Related FAQ's & Guides
Q. What's the best type of credit card to use abroad?
A. The cheapest cards to use abroad are those that waive any foreign transaction fees as well as offering reduced handling fees and interest rates on cash withdrawals and foreign currency purchases.
Q. What is a foreign transaction fee?
A. A foreign transaction fee is an administration charge or 'handling fee' that is charged by credit card companies when you use a credit card to buy goods or services in a foreign currency.
Visa credit cards
Visa credit cards offer exceptional convenience and reliability and can be used throughout the UK and around the world to pay for purchases at thousands of locations and to withdraw cash at ATM machines.
MasterCard credit cards
MasterCard credit cards can be used around the world in thousands of retail outlets and cash machines where you see the MasterCard sign.
Our guide to shopping abroad (with your credit card!)
Our guide to shopping abroad with your credit card aims to answer all your questions and tell you the best ways to shop while you're abroad!
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ATM machines are location around the world – and most accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
Look out for the Visa, MasterCard or American Express symbols on the ATM machine. ATM’s displaying a ‘Link’ symbol will also accept Visa or MasterCard.
To be sure, if you know where you are planning on going you can make use of the ATM locator services on the Visa, MasterCard or American Express websites:
For Visa cards: http://visa.via.infonow.net/locator/global/
For MasterCard cards: http://www.mastercard.com/us/personal/en/
cardholderservices/atmlocations/index.html
For American Express cards: http://home3.americanexpress.com/uk/popup_uk_idc_atm.html
Withdrawing cash on your credit card abroad
Taking your credit card on any overseas adventure is usually a top checklist item for any holiday packing list. Not only can they give you peace of mind and security in an emergency - but also they often offer a host of travelling services for their cardholder, from a travel helpline to emergency medical and legal assistance (compare travel service credit cards here).
Unless you find yourself knee-deep in the middle of a South American jungle or African desert - the chances are you probably won’t be too far from an accepting ATM machine.
However, the proximity and ability to turn your credit card limit into cash doesn't necessarily mean it's a wise thing to do.
For a standard U.K. cash withdrawal your credit card company will probably charge you a percentage of the withdrawal as a 'handling fee' (to cover their 'administration' costs) and then interest on the balance owed - which will probably be around 20% - 30% p.a. and unless you're one of the few people to have a bank nice enough to include cash withdrawals as part of the interest free period, you'll get charged that high interest from the day of your withdrawal until repaid in full - regardless of whether or not you clear your balance in full.
On top of all this - you're also faced with the real possibility that you might have another balance already on your credit card – a purchase, or worse a balance transfer - all of which will need to be repaid in full before you'll be able to pay back 10p of your cash withdrawal (look up information on allocation of payments here).
And that's just in the U.K.!!
Ok, so when it all happens abroad, it's not that much worse, and in fact, the only additional charges you’re likely to incur are a foreign transaction fee - usually around 2.75% of the withdrawal amount, and possibly a fee made by the ATM you are using, which is likely to be a few quid / euros / dollars.
But that still adds up, and could be adding £5 to each £50 you withdraw - and that's if you pay your withdrawal back on your return (in a month).
All in all - if you need to withdrawal cash - which happens all the time on holiday, while travelling, or on business trips - just remember - use your debit card!
Do bear in mind though - while using your debit card will save you money, you may still have to pay a foreign transaction fee and any possible fee charged by the actual ATM.
Finding a place to withdraw cash abroad
As you’d probably gathered from the above breakdown of credit card cash withdrawal charges, using a credit card to withdraw cash is not recommended unless it's a real emergency.
Credit cards can be a costly way to access cash in the UK - let alone abroad, so it's generally best to use your debit card to withdraw any cash whilst in the UK or abroad.
However, there may come a time when you desperately do need to withdraw cash on your credit card whilst you are abroad, and if you are prepared to pay the price for making a cash withdrawal there are plenty of facilities available.
Depending on where you are in the world you will find ample ATM machines from which you can make your withdrawal.
This means that you should never have to travel very far to find a cash machine and withdraw the money that you need.
An easy way to determine exactly where your nearest ATM is located is to use the VISA, MasterCard, and American Express ATM locater pages.
By providing details of the country and city that you are in you can quickly find out where the nearest ATM – that will accept your card – is.
Of course, you may find yourself abroad unable to get online to find an ATM. So make sure to add contact numbers for your issuing bank as well as Visa, MasterCard or American Express customer services to your 'important telephone numbers' list that's packed safely in your personal belongings heading for Heathrow.
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 use abroad credit card questions & answers
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