New credit card with 0% on foreign purchases

[Jill]

The 0% fee is just like anything else - a way of getting you to use the card instead of another card. There is possibly NOTHING SAVED as it all depends on the exchange rate used when they convert from USD to GBP or EUR to GBP or whatever.

The fact is that the fee they would otherwise have charged you is now charged through a worse exchange rate. In my view there is NO such thing as a free lunch

Tom as mentioned in my post above we have one of the new Abbey Zero cards and used it to make a purchase from the States. When we made the purchase I checked xe.com and the rate was 1.63426 when I checked with Abbey the rate received was 1.62103 which I think is a quite favourable rate and better than than the rate from Nationwide which would have been 1.617934.

[FraserLynn]

I think it is hard to beat HSBC- forinstance, last week I took 2,000 RMB out of my account in China and I see on the internet banking it cost my about £182. The next day I took out 2,000 RMB from my Barclays account (used the wrong card) and it cost me a few pence over £205 - poor exchange rate and a charge for the withdrawal!!!

With HSBC, there is never any charge for foreign exchange and they always give the best exchange rates - I would thoroughly recommend them.

Is is for this reason that, after banking with Barclays for over 20 years, I have now moved to HSBC

[berrysmiles]

I have an Abbey zero card and just received a letter from them telling me that it is now rebranded as Santander. Santander have owned Abbey for a number of years now.

Judy

[Robert5988]

I used both my Nationwide credit and debit cards several times between 09 and 22 June and got rates between $1.617 and $1.630.

Incidentally does any area still have ATMs that don't make a transaction charge for withdrawing cash?

The last remaining ATM in my area(that I know of) that used to make no charge - at Publix - now charge $2.00 for a transaction.

[Jill]

In January the ATM in Walmart at the top of John Young did not make a charge when we withdrew cash. Always used to us Publix but have stopped now they charge.

[Pluto]

Do the cash machines in the Parks charge for withdrawing cash. I have a Nationwide Debit Card so intended to use that for cash withdrawals.

[Jill]

We have not drawn cash at the parks for a long time as years ago they used to charge so we always used Publix - but no more as they are now charging.

[Pluto]

Is there anywhere that doesn't charge. I suppose if there is it would need to be local, otherwise by the time you've driven to get the cash, you will have spent the $2 or so saved on petrol!!

[anorak]

SunTrust have never charged me to use my Nationwide Visa debit card, but Bank Of America across the street would like to charge me $5, but of course I have never gone through with a transaction with BOA, tried it once and cancelled it before any charges were made.

[Andrena]

There is no charge at the Sun Trust ATM by the Red Lobster car park, just behind what used to be Splendid China. At least there wasn't when we withdrew cash in mid-May.

We use the Nationwide Card as even with the very small charge we find it gives excellent exchange rates.

Andrena