Starling give interest on the account/card I use.
For ALL Pre-loaded cards / debit cards / credit cards - What is best for travel?
- Thread starter 47Steve
- Start date
I get interest too but I wouldn’t say no to points/cashback on purchases while fee free overseas
plus you would be spending Barclays' money, have S75 cover and earning interest on your own cash until the bill was paid, possibly 7 weeks after you made the purchase
I'm delving into getting another credit card purely to use on trips/holidays and to register on Booking.com to pay for accommodation in Euros, without paying any foreign currency transaction fees. There is an absolute blizzard of information out there and my very small brain is overloaded and I can't find answers 'online' to some of the questions below.
These are my 'wants' etc:
I want a credit card, not a debit card or some type of bolt-on thing to my existing credit card.
I will pay the full amount off each month.
No foreign currency purchase fees either when abroad for purchases or when paying for hotels on Booking.com in Euros etc.
I assume this is standard but I want to pay larger amounts off ASAP (I will have collected the money from my Bikermates for the hotels).
I don't care much about cashback on purchases or having a 0% interest period.
Thanking you in anticipation of your recommendations.
These are my 'wants' etc:
I want a credit card, not a debit card or some type of bolt-on thing to my existing credit card.
I will pay the full amount off each month.
No foreign currency purchase fees either when abroad for purchases or when paying for hotels on Booking.com in Euros etc.
I assume this is standard but I want to pay larger amounts off ASAP (I will have collected the money from my Bikermates for the hotels).
I don't care much about cashback on purchases or having a 0% interest period.
Thanking you in anticipation of your recommendations.
Got both the Halifax Clarity CC and the Santander Zero CC
Not sure if Santander still issue that one
Both great abroad, Europe USA, just pay in local currency, get a better exchange rate, no fees unless cash withdrawls
Can see the exchange rate change each transaction with the markets
Pay off as I go along with banking app
Only used the Halifax one for booking.com in the UK but in the local currency (Euros) as I book ahead
Not sure if Santander still issue that one
Both great abroad, Europe USA, just pay in local currency, get a better exchange rate, no fees unless cash withdrawls
Can see the exchange rate change each transaction with the markets
Pay off as I go along with banking app
Only used the Halifax one for booking.com in the UK but in the local currency (Euros) as I book ahead
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A second for the Halifax card, good exchange rate and no fees when in Johnny Foreigner land.
For ease, the Halifax Clarity card. I have two, one as the main card, the other as a spare.
The Barclays Bank card does much the same thing but it can mean dealing with Barclays, which (if my experience is anything to go by) is just another form of hell.
The Barclays Bank card does much the same thing but it can mean dealing with Barclays, which (if my experience is anything to go by) is just another form of hell.
Yes, I was leaning towards the Barclaycard Rewards Visa but that was the overall picture in the forums etc.
Everything you just described is available via Curve, but with the added benefit that it just ‘fronts’ your existing card(s). Zero exchange fees and just use your existing credit card so you can pay off immediately or in bits. It also now comes with s75 protection.
If I were taking a bunch away and was effectively funding their jaunt, until I was repaid, I’d keep the accounts and cards very separate. Not least, I have completely separate cards, even for myself. All my regular bank cards I leave at home, untouched.
Another and very simple alternative is to use Tricount, which is very transparent. It also has the advantage that anyone on the jaunt can put in an expense. We use it at Le Mans and at Spa, along with other jaunts. It’s simple and very reliable. Then you can use whatever card takes your fancy and / or use cash. Highly recommended.
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If you are paying large hotel bills for your friends then use the newish Natwest Visa card that pays 1% cashback (travel related purchases only) for a little perk. I also book hotels using Topcashback to redirect to Hotels.com or similar. I am completely open with my friends about these kickbacks and they see it as a little reward for the effort I put into planning their holiday. It probably works out as one free night on the trip for me if we are using 4 rooms over 10 days.
Personally, I only book rooms where we can settle the bill locally and each traveller settles their own bill. This allows people to charge drinks etc to their room without impacting me. I book the best cancellation terms which costs us extra as people always pull out.
