5 % in one day), it's sometimes difficult to pin down the interbank rate for the day. The figures quoted on Ceefax page

241 and financial pages are middle London closing price, which isn't necessarily the one used for your conversion, but it's still one of the rates applicable at the time the conversion was made, which could be same day, the day after or even two days after (over a weekend, say). But with Nationwide (together with Liverpool and Victoria in for card use in EU), you will always save at least 2.75% over other cards, plus the 1-1.5% fee charged on cash withdrawals.

Alec

Cheers Guys, Nationwide it is then!

Watch out for "Dynamic Currency Conversion" though, otherwise you won't save anything with a Nationwide card.

DCC is where the retailer's card terminal detects your card is foreign and converts the currency to pounds at the POS, and your card gets billed in pounds. The conversion rate includes a commission that is probably greater than the

2.75% the other cards charge. DCC is used in places like hotels and car hire companies, and touristy places where many customers are foreign.

The retailer is supposed to ask before converting the currency, but in practice many don't (because they get a cut of the commission built into the rate). You have the right to insist on paying in the local currency - so the safest thing to do is always state that you want to be charged in the local currency when handing your card over.

I don't think that's true any more - ISTR they sent me an amendment to the T&C's stating they now use the rate VISA charge them. But they're still much better than all the other high street banks/building socs.

But both VISA and MasterCard (in the US at least, don't know about Europe) are introducing "foreign use" fees as a replacement for part/most of the exchange rate fee, presumably as their profits are getting hit by DCC. Not sure how this will affect things.

This is a good point, but how common is DCC? I travel abroad, mostly in Europe, almost every week and I've never seen it. I do mainly travel on business so I guess I avoid the tourist rip-off locations.

I back the recommendation for the Nationwide card. I have had one for several years and not only are their exchange rates good, I have found their service to be excellent.

A

It not that good, but its within about 0.5% of the interbank rate.

Chris

Very common in the bars in Dublin AIUI !

DG