UKC

I'm heading out to the Alps this summer (France, Italy and Switzerland) and don't want to carry loads of Euros or Francs. Which card that offers no charges for use would you recommend that covers all three countries.

Cheers, Ttb

I'm with Barclays and use their Travel Wallet feature - just transfer funds from current account to wallet and use card as normal, with it paying in euros rather than pounds. There are euro and dollar versions - not sure if there's one for Switzerland.

Thanks for that, I'll look into it. I'm with Lloyds and didn't realise that some high street banks offered this service.

I use a halifax credit card (clarity?) which is intended for foreign travel and doesn't charge a fee for international payments. Can also be used as a normal credit card at home and obviously has an app to monitor spending. (I use a normal debit card for cash withdrawals, but these days most payments are by card)

That said historically MasterCard isn't always the best option for France.

Anyone got any tips on if I should be looking to get a visa card instead for my upcoming trip and if so which one?

I’ve used Caxton for years. Dead easy to setup and move funds in. Works just like a normal debit card after that.

Ive used it no issue in Norway, France, Switzerland and Australia.

I have a Halifax Clarity credit card for travel, but the Barclaycard one is better if you need to withdraw cash (but try not to if you can avoid it):

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/destinations/

And ALWAYS PAY IN EUROS and let your bank sort out the exchange rate!

I'm a big fan of revolut.

As far as I'm aware you can use it anywhere (certainly where you plan on going).

You can exchange money for free and at the exchange rate.

No changes when using it in any country.

It also pairs with my garmin so I can pay with that which is handy.

Monzo is another good option, but cash withdrawal is now limited to a few hundred euro a month. Debit card use is unlimited. 

Another Monzo user here. 

As someone else said, there is a limit on the amount of cash you can withdraw now, but for the areas you are talking about I don't think that will be a problem.

Many thanks, lots of very useful info here.

I'll take time this eve to take a proper look.

Cheers

I’ve used Wise a few years.  Also comes with an app that tracks your card use.  You can also setup virtual cards and freeze cards in the app.

Based on my own experience, I strongly advise you avoid Fairfx. 

I've traveled around Europe for 6-8 years or more without using cash -- only a standard bank issued mastercard.

What do these other cards offer?  Is it just no foreign-currency fee or something?  If that is the case, then isn't there a catch like the exchange rate is higher to compensate?

I try to have two different cards...

I've been places where visa has gone down but not mastercard, (and similar) and had a card frozen because of fraudulent activity on it (this was an appropriate action....) and other odd times where systems take a dislike to one or the other....

Without a backup life could be really awkward...

Obviously if one gives a better deal use that unless there is an issue.

The Halifax one I mentioned doesn't charge a fee for using abroad so compared to my standard cards it saves me money with every transaction, although as with any c.card don't use it to withdraw cash.

I also like having a 'spare' c.card for emergencies - such as if the bank cancels the card due to suspicious activity. Been with them for ages and not had any problems, was also handy in the pandemic to separate shopping I did for others from my own (rather than saving receipts).

Typically a bank will charge a fee of a few percent on every non-Sterling transaction. If you're happy with that, all well and good, but there are many options now that reduce that cost a lot. Transferwise (now just called Wise), Mondo and Revolut seem to be the ones that spearheaded the movement maybe 10 years ago. I have a Wise account and now use it as my main bank account. If I want to use the card in countries with different currencies, I just open an account in that currency - takes seconds on the app. Then when I transfer money, or even just pay in a different currency and let it convert itself, it costs 1/2 to 1%.

Thanks very much for the info folks.

Sounds like I should look into some of those options.

Another Clarity user here, eleven years and counting as a happy customer.  There are no transaction fees, and it uses the same exchange rate as any other Mastercard credit card transaction, so no hidden costs either.  I find it useful as well for paying for stuff or services online when buying from abroad.  For example, I use it to pay my cloud storage provider's fees in US dollars.  Again, no foreign currency transaction fees, and no worries about funky exchange rates.