Are all of your friends happy to pay you via bank transfer from UK accounts? Mates wanting to pay cash whilst on holiday are a PITA. It's not so easy to pay cash into accounts whilst abroad. I think all of my travellers have banking apps on phones to make transfers easy. If you need to do those transfers in euros etc, then look at apps like Revolut and Wise, where you can hold balances on local currency and send people "invoices" for money owed.
Personally, I only book rooms where we can settle the bill locally and each traveller settles their own bill. This allows people to charge drinks etc to their room without impacting me. I book the best cancellation terms which costs us extra as people always pull out.
Are all of your friends happy to pay you via bank transfer from UK accounts? Mates wanting to pay cash whilst on holiday are a PITA. It's not so easy to pay cash into accounts whilst abroad. I think all of my travellers have banking apps on phones to make transfers easy. If you need to do those transfers in euros etc, then look at apps like Revolut and Wise, where you can hold balances on local currency and send people "invoices" for money owed.
Yes, I book the hotels and just before Booking.com take payment from my card they send me the money by bank transfer, which I then transfer into our joint account which is used to pay (her, technically) credit card. Tesco charge 2.99% for the privilege and Metrobank recently introduced a similar charge for petrol/food etc. charges. on the debit card that used to be free. I'm certain they would not object to me getting a little cashback as they are well aware how weary it can be - I tell them all the time
Tricount really would suit you and your friends down to the ground.
You can enter various currencies. For example, if someone bought a round of coffees, when waiting for the Chunnel, they’d enter their bill in GBP. Then if another bod, picked up a round of drinks in the bar in Calais, on night one, they’d enter their bill in euro. Then on day two, if someone picks up the lunch bill in Dijon, they’d enter it in euro. The app makes the currency conversion, taking everything back into the home currency, presumably in your case GBP.
Similarly, if only two bods out of say the eight of you, picked up a debt that didn’t invoke the other six, the app allows them to say, “This debt is only for me and Andy”. The app will make the adjustment, leaving out the other six fellows.
Then at the end of the trip, the app gives a suggested division of the various debts and provides an accurate / fair basis of who owes who what. Likewise, it displays the same each time an expense is added. It is a thing of genius, equal to the propelling pencil and shoe laces.
PS You do NOT need to use the credit card that Tricount now push. Nobody I know does. It’s no different to say, Amazon or a host of others, pushing their cards. Just ignore it.
You can enter various currencies. For example, if someone bought a round of coffees, when waiting for the Chunnel, they’d enter their bill in GBP. Then if another bod, picked up a round of drinks in the bar in Calais, on night one, they’d enter their bill in euro. Then on day two, if someone picks up the lunch bill in Dijon, they’d enter it in euro. The app makes the currency conversion, taking everything back into the home currency, presumably in your case GBP.
Similarly, if only two bods out of say the eight of you, picked up a debt that didn’t invoke the other six, the app allows them to say, “This debt is only for me and Andy”. The app will make the adjustment, leaving out the other six fellows.
Then at the end of the trip, the app gives a suggested division of the various debts and provides an accurate / fair basis of who owes who what. Likewise, it displays the same each time an expense is added. It is a thing of genius, equal to the propelling pencil and shoe laces.
PS You do NOT need to use the credit card that Tricount now push. Nobody I know does. It’s no different to say, Amazon or a host of others, pushing their cards. Just ignore it.
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Revolut in the news today, but not in a good way.
www.bbc.co.uk
I believe @Doc is one of those victims
Revolut customers say e-money firm failed them after being scammed
Revolut was named in more complaints about fraud last year than any of the UK’s biggest banks or e-money services.
www.bbc.co.uk
I believe @Doc is one of those victims
I was pal but after much persistence and reporting it I got it all back.Revolut in the news today, but not in a good way.
Revolut customers say e-money firm failed them after being scammed
Revolut was named in more complaints about fraud last year than any of the UK’s biggest banks or e-money services.
I believe @Doc is one of those victims
Reading down the BBC report, it seems that the fellow was tricked from the start into giving away his details (a classic and seemingly simple scam):
but Revolut then seemingly compounded the issue. The rest of it doesn’t make too attractive reading.
