LCY8737

Just googled this, didn‘t know this was as widespread a practice as it actually is. Thanks for highlighting!

marcopizzaiuolo

no problem, Greece and Spain are the same, as are many other countries (atm charges for non customers). In the UK ATM charges are virtually unknown, it used to be those ATM near corner shops and similar, but since widespread branch closures, even those looks to have struck agreements with UK banks for fee free usage

MisterE

On the slightly broader question of non-cash spending in the USA, how does the Chase UK option compare with the (formerly) MBNA Horizon cards? As far as I can see, both have zero FX surcharges and offer cashback. So it feels like they are much of a muchness. Am I missing anything?

marcopizzaiuolo

cashback on Chase UK is 1% for the first 12 months, which is therefore better then the 0.5% cashback on horizon (I also have one). More importantly, in my experience, the MasterCard exchange rate is also better than the Visa one, and this was every time I checked across various currencies (Euro, Dollar, and some minor others )

RJD1983

After a bit of research, you can go to these 3 places to get an instant travel card:

Post Office (crap rates)
Travelex (so-so rates)
TUI (great rates)

These places will be able to issue you a travel card, then and there. I managed to get Travelex to match TUI's rate - after much haggling. The Travelex was far more convenient to get to for me.

I am waiting for Chase to approve my application - it's quite slow.

marcopizzaiuolo

that is a shame. Mine was immediate, albeit during the pilot when there was no advertisement and you had to first show an interest registering for updates and then you received an email with a direct link to apply. Hopefully you can get it whilst you are there. I guess you have already downloaded the app on your phone so if they approve you once you are there, you can add the virtual card to your e-wallet and use it straight away.

i_concur

Starling or monzo is the answer. No fees. Used for contactless entry on the subway in NYC no issues. ATM withdrawals up to £300 equivalent per day.

marcopizzaiuolo

US banks will apply their ATM fee to those two cards when used to withdraw cash, hence the suggestion to use Chase UK debit card that can use the extensive Chase US ATM network without being charged local ATM fees. In addition you would get 1% cashback for the first year on most spending (home and abroad).

MARTINSWIN

starling is pretty instant and my card came within 48 hours!

marcopizzaiuolo

how did it go at the end? Worth reporting for others benefit.

RJD1983

I got a USD Mastercard Travel Card from Travelex then and there. I found it a bit flaky to use in the USA - sometimes it would be declined for no reason. I also found the app very slow, but easy to use. I also didn't like that it didn't work with Google Pay. ☹️

As for Chase, I got approved - finally. It took about 2 weeks for them to approve. I got a phone call from them when I was in the US, they wanted to know some further questions. However, I was driving at the time, so I could only answer 1 or 2 questions, before I said that I can't talk, because I need to concentrate on the driving, can you phone me back? They said yes, no problem, we will phone you back in half an hour. 2 weeks later, I'm still waiting for their phone call! 😂 I'm just waiting on the debit card to come down.