Travelling

Affected by travel cancellations or restrictions?

If your trip has been affected by restrictions put in place to combat the spread of coronavirus, we may be able to help if you paid using your Santander credit or debit card.
In the first instance, you need to contact your travel provider. They’ll be able to explain your options, which could include changing travel dates or offering you a refund. If your travel provider can’t help you or you’re not happy with what they’ve offered you, we may be able to help you claim a refund.

If I cancel my holiday will I get my money back?

If you decide to cancel your booking, it’s unlikely we’ll be able to help you claim a refund. Please contact your travel provider to discuss your options or refer to their cancellation policy. 

My travel provider has cancelled my trip

If the travel provider has cancelled the booking, they’ll probably contact you to discuss your options. If they can’t offer a solution, we may be able to help you claim a refund.

My travel provider has offered me a credit voucher rather than a refund, can I make a claim?

If your booking has been cancelled and you’re not happy with the solution offered by the travel provider, we can help you claim a refund.

My travel provider has offered me a refund but has said it will take longer than usual

If you’ve been offered a refund by your travel provider, you should wait for this to come through. If you don’t receive it within the timescales they’ve given or you’re not happy with how long the refund will take, we may be able to help you claim your money back. 

I’ve tried to contact my travel provider as my booking has been cancelled, but they’re not responding. What can I do?

If you haven’t had a response or you can’t get in touch with them, we can raise a claim on your behalf. Remember that some companies may take longer than they usually would to respond because of the current situation. 

I have been refunded for my flight, but not for add-ons such as luggage and seat selection charges, can I claim?

Speak to the travel provider first as they should refund these charges. If they don’t offer a refund, then a claim may be submitted to us if you paid using your Santander debit or credit card. 

I’m paying for my holiday by instalments, should I cancel my payment?

As cancelling your payment may invalidate your holiday, we strongly suggest you discuss it with your travel provider before stopping any payments.

Fraud awareness

Criminals may use the coronavirus as a cover story to try and scam you out of your money. 

Beware of criminals contacting you offering to help you recover money for cancelled travel plans. Find out more about current fraud and scams and how to protect yourself.

Claiming your money back if your travel company has ceased trading

If you've been affected by your travel provider becoming insolvent, you can make a claim if:

• you paid using your credit or debit card, and
• your payment was made less than 540 days (approximately 18 months) ago, and
• you’re not covered by ABTA, ATOL or a similar financial protection scheme or your travel insurance provider (if any) has confirmed that it won’t cover your claim, or
• you’ve spoken to your travel provider, ABTA, ATOL, a similar financial protection scheme or your travel insurance provider and they’ve directed you to us, as your card issuer, to raise a claim.

The easiest way to do this is by using our claim form in Online Banking.

• Log on to Online Banking
• Click ‘Account services’ tab 
• Choose ‘Other services’ in the left-hand side menu 
• Scroll down to ‘Debit card services’ or ‘Credit card services’
• Click ‘Make a claim’ and start filling in the form 

If you don’t use Online Banking, please contact us

Want to sign up for Online Banking? Read our Online Banking page to learn how.

Please complete the form and upload your supporting documentation. 

Once you’ve submitted your form, we’ll:

• send you an email to confirm we’ve received your claim
• take a look at your documents and let you know if we need more information.

Submitting a claim by calling us

Once we’ve taken details of your claim, we’ll send you a disputed transaction form, which you’ll need to sign and return to us enclosing your supporting documents. Once we’ve received everything we need, we’ll be able to raise your claim for you. 

Supporting documentation

It’s important that you provide documents to support your claim. If you claim online, you’ll need to upload your documents when you submit your claim. If you call us to make a claim, you’ll need to return the documents to us along with the disputed transaction form that we’ll send to you. Without any supporting documents it may be difficult to assess whether your claim should be successful or not. Please keep the originals for your own records and avoid stapling your documents together or attaching them to the disputed transaction form.

