Reply To: Foreign spend – fees vs points earning – worth an article?

[baec_newbie]

Realise this may be too complex to be worth the savings/benefits for some, but for foreign-denominated goods/services I use (in order of preference):

Algbra for anything up to £100 that I can pay for using Google Pay, i.e. contactless in-person as well as some in-app and web payments. 0% FX fees and earns 1.5% cashback up to a total of £22.50 a month (i.e. £1500 in transactions).

Curve for anything non-GP up to £100 during the week. 0% FX fees up to £1000 a month with the free tier. I have this linked to my free Barclaycard (downgraded from the Plus once I’d earned the voucher) so get 1 Avios/£.

Algbra for anything non-GP up to £100 during the weekend (due to Curve’s weekend markup). Still 0% FX fees but non-GP transactions only earn 1% cashback up to a total of £10 a month (i.e. £1000 in transactions).

Chase for anything non-GP up to £100 during the weekend, once I reach Algbra’s £1000 monthly cashback limit. Don’t like to have my money spread around too many accounts so I use this as more of a backup where necessary.

Aqua Reward credit card for any purchases of £100+ where I feel I want the section 75 protection. 0% FX fees and earns 0.5% cashback (sadly rounded down to the nearest £5 and only paid annually). If I don’t feel the need for s75 (e.g. it’s a hotel where I’m paying on check-in) I revert to one of the above methods.

For foreign-denominated cash withdrawals I use (in order of preference):

Starling for cash in countries where there are fee-free ATMs (i.e. most of Europe, plus some other countries). Gives 0% FX fees with no monthly limit, just the daily £300 withdrawal limit which most cards will have.

Chase for US cash withdrawals – no fees at Chase Bank ATMs (most other US banks/ATMs tend to charge a fee). Again, 0% FX fees and so this also provides a back-up if I’m close to the daily Starling limit. £1500 a month foreign ATM limit, but no daily limit.

Algbra as a tertiary back-up to the above, should I be getting close to my monthly limits. 0% FX fees but it’s unclear what the monthly withdrawal limit is.

Curve I suppose would be a quartenary back-up, though I’d try to only use this during the weekend due to the FX markup. The £200/month limit is also rather onerous.