CHOOSING the right bank can be the difference between a hefty bill just for spending money on holiday and a fee-free trip.
Lots of banks and building societies will charge you a transaction fee if you use your card for shopping or withdrawing cash in another country.
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While the fees may look small, often around 2%, you’ll be charged for every single transaction - and that can soon mount up.
For example, according to Lloyds' Bank's calculator, if you spent 100 euros on your debit card, you'd pay a 2.99% transaction fee - equivalent to £2.57.
But now, plenty of current account providers have fee-free offers, which can mean significant savings on your travel.
For instance, Lloyd’s has just announced that it will remove fees for its Silver and Platinum packaged account holders.
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Here’s our list of all the banks and building societies that won’t charge you for using your debit card abroad.
Cumberland Building Society
Cumberland Building Society doesn’t charge you for using your Visa debit card abroad, but you do have to tell them your travel dates and destination.
You can do that either through the mobile banking app, by logging onto internet banking, on the phone, or in a branch.
This is crucial, as if you forget to update the building society, you will not be able to use your card to pay or withdraw cash in another country at all.
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Switch bank accounts for free perks
Chase Bank
You can use your Chase card to pay for things or withdraw cash outside the UK without paying any additional fees.
It says it will apply the current Mastercard exchange rate to any purchases you make in the local currency.
You'll need to check that payments abroad are switched on in the app. To do this, follow these steps:
- tap on on "Manage card"
- head to "Card controls' and you'll see the 'Payments outside UK" option
- switch on payments abroad
Danske Bank
Depending on which bank account you have, your Danske Bank debit card might be free for both spending abroad and cash withdrawals.
The accounts that are fee-free are:
- Danske Reward
- Danske Freedom
- Danske Choice Plus
- Danske Prestige
However, if you have Danske Discovery, Choice or Freedom accounts, you will have to pay 2.75% of the value of any purchases as a transaction fee, and 2.75% of any cash withdrawals when abroad.
First Direct
First Direct will not charge fees for using your Mastercard debit card to make a payment in a foreign currency.
It also won’t charge you for making a cash withdrawal in another country.
However, there is a daily cash withdrawal limit of £500 (or the foreign currency equivalent) at ATMs, and you may need to enter your card twice, as some ATMs only allow lower amounts.
HSBC
If you have a HSBC Global Money Account, you can spend abroad and withdraw from cash points fee-free.
Global Money accounts are available to any HSBC customers with an active current account and its banking app.
Anyone without a Global Money account will be charged 2.75% for shopping, and 2.75%, plus a fee of 2% for cash.
However, as revealed by The Sun earlier this year, the bank has plans to make its debit cards fee-free in the future.
Lloyds Bank
Lloyd’s Silver and Platinum account customers will be able to use their debit card anywhere in the world free of charge from July 1, 2024.
However, these packaged accounts come at cost. Currently, the monthly cost of Silver Packaged Bank Accounts is £10.00, while the Platinum option costs £21.00 a month.
You do get other extras for your money, though, such as travel insurance, AA breakdown cover, and mobile phone insurance.
Metro Bank
Metro Bank offers free transactions and cash withdrawals within Europe, but if you travel further afield you’ll need to pay.
Outside the Single European Payments Area, you’ll pay 2.99% for transactions and for using a cash point to make withdrawals.
Monzo Bank
Monzo says you can pay anywhere and in any currency on your debit card with no foreign transaction fees or hidden costs.
Cash withdrawals are a bit more complicated, though.
If Monzo's your main bank account, you can make unlimited fee-free withdrawals in the European Economic Area (EEA), and up to £200 every 30 days anywhere else. After that, the bank charges 3%.
Santander
If you have the Santander Edge, Santander Edge Up and Private Account debit cards, you can withdraw money fee-free and you won’t get foreign transaction fees on spending while away.
All other accounts with Santander charge 2.95% for both purchases and withdrawals.
However, the bank says it won’t charge you when you use your personal debit card to make withdrawals at Santander cash machines abroad.
You'll find Santander cash machines in Spain, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and the USA.
Starling Bank
Starling doesn’t charge for using your debit card while abroad. Even better, it uses Mastercard’s exchange rate and doesn’t add anything on top.
TSB bank
If you have a TSB Spend and Save Plus account, you will pay no fees on debit card transactions worldwide.
If you have any other account, you’ll pay 2.99% of any transactions in fees, and 1.5% of any money withdrawn (with a minimum of £2 and a maximum of £4.50 for each withdrawal).
You’ll not be charged a cash fee if you are making a cash withdrawal in Euros from a cash machine in an EEA country.
Virgin Money and Clysedale Bank
If you have a Virgin Money M Plus account, you won’t be charged for using your debit card abroad, although the bank has warned that some ATMs may still charge a fee.
The exchange rate used is typically from the date you use your card, although sometimes it might be later.
How else to save money on holiday cash
Opting for debit cards that don't charge you for foreign transactions is one way to save cash when holidaying.
But there are a few other tricks you can use to cut back on costs, too.
If you're exchanging cash into a foreign currency, you should shop around and buy ahead.
You don’t want to use the Bureaus De Change in the airport, as they offer some of the worst rates on the market.
If you don't have a debit card where you're not charged foreign transaction fee, you can always buy a prepaid card.
Make sure you choose your card carefully and check the fees. Revolut, Wise and Travelex are all worth checking out.
Whether you’re paying in a restaurant, bar or shop, you might be asked whether you want the transaction to be in pounds or the local currency.
You should always click local currency because point-of-sale currency conversion rates are set by the retail outlet and they’re usually much more expensive than your bank.
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For example, if you are in the eurozone then select to pay in euros, not pounds, at the card machine.
If you are stuck using a debit card with fees you should also try to limit transactions. For instance, taking £100 out each day could lead to 7 separate fees, whilst withdrawing the whole lot at once would be just one fee.
Options for holiday spending if you don't want to exchange currency
THERE are several specialist cards that can give you a great exchange rate.
These cards include travel credit cards and pre-paid cards which can let you pay abroad without fees or at a set exchange rate.
Travel credit cards:Travel credit cards allow you to spend money abroad without being hit by any fees or hidden charges.
But, they may still charge you for taking cash out.
We recommend theHalifax's Clarity Cardas it won't charge you for using it abroad, nor are there any fees for withdrawing cash.
But you will be charged interest if you don't repay your balance in full at a rate of 19.9 per cent.
And you will be charged interest on cash withdrawals until your balance is paid off too, at a rate of between 19.9 and 27.95 per cent depending on your credit score.
In other words, just because you are using plastic abroad doesn't mean you don't have to pay these credit cards off like you normally would.
Always pay off your balance before the end of the month with these cards to make sure that any money you saved isn't wiped away by paying interest.
For more on travel credit cards you canread our guide here.
Pre-paid cards:An alternative to carrying cash around is to get a pre-paid card.
These cards allow you to put a set amount of cash on the card at a fixed exchange rate.
So if the rate is good at the moment, you can put money on your card and it will stay that rate when you are on holiday.
Just keep in mind that these cards can sometimes have hidden costs and charges so be sure to read the small print.