That aside:
Don’t access any bank accounts (or sensitive documents) via a ‘public’ or ‘shared’ wifi channel and don’t believe bods who phone you up, send you a text or ping in an email, no matter how real they might look or sound.
but Revolut then seemingly compounded the issue. The rest of it doesn’t make too attractive reading.
That aside:
Don’t access any bank accounts (or sensitive documents) via a ‘public’ or ‘shared’ wifi channel and don’t believe bods who phone you up, send you a text or ping in an email, no matter how real they might look or sound.
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By what it says in the article, "Jack" did almost everything wrong.
I don't want to say Revolut shouldn't be more mindful but:
This is scam 101.
This guy would have been scammed out of his money on any other digital bank, but also traditional ones most probably.
I don't want to say Revolut shouldn't be more mindful but:
This is scam 101.
This guy would have been scammed out of his money on any other digital bank, but also traditional ones most probably.
I just closed my Revolut account after transferring all funds held back into my usual bank account. My wife has just tried to do the same but needs to speak to a human as the app won’t let her close her account.
I’ve heard one too many bad tales now to want to use them again be it employee treatment, poor customer service or risk of being defrauded.
I’ve heard one too many bad tales now to want to use them again be it employee treatment, poor customer service or risk of being defrauded.
I've heard a lot of stories about employee treatment – at the time I was interviewing with them and I wanted to pull out of the process, but managed to fail the interview magnificently before that
The second interview was around dinner time (8pm) and the guy was destroyed.
Gotta grind.
recently opened a Starling account, for 2 reasons. Firstly, it allows me to bank the cheque on the app that DVLA sent me for the old bike VED refund. Nationwide, you really need to enter the 21st century and allow this on your app if you aren't willing to join the local Banking Hub.
Second reason is that Kroo are ending their zero commission on foreign transactions next month. This is an app based current account I use as a secondary account as it pays over 4% and gave me free cash withdrawals overseas. I only have the free Nwide account and this charges 3% fees on foreign transactions. The Flexplus account does not work for me due to the insurance medical surcharge.
So, for my trip to Spain in May I will primarily use the Natwest Travel credit card for purchases as it gives 1% cashback and has no fees. I have the Halifax Clarity card as a back up. Both of these are in google pay on my phone as well. These work well and have been stress tested in France, Germany and Austria last year. Double back up is a Virgin card secreted in my trousers.
I just needed a way to access cash as cheaply as possible on holiday and Starling seems to fit that bill. Online access, no credit check, just ID verification, free card (unlike Wise who charge for a card to use in an ATM). No immunity from the fees Spanish ATMs want, 8 euros with Santander. Apparently, one needs to use Google maps and search out a branch of Unicaja for zero fees in Spanish ATMs.
I will report back on how the Starling card works out. Although, as I am travelling solo and not splitting restaurant bills with septuagenarians who like cash to split the bill, I won't need much cash. The 53 euros I have in hand might last me the 2 weeks!
Second reason is that Kroo are ending their zero commission on foreign transactions next month. This is an app based current account I use as a secondary account as it pays over 4% and gave me free cash withdrawals overseas. I only have the free Nwide account and this charges 3% fees on foreign transactions. The Flexplus account does not work for me due to the insurance medical surcharge.
So, for my trip to Spain in May I will primarily use the Natwest Travel credit card for purchases as it gives 1% cashback and has no fees. I have the Halifax Clarity card as a back up. Both of these are in google pay on my phone as well. These work well and have been stress tested in France, Germany and Austria last year. Double back up is a Virgin card secreted in my trousers.
I just needed a way to access cash as cheaply as possible on holiday and Starling seems to fit that bill. Online access, no credit check, just ID verification, free card (unlike Wise who charge for a card to use in an ATM). No immunity from the fees Spanish ATMs want, 8 euros with Santander. Apparently, one needs to use Google maps and search out a branch of Unicaja for zero fees in Spanish ATMs.
I will report back on how the Starling card works out. Although, as I am travelling solo and not splitting restaurant bills with septuagenarians who like cash to split the bill, I won't need much cash. The 53 euros I have in hand might last me the 2 weeks!
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