Raising your claim 

Once we’ve received your claim and supporting documentation it will be assessed by a case handler and a decision will be made based on the information you’ve provided. If we then raise a claim with your travel provider, we’ll pay the amount you're claiming for back into the account it was paid from. This is done while we await the outcome of your claim and we'll send you a confirmation letter explaining what happens next.

Most claims take up to 45 working days (9 weeks) to complete, however some claims may take longer if, for example, lots of customers are claiming (for example when a larger travel provider becomes insolvent).

Your claim may be unsuccessful. If it is, we’ll explain why. 

Payments not made by debit or credit card

If you’ve paid by cash, cheque, or Direct Debit we’re sorry but we can’t raise a claim for you. Please speak to your travel provider, ABTA, ATOL, a similar financial protection scheme or your travel insurer for further guidance on making a claim.

Payments made through payment processors such as PayPal

If you paid your travel company using a payment processor such as PayPal, we can only process claims if you selected to pay using your credit or debit card. If you chose to pay directly from your nominated bank account using your account number and sort code (this will show as ‘DD to PayPal’ on your statement) you’ll need to refer to your travel provider ABTA, ATOL, a similar financial protection scheme or your travel insurer for further guidance on making a claim. 

Section 75 

Following the chargeback process set out above is usually the quickest and easiest way to try and recover sums paid. However, if you paid by credit card you may instead wish to make a claim under Section 75 Consumer Credit Act 1974 instead. More information on this can be provided on request. 

Fraud awareness

Criminals will use a company going into liquidation as a cover story to try and scam you out of your money. 

It’s important that you keep your personal, security and card information safe and secure as criminals may target your accounts. They may contact you pretending to be Santander, the police or another organisation and use this information to convince you they’re genuine. Take Five to check that you’re speaking to a genuine person by calling us directly using the number on our website before discussing any details about your account, card or claim.

Criminals will sometimes use a tactic called ‘spoofing’ where they make it look as if their telephone number, email or text is from your bank (or other organisation) – they can even make them appear in the same thread alongside genuine messages. They may ask you to make a payment or share your security details, such as Online Banking passwords or One Time Passcodes (OTPs). These must never be shared with anyone even if they say they’re from Santander.

This depends on which card you hold with us and which type of transaction you make. The two kinds of transactions are:

Making a purchase abroad or online in a currency other than pounds to buy goods or services.

Withdrawing money (foreign currency) and buying traveller's cheques - withdrawing cash abroad (either in a bank or at a cash machine), or buying traveller's cheques or foreign currency when abroad (at another bank, bureau de change or other outlet displaying the Mastercard/Visa sign) in a currency other than pounds. 

When you use your card abroad you may be charged a foreign currency conversion fee, unless you have one of the following accounts**: 

• Santander Edge current account,
• Santander Edge Up current account,
• Private Current Account (v2)

You also won’t be charged a foreign currency conversion fee with the Zero debit card (which is not available to new customers).

The table below shows the charges on our cards when used abroad

*We won't charge you when you use your personal debit card to make withdrawals at Santander cash machines abroad. You'll find our cash machines in Spain, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and the USA. Make sure you choose to pay in the local currency to avoid being charged any other fees.

**We won’t charge you for using your Santander Edge, Santander Edge Up or Private Current Account (v2) debit card to withdraw cash and make payments abroad. The 0% foreign conversion fee is applied 3 working days after you have opened or transferred to one of these accounts. If you use your debit card outside the UK before then, the standard foreign currency conversion fee of 2.95% will apply. This fee is non-refundable. For more information, take a look at the Fee Information Document for your account. Local banks may charge their own fees when you use one of their cash machines.

Debit Mastercard - Illustrative Cost Examples based on a €100 (Euro) transaction

Visa - Illustrative Cost Examples based on a €100 (Euro) transaction

For all other cards not shown here, please refer to your Key Facts Document (KFD).

