Hello,

I travel quite a lot abroad (europe) and I am quite tired of my bank charging me ludicrous fees for cash withdrawals and conversion charges
They keep on calling me to offer me a better account in which I will no have to pay any fees (although i will have to pay a monthly fee for the service).

Are there any banks that offer current accounts with no international cash withdrawal fee of any kind) or at least the lowest?

BTW, I am banking with HSBC

Many thanks,
Jon Ander

Try Nationwide, also their credit card charges you less to use it abroad too. I opened a Nationwide account purely for my travel, I pay a set amount in each month, like a savings plan and then if I think I will need more leeway top it up before I go away instead of buying travellers cheques.
The post office has introduced a precharged "credit" card for use in ATMs overseas. You load it up before you go and then use it in ATM's or banks overseas, hope this helps. Bon voyage

The service they are calling you about is called the bank account plus. For £12.95 a month you do get free travel insurance and free cash machine withdrawals. Might sound a bit steep but you do get preferential savings rates, discount on a mortgage, 1% discount on a loan, 20% off home insurance, 10% off car insurance and loads of discounts off uk and international hotels, travel and days out. As a whole the package is worth it if you travel a lot only! But there are the other benefits that i have listed that can save you ££££'s.

Regards,

Laura

I used to bank with HSBC and found I got charged even when taking cash out of another HSBC bank in Australia. I complained and they gave me £50.
I've now moved to Nationwide as they allow free overseas withdrawals, I already had a Nationwide credit card for using abroard. I don't know of another bank/BS that does this for free.

i currently bank with halifax/bank of scotland and while travelling europe last summer was charged a small fortune in foreign withdraws.

my problem with nationwide is that i am only 18 and despite having a credit card and overdraft facility to increase my credit scoring i am continuously messed around when apply for any kind of account with the nationwide.

they told me recently that i still do not have high enough a credit rating, and that because i have a debit card facility with another bank they would only offer it to me if i closed that account and had my only bank account with them. but because it had appeared as declined i was not even allowed to have a cashcard account to use abroad.

not allowed any accounts.

the fact that a large number of friends i have have just walked into nationwide and opened an account purely for travelling is so frustrating because i am now looking at the prospect of paying more charges during 3 months travelling in asia this summer.


please, someone tell me there is another bank i can go to?!