Choosing the right credit card for your travel abroad

APR, cards and international travel.

12:35 30 October 2014

If you travel abroad frequently, you might have had to consider whether to use your debit and credit cards or change your pounds to foreign currency in order to pay for goods and services overseas. Normally, using your UK cards abroad attracts the exchange rates prevailing at the time of transaction. There is usually a percentage fee attached to a card transaction abroad, which varies from one card to another. The following is what you have to consider when choosing a credit card to use on your travel abroad.

 

Mainstream APR Cards

 

When you use your card outside the UK, you can expect to be charged anything around 2% of the total value of the transaction. Most providers will charge less than 2% when the card is used in Europe and more when used out of the continent. If you are looking to travel any soon, enquire about the rates with your card issuer as you speak to them to inform them that you are travelling. Remember you have to advise your card provider of your travel so that they do not take your spending out of the country as a hacker using stolen card particulars illegally.

 

Cards with No Charges for Transactions Abroad

 

These “seem” the best to use on your travel, and there are several options from which to choose. Comparison sites such as comparethemarket.com and uswitch.com are laden with cards that will not impose a transaction charge for use abroad. They do not charge a transaction fee when you use them in a foreign country. These cards are however likely to feature a higher than average APR charge wherever the transaction takes place.

 

Verdict

 

Do not fall into the trap of thinking that the card that does not attract fees for abroad use is the best as the provider could be recouping the money by charging greater APR costs.