^ Mastercard exchange rate of €1 = £0.8543 as at 1 June 2024
^^ Visa exchange rate of €1 = £0.854129 as at 1 June 2024
^^^ The 0% foreign conversion fee is applied 3 working days after you’ve opened or transferred to one of these accounts. If you use your debit card outside the UK before then, the standard foreign currency conversion fee of 2.95% will apply. This fee is non-refundable. For more information, take a look at the Fee Information Document for your account. Local banks may charge their own fees when you use one of their cash machines.

The exchange rates reflect the rate applicable when the payment scheme (Visa or Mastercard) processed the transaction and not the date on which the transaction took place.

Remember to pay using local currency

When you use your card abroad, retailers will often give you the choice of paying in either the local currency or pounds. Always choose to pay using the local currency unless you're sure the exchange rate is more favourable. If you choose pounds, the retailer will handle the conversion and may charge you a fee.

We will convert the foreign currency using the exchange rate set by Visa or Mastercard (subject to card type) on the date the transaction is charged to your account, together with any applicable foreign usage fees as set out in the table above.

The exchange rate used may differ from the rate that applied on the actual date of the transaction as exchange rates vary on a daily basis. The exchange rate used when the transaction is processed and the amount of the transaction in sterling after the application of the exchange rate will be detailed on your statement.

Using your card abroad calculator

You can use our calculator to see daily exchange rates and calculate the total cost of using your Santander debit or cash card abroad. For EEA currencies you’ll also be able to see how this compares to the ECB exchange rate.

• All main adult bank current accounts can benefit from fee-free cash machines withdrawals at Santander branded cash machines in Spain, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and the USA, when using a Santander personal debit card and choosing the local currency.
• Daily cash withdrawal limits apply. Please see the General Terms & Conditions for full details

This depends on which credit card you hold with us and which type of transaction you make. The two kinds of transactions are:

Making a purchase abroad or online in a currency other than sterling to buy goods or services.

Withdrawing money (foreign currency) and buying traveller's cheques - withdrawing cash abroad (either in a bank or at a cash machine), or buying traveller's cheques or foreign currency when abroad (at another bank, bureau de change or other outlet displaying the Mastercard/Visa sign) in a currency other than sterling. Please note there is no interest free period on cash withdrawals and interest will be charged from the date of withdrawal.

What are the charges?

When you use your card abroad you may be charged a non-sterling transaction fee or a cash transactions fee, depending on if you’re making a purchase or withdrawing money.

The table below shows the charges on our credit cards when used abroad.

Illustrative cost examples based on a €100 (Euro) transaction if using the Santander Edge, 1I2I3, All in One or Santander World Elite Credit Card

Illustrative cost examples based on a €100 (Euro) transaction if using the Everyday No Balance Transfer Fee Credit Card or Everyday Long Term Balance Transfer Credit Card

For all other cards not shown here, please refer to your Key Facts Document

^Mastercard exchange rate of €1 = £0.8543 as at 1 June 2024

The exchange rates reflect the rate applicable when the relevant payment scheme (Mastercard or Visa) processed the transaction and not the date on which the transaction took place.

Remember to pay using local currency

When you use your card abroad, retailers will often give you the choice of paying in either the local currency or pounds. Always choose to pay using the local currency unless you're sure the exchange rate is more favourable. If you choose pounds, the retailer will handle the conversion and may charge you a fee.

We will convert the foreign currency using the exchange rate set by Visa or Mastercard (subject to card type) on the date the transaction is charged to your account, together with any applicable foreign usage fees as set out in the table above.

The exchange rate used may differ from the rate that applied on the actual date of the transaction as exchange rates vary on a daily basis. The exchange rate used when the transaction is processed and the amount of the transaction in sterling after the application of the exchange rate will be detailed on your statement.

Using your card abroad calculator

You can use our calculator to see daily exchange rates and calculate the total cost of using your Santander credit card abroad. For EEA currencies you’ll also be able to see how this compares to the ECB exchange rate.

A daily cash withdrawal limit of £300 applies, unless otherwise advised.