Monzo's 3% charge for over £200 of withdrawals every 30 days

Early next year I am heading out on a 6 month trip around South East Asia, with my travelling pot on course to hit its target by Christmas , and I’m taking my monzo card along with me. :earth_asia: :monzocard:

The only thing I am wary of is being charged if I have to withdraw more than £200 in a 30 day period, and I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and had any tips? :pray:t3:

Please redirect me if there’s already a topic surrounding this!

Thanks a lot,

Ben

Yeap, get Starling instead if you’re going to withdraw from ATMs a lot (there’s no charge or limit other than the usual daily withdrawal limit). I tend to use Monzo as my main UK account and Starling when I’m travelling outside of the UK.

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This would also be my recommendation.

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Yeah best thing is to just get a Starling account even if it’s just for those 6 months. I don’t travel for that long so I use my card 95% of the time. Monzo placed limits due to big costs, I’m really not sure how Starling is still offering it, but take advantage of it while you can I say.

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I do also have a Starling account for the same reasons. I use Monzo as my main account, and while abroad I pay with Monzo where I can pay with card. For cash I withdraw money from Starling (It’s the only use I have for Starling).

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Halifax Clarity Credit Card.

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I think Starling is a very good option, why wouldn’t you want fee free transactions at ATMs over £200 / month for extended foreign trips , Starling don’t mind incurring the foreign transaction fees, I think most Starling contributors here have stated they have other business income to support this scenario, so go for it, fill your boots with foreign transaction fees on your Starling card :slight_smile:

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As others have mentioned, Starling is a great option for foreign ATM withdraws!

I use Monzo as my only account to get my salary paid in, to pay direct debits and as my daily driver. My Starling card sits in the cupboard waiting for a holiday to use for cash from foreign ATM’s.

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Thank you all for the advice!

It seems it’s a resounding vote for the Starling card, so I’ll have to get one and have a go with it so I know how it works.

How great that they offer unlimited free withdrawals!

Thanks again :grin:

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You can also use Dozens, it’s currently like Monzo when prepaid

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Starling have inferred its a business expense that they can support because they have income from other sources to offset against the limited costs, in fact they have championed the advantage over other ‘challenger banks’ , Monzo decided they didnt want to keep the offer of free ATM withdrawals because of the increasing numbers that were using it for extended trips and ‘unreasonable usage’ so after a ‘public’ vote in Monzo they settled upon the charge , rightly or wrongly, as it doesn’t cost Monzo 3 % I believe.

I have incurred the 3% charge a coupe of times in europe which has cost me a couple of quid , its not really bothered me as most of europe accept card payments, however I can see the usage of cash in asia being a decider on which card to use and if one firm is offering a free option, why not

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Agreed, I wouldn’t mind if it was a few pounds but I have a feeling I’ll be using a lot of cash whilst there, especially in remote areas!

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Except the outages are far too often!

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I don’t think Starling themselves have said this Ian. It’s what I and some other users have assumed. Perhaps it would be fairer if they kept it free for people who use them as their main account and introduce a limit for casual users?

Hope you have a great trip @bwd!

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Never seen outages with them only in app stating planned maintenance

I think Starling have inferred look at the services we offer , unlike ‘others’ we give free ATM withdrawals overseas with no limits , all Im saying is its a very good service and one that should be used if that’s what suits the end user.

I agree it appears unsustainable at a certain user level , as you say for casual users it may not be sustainable and should be clarified before Starling get to the stage of withdrawing it for all as Monzo did ?

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Tomato - tomato!

This would be a terrible idea for withdrawing cash, because credit cards charge interest on cash immediately, rather than when the bill is due. For card transactions, Monzo is as free as Starling, but if you do need piles of cash, then Starling is the answer. Obviously if you need the credit, and/or want the rewards and/or protection, then a credit card is better, but never for cash, which I think is the OP’s question.

As I side note, I would love to know how many people use Starling purely for this reason, and what it costs them! I expect they’ll be out of the consumer market soon anyway.

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It would certainly been a strong incentive for new customers if this was the case.

Thanks a lot @danmullen ! :smiley:

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Small point, but Starling haven’t inferred anything. ‘Implied’ is the word you’re looking for.

Starling users, on the other hand, have inferred that Starling are happy to offset free withdrawals from other charges they make through their service.

(It’s all about the direction you’re looking at the behaviour from. To imply is to hint at something; to infer is to make an educated guess.)

Apologies for being unable to restrain myself from pulling the grammar alarm. I’ll get my coat now. :sweat_smile:

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