For cash withdrawals I have a Chase current account with a Mastercard debit card which works pretty much the same way as the Clarity card: no transaction fees, and it uses the same Mastercard exchange rates as any other card transaction.  It's pretty much the only thing I use that card for, so I keep very little money in the account most of the time, and just move some in from my day-to-day account before I travel in case I do need to withdraw cash (which is becoming less and less common).

I'd echo LastBoyScout's advice as well: never, ever take the option to pay in sterling.  Martin Lewis explains why here: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money/#tip2

Halifax clarity 

I also have been a Wise user for a number of years - no problems so far, though curiously I was asked for the first time ever whether I wanted to pay in Euros or GBP last week in Spain; usually it automatically takes it from the local wallet.

I’ve just opened a First Direct account for the no fee on foreign transactions debit card. They gave me £175 for opening the account and access to a 7% savings account which I haven’t taken up yet. 

Revolut is good, very easy to use, but if you're on their standard (free) account and spend more than £1000 in a month abroad they charge a 1% fee on additional transactions.

Starling Bank don't charge for overseas transactions. I use them for my main bank account, so there's no need to move money about whilst travelling. 

Halifax Clarity and Starling debit card.

Prefer the Starling for most transactions as you can track usage on the app, limit the amount of money accessible on the card, disable the card if you lose it or it's stolen, (and enable it again when you find it...). I use Starling for my nomal UK purchases as well, all sorts of clever stuff like virtual cards for online use etc.

The free Revolut option has restrictions on the amount of cash you can take out, so bear that in mind.

Rather than reject the transaction if there is insufficient local currency, Wise will take from other currencies where you have a balance, and apply their usual conversion rates as required.

These "new bank" cards all seem very competitive and have lots of interesting features like virtual cards. I'm happy with Wise and the debit card, keep some cash in their interest account and transfer to other currencies as required.

I think a lot of banks aren't charging international fees on debit card transactions, so you may not need a separate card.  Check with your bank and what conversion rate applies. 

They make their money on the exchange rates not the fees.  So you can have low feees and not good exchange rates compared with others. It’s a trade off  

Can be better to load up a load of euros on a prepay card and burn through that. 

We used pre loaded debit cards before switching to the Halifax Clarity. It was a pita trying to guess how much money we would need for a trip and then having to keep the card active or change back afterwards. The main reason we gave up on them though was that as a couple we both wanted to access funds and at the time couldn't get a second card linked to the one account.

Also the OP needs the flexibility of two currencies (/sarcasm. selfish Switzerland not having adopted the Euro), so any card tied into a single currency is going to be a nuisance. Plus having used it extensively in multiple countries I wouldn't say the Halifax exchange rates are bad, you always lose it when changing money but at least with a c.card you only change what you actually need.

You get a slightly better deal with Monzo in terms of withdrawals if you bank with them as your main bank (as I do).  However withdrawing cash is increasingly a niche activity - for one, when I went to Iceland a couple of years back I didn't bother with cash at all.

Card is very widely accepted in Switzerland by the way, probably a bit less so in the other two but it could mean no need for any CHF cash.

A million times this.  DCC isn't offered to be nice, it's offered because the rate is crap so they make money!  Always, always decline it.

I use chase debit card , u get the bank rate on the day and no charges on spending 

Barclaycard rewards (?) credit card. Free cash withdrawal and free card use , the important thing is it gives you the interbank exchange rate, no fee, no commission. Just make sure you pay any cash withdrawal before the end of the month otherwise you’ll get stung hard. When asked, don’t take the exchange rate the atm or card machine is offering you, always take it in local currency eg you’re in Europe so pay in euros. 

Alternatively use Revolut for debit stuff. If you exchange during business hours you get the interbank rate for free up to £1000 per month I think (depending on your plan, this is for the free one). You just open a new currency on your app and exchange the money on there. I don’t think it’s free to withdraw from an atm though