 Poster: A snowHead
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Sorry if this has been posted before, but just in case. It might useful to quite a few of us
Abbey now does a credit card with no foreign exchange fee, and no cash withdrawal fee, so better than Nationwide.
As far as I can see/read there is nothing saying that withdrawing cash abroad would be charged either so it's very good for me and I got myself one.
Abbey Zero Credit Card
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Kruisler, Thanks, I may investigate that. I only opened my Nationwide Credit Card (only used for foreign trips) earlier this year but the service has been appalling and I'll change if they don't sort it out very shortly.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Colin B,
Sorry to hear that. What's happened?
I have been using Nationwide's card for a few years now (but I am not banking with them).. Always abroad and never had an issue.. And they even detected fraud on it (thankfully) and I did not loose any money..
I received the Abbey card too late for my last trip so no chance of trouble yet... They did warn me to call them before using it abroad..
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Colin B, another Nationwide c card user here with no problems. Although I understand there will be a slight hassle shortly when the Comic Relief donation is withdrawn and the card changed.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Kruisler, When they set it up the automatic bill payment from my current account was set up wrongly. Therefore the first payment went "missing" and it took them 3 months to find it. Each month since they have wrongly charged me interest as a result of this and I'm spending far too much time having to phone them as a result. I also find their customer service poor with promises of call backs not happening, poor complaint procedures, etc. All in all very poor indeed, the entire Credit Card set up seems to me to be run as a subsidiary with far lower standards than NW proper.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I was refused the Abbey Zero 
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Colin B,
Well I am glad nothing went wrong on my side then...
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| Kruisler wrote: |
Sorry if this has been posted before, but just in case. It might useful to quite a few of us
Abbey now does a credit card with no foreign exchange fee, and no cash withdrawal fee, so better than Nationwide.
As far as I can see/read there is nothing saying that withdrawing cash abroad would be charged either so it's very good for me and I got myself one.
Abbey Zero Credit Card |
Why is it better than Nationwide card? I use a nationwide debit card just for trips away and never had a problem and not aware of any explicit or implicit (xrate loading) charges.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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waynos,
As said I have and am happy with the Nationwide credit card. But as most credit cards, Nationwide's will charge a percentage on cash withdrawals (usually about 2% of the amount withdrawn, although in NW's case I think it is a bit less).
Where Abbey is better is that Abbey won't charge you that, making it cheaper to withdraw cash, even when abroad.
There is a catch though, with nationwide and Abbey: no interest free period on cahs withdrawals so interest (usually at a much higher rate than purchases) is charged staright away.. So it might still be more expensive than a single transaction fee from a debit card...
Also bear in mind that my current account is not with Nationwide. I am purely talking about the credit card here...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Colin B wrote: |
| Kruisler, When they set it up the automatic bill payment from my current account was set up wrongly. Therefore the first payment went "missing" and it took them 3 months to find it. |
I had exactly the same problem, took a while to get straight but once it was there's been no problems since.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Kruisler, Ok, i think x-wires - i'm talking about debit card where there's no cash withdraw charges.
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IIRC, Nationwide had a fairly major overhaul of their Credit Card operation earlier this year and screwed up a few things during the change over e.g. payment direct debits. When I went into the local branch, it was made clear by the staff that the credit card side is seen as a separate company (it is a different customer services call centre - outsourced?) and they were very unimpressed with it as well.
However, since then everything has been fine with my credit card account and I would definitely think twice before going near Abbey who appear to feature in every edition of the readers' complaints columns in the financial section of the weekend papers.
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You know it makes sense.
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"There is a catch though, with nationwide and Abbey: no interest free period on cahs withdrawals so interest (usually at a much higher rate than purchases) is charged staright away.. So it might still be more expensive than a single transaction fee from a debit card... "
Would the answer to this be to load credit on your card before you go away - then this way you wont be charged interest.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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norris, then why not just do the same with a Nationwide current account, and use the debit card.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Good point HB
You can also use it to buy stuff abroad and get up to 56 days interest free to pay it off
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Kruisler, The complaints seem to be about Abbey's admin in general, not that they are alone in this but they do seem to feature frequently.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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It's very important to remember to take exchange rates into consideration when comparing these services. (Anyone know the details of this on the Abby card?)
For example the Post Office makes a lot of noise about it's foreign exchange being 'commission free' however when you look at the exchange rates they give you, a transaction works out much more expensive than Nationwide who use an x-rate just a whisker off the mid-rate.
I suspect the NW can only afford to do this because it's one of the few Building Societies that avoided being de-mutualised and so has no share-holders' rake-off to fund. Frankly, I'd be surprised if any private 'bank' could/would offer a service like this which is effectively completely free to the customer.
However, I too have noticed a decline in the quality of customer service on the NW credit card. However, once I take into account monies that sit in a savings account between their being spent and billed on the card, it becomes not only a cost-free service but even turns a small credit so it seems a little churlish to moan when customer services don't run around after me too.
Of course, if U don't need the credit, there's always the option of using a Debit card on a NW Flex (current) account. You can draw cash from your account in local currency entirely cost-free (though always beware of getting hit with charges by the local bank) and get to deal with the NW itself which is usually more responsive than their Credit Card affiliate.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I got Nationwide Credit and Debit Cards earlier this year solely for use abroad. No problems so far and as well as no charges I thought the exchange rate was amazingly good compared with the best rate (for euros) I could find at home.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I think NW is the best "bank" out there really. I have been with them for 20 years and (although they act like it) they are not a bank and i always feel that they can actually make decisions rather than rely on a computer. Internet banking and bills etc is the easiest site i've navigated. Never withdraw cash on the credit card - set up a Flex Account for that. I cannot see Abbey not charging a fe for withdrawing CASH on c/card, those fees are always costly.
Also, with being with NW, if it does demutualise... cash bonusess me hopes 
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| Libertine wrote: |
| Also, with being with NW, if it does demutualise... cash bonusess me hopes |
It looks pretty unlikely.
One of the measures they took to protect themselves against the circling vultures during the de-mutualisation fad was to add a condition to new accounts that any wind-fall from future privatisation would go to charity - hence no motivation for the carpet baggers to force it through.
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admin, yep - I had to sign a NW anti-carpet-bagger clause
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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dont the post office do a similar card too?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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admin,
Many thanks for the link. And very happy moneysavingexpert did the ground work I was going to try and do.
Regarding the Abbey card:
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The only negative is its high 25.9% cash withdrawal interest rate, which you pay even if you clear the card in full. Yet as that’s roughly £2 for a month per £100, it's still cheaper than the cash withdrawal fees on other cards.
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This is the info I wanted. As I only have Nationwide's credit card and not the Flexaccount, I think my Abbey card will my weapon of choice for pruchases and cash withdrawals on my future trips..
The Nationwide debit card still is best though if you can get organised..
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FAQ
