Using your home country cards will rack up sizeable fees quite quickly.

Lots of people use Revolution, but it has a low monthly cash withdrawal amount after that fees kick in. I’ve been using Starling which has unlimited cash withdrawals.

I think that statement is too broad, too general, and it needs to be clarified.

Using a home country DEBIT card to make withdrawals from your bank account at ATMs while abroad is probably the least expensive way to obtain cash when away from home, especially if the funds you are withdrawing are not in the same currency as your home country currency. You will often be charged a nominal amount - typically about USD $2 or $3 - by the local ATM operator for the withdrawal transaction (regardless of amount withdrawn), but because the currency conversion is done by your home bank you will get the most advantageous currency conversion rate available. So the trick is to not make frequent small withdrawals, instead, make occasional large withdrawals.

Using a CREDIT card to obtain cash is never a good idea, not even in your home town, because your bank and/or credit card issuer will begin to charge you daily interest immediately on the withdrawal - it is treated as a cash advance on your credit line, not as a withdrawal from your bank account.

Using a credit card to make purchases in a currency other than your home country currency will probably result in a currency conversion surcharge of typically 2% on the value of the purchase. This might not be a concern on a small purchase such as a tank of gas, but it is something to consider when making larger purchases in the hundreds of dollars or hundreds of Euros, Pounds, etc.

Michael

With regard to UK bank cards (debit and credit) issued by major UK high street banks, The Warden's statement isn't too broad, nor general and requires no clarification. Main UK high street banks charge excessive fees for non UK financial transactions. This was the case long before Brexit was even a concept too.

Many of the remaining regulars on this group are UK based.

Cards from other countries may indeed have varying mileages.

I use a Starling Bank (online only) card and app, similar to a "Wise" and "Revolut" card, mentioned by others, and get all the "fair" exchange rates and no fees benefits (although I've heard from friends that Revolut is now also starting to squeeze customers for fees).

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