Using your Barclaycard when travelling abroad
For a simple and secure way to pay overseas, just take your Barclaycard along with you. Packed with features like fraud protection and emergency cash, it’s got you covered – wherever you wander.
Take the trouble out of travel
And just so you know – you don’t have to tell us you’re taking your card on holiday.
Fees for using your card abroad
- If you buy something with your card while your abroad, you’ll pay one single, non-sterling purchase fee of 2.99% every time you use it
- If you withdraw foreign currency using your card, you will just be charged a cash transaction fee of 2.99% (minimum fee of £2.99)
- These fees apply to most of our cards, but there are some exceptions, so check your terms and conditions[1]
Compare the cost of spending abroad
View a comparison of our current exchange rate for certain currencies as a mark-up against the rate published by the European Central Bank
Protection – home and away
- 24/7 fraud monitoring as standard
- Early warning service – we’ll tell you if we ever spot anything suspicious
- Calls to our helpline from abroad are charged as local calls – or you can reverse the charges
Emergency card and cash (Visa cards only)
If you lose your Barclaycard abroad, or it’s stolen, call us on +44 (0)1604 230 230. We’re here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We can:
- organise a temporary card, and
- arrange a cash advance of up to £1,000 – depending on your available cash limit (available Monday to Saturday, 8am to 8pm).
And a little breather when you get home
The good stuff continues when you’re back – you could have up to 56 days interest-free on the things you bought and any cash withdrawals you made in the local currency while you were away.[2]
- The number of interest-free days you get depends on when your Barclaycard statements run from and the date of your transaction –
- Make sure you pay each monthly statement in full
1 The 2.99% purchase fee might not apply if you have a Barclays Infinite, Barclaycard Platinum Travel, Barclaycard Platinum Cashback Plus or Barclaycard Rewards card, or if we've recently offered you a lower promotional fee by letter or email. This will also tell you the end date for the promotion.[Return to reference]
2 Premier Charge Card and Woolwich Openplan cards don’t have 56 days’ interest-free purchases. If you have one of these, check your statement.[Return to reference]
What happens when you use your Barclaycard abroad?
If you buy something abroad using the local currency, the transaction and the non-sterling transaction fee are converted into sterling using the payment scheme’s exchange rate on that day.
The two sterling amounts are then added together and divided by the original currency payment amount to work out the new exchange rate. You’ll see this rate – which includes the fee – on your statement.
Summary of the cost of using your card abroad
Use the table below to compare the cost of using your Barclaycard Platinum card abroad. All of the exchange rates are-up-to date as of 5 June 2023 – this is a standard banking data comparison which is updated annually.
The 2.99% transaction fee might not apply if we’ve recently got in touch to offer you a lower rate or if you have a card offering no fees on non-sterling transactions. If that’s the case, we’ll confirm the offer and when it ends on your monthly statement.
|
Non-sterling fee |
Payment scheme exchange rate |
If you spend €100 on your card, you'd pay: |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Barclaycard credit card |
2.99% |
€1 = £0.860621 |
£88.64 |
|
Barclays Visa debit card |
2.99% |
€1 = £0.860621 |
£88.64 |
|
Barclays charge card |
2.99% |
€1 = £0.860621 |
£88.64 |
|
Non-sterling fee |
Cash withdrawal fee[4] |
Payment scheme exchange rate |
If you withdraw €100 on your card, you'd pay: |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Barclaycard credit card |
0% |
2.99% (min fee of £2.99) |
€1 = £0.860621 |
£89.05 |
|
Barclays Visa debit card |
2.99% |
0% |
€1 = £0.860621 |
£88.64 |
|
Barclays charge card |
0% |
2.99% (min fee of £2.99) |
€1 = £0.860621 |
£89.05 |
4 Local ATM provider fees may apply. Minimum fee applies to withdrawals less than £100.[Return to reference]
The credit card used in this example is Barclaycard Platinum. Other cards may have different fees, which you’ll find in the summary box on your statement. These fees apply to most of our cards, but there are some exceptions, so check your terms and conditions.
Comparing the cost of spending abroad
View a comparison of our current exchange rate for certain currencies as a mark-up against the rate published by the European Central Bank.
Sterling or non-sterling?
Some overseas retailers might let you pay in sterling – this is called Dynamic Currency Conversion. And although you’ll avoid the transaction fee this way, it could cost you more than expected. That’s because the exchange rate set by the retailers may not be as competitive as the ones set by Visa or Mastercard. Alternatively, you can pay in the foreign currency and pay the fee.
To make sure your exchange rate is as competitive as possible, you’ll pay the daily exchange rate set by Visa or Mastercard dependent on your product.
Answers to questions you may have
When the 56 day interest-free period applies
The 56-day interest-free period applies from the date of any new transaction, but only if you pay your main statement balance in full, plus any Purchase Plan instalments. The following cards don’t have 56 days interest-free purchases: Premier Charge Card and Woolwich Openplan. If you have one of these cards, check the back of your statement.
Not a customer?
If you don’t already have a Barclaycard, browse our credit cards to find the right one for you.