MONE Y
states that your credit card provider is jointly liable alongside a retailer when you buy something that costs between £100 and £30,000. Tis means you can request a refund from your credit card provider, which is especially useful for overseas purchases as it can be tricky to resolve them when the retailer is in another country.
WHICH DEBIT CARD? Te drawback of a credit card is that you’ll have to pass a credit check to have your application approved and you may need a minimum income. You also can’t predict what credit limit you will be given. Tis is where a debit card may be a better option – some of these don’t require a credit check and may not have minimum income requirements. Want a top-flight debit card to take on your
travels? Tere are a couple of contenders. App-based Starling Bank’s current account comes with a debit card that doesn’t charge foreign exchange or
40
cash withdrawal fees when you use it abroad. It also uses the Mastercard exchange rate and you’ll get instant notifications on your phone of what you’ve spent in the local currency and what it has cost you in British pounds. As a small added bonus, you’ll earn 0.05 per cent
interest on your balance with Starling Bank. Plus, if your card is lost or stolen you can lock it via the app on your phone. However, the bank will perform a credit check before you can open an account. If you don’t want the hassle of getting a new current
account then Currensea is worth a look. Tis is a debit card that uses open banking to link to your existing current account. Tis means no credit checks to get a card. You can then take advantage of its fee-free cash withdrawals of up to £500 a month; there is a 2 per cent fee aſter that. Currensea uses the Mastercard exchange rate but places a 0.5 per cent fee on foreign exchange so the rate won’t be as good as with Starling Bank. You can remove the exchange rate fee by paying £25 a year for the Premium Currensea card. Premium members also pay only 1 per cent on cash withdrawals above £500 a month. BT
Non-sterling cash fee
Barclaycard Rewards credit card
Halifax Clarity credit card
Starling Bank debit card
Currensea debit card
0% 0% 0% 0%
THE BEST CARDS AT A GLANCE Perks
Non-sterling transaction fee
0% 0% 0%
0.5% (0% with Premium card)
Exchange rate
Visa Mastercard Mastercard
0.05% interest; instant spending notifications
Mastercard No need to open a new current account
£500 monthly limit on fee-free cash withdrawals
0.25% cashback; no interest on cash withdrawals if you pay your bill in full
19.9% APR interest on cash withdrawals
Pitfalls
MAY/JUNE 20 2 1
bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om
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