What Debit/Credit Card Do You Use When Travelling To The UK?

[HuskerChica]

My daughter 21 y o was in UK entire summer 2023 and used Chase Sapphire Visa everywhere no issues all over even rural Scotland. I was along for 2 weeks and tried to use my AMEX in London several times as that used to be “the card” but it was not accepted used Chase Sapphire Visa which had a great promo to sign up!

 

[Argus]

My DW and I are currently living in Dublin for her w*rk assignment. We use Barclay's American Airlines and FNBO Amtrak cards for purchases and points, both have no transaction charges.

Debit card is always locked. Trying to convince my brother to not use his debit card for purchases (he's anti-credit card given bad debt experience). He's slowly coming around...

Consider ordering foreign currency through your bank, where you'll get the best exchange rate. I ordered euros from Bank of America in a variety of values and a few days later went and picked it up at my local branch. Hassle free. Airport and ATM's offer the worst exchange rates, but are convenient. Depending how long your travelling having cash sometimes comes in handy, for like buying a bottled water and such. In Ireland taxi drivers prefer cash but will take credit cards.

 

[audreyh1]

Unless you have some high customer status ordering foreign currency from your bank is generally not a good idea as they will give you a very poor exchange rate. Much better to use a no fee (especially no foreign transaction fee) ATM card and withdraw the cash in the country you are visiting.

 

[imnontrad]

I had Visa, Mastercard and American Express on my trip last year. I think I used my Chase Sapphire and my Capital One Venture X for my charges though. You will find that most of the UK is cashless.

 

[tulak]

I opened a Wise account (formerly Travel Wise), not for travel purposes, but for personal reasons.

I briefly compared their rate to Visa’s exchange rate and the Wise rate was better. Wise offers a debit card that you could use specifically for travel. It might be a better deal, but it could also be somewhat of a hassle vs using a regular credit card.

One downside with Wise is that you have to be careful with the fees. The fees are small, but they can add up.

 

[Argus]

Unless you have some high customer status ordering foreign currency from your bank is generally not a good idea as they will give you a very poor exchange rate. Much better to use a no fee (especially no foreign transaction fee) ATM card and withdraw the cash in the country you are visiting.

That's unfortunate you had this experience. But you didn't bother to mention which financial institution gave you such a terrible exchange rate.

Regardless, you are wrong on both accounts for my situation; I am not a high net worth BoA customer and they gave me the best exchange rate, and no fee to order the currency.

I think a better response from you would have been with a suggestion the OP do their due diligence. Don't assume every situation matches yours.

 

[tulak]

I agree with Audrey on this point, most banks will give you a worst rate than using a credit card. In some cases, you also have to be aware of the spread, which can be fairly large.

But glad you found a better deal. As always, this is a good thing to check for yourself, keeping in mind that rates can fluctuate quite a bit over short time spans.

 

[Mountain Climber]

Schwab ATM/debit card for cash withdrawals and Cap One Quicksilver Visa (1.5% cashback) for all other purchases. The Quicksilver card is great because it has no surcharges or fees for international purchases and exactly matches the daily currency conversion rate.

+1 on the Cap One Quicksilver Visa card. I've been using it for years for overseas trips. I've never had an issue with it, and always receive the daily conversion rate. For us frugal types, it's a no-fee card!

 

[audreyh1]

That's unfortunate you had this experience. But you didn't bother to mention which financial institution gave you such a terrible exchange rate.

Regardless, you are wrong on both accounts for my situation; I am not a high net worth BoA customer and they gave me the best exchange rate, and no fee to order the currency.

I think a better response from you would have been with a suggestion the OP do their due diligence. Don't assume every situation matches yours.

Bank of America charged me a 7% premium via their exchange rate over the going exchange rate many years ago when I bought Euros from them.

P.S. I prefer that you not tell me how to respond or what not to assume.