Best way to exchange Pounds to Philippine Peso

pilotamx · 17 December 2017 at 5:08PM

Hi,

The date for my flight to Philippine is approaching. I have discovered that in Philippine the usage of credit card is very low (well, not a big surprise) and money changer are just tourist traps.
So, I need to change around 1000 GBP in Pesos. I tried to see what I can do here in the UK, I arrived MSE travelmoney microsite. I reports TravelFX and BestForeignExchange as the best changers. However, I read many old comments about TravelFX plus the fact that the company behind is a little bit 'obscure'.
So, I know the choice is mine, but is really TravelFX a scam and I should head for Tesco or not?

Moreover, I read that the biggest banknote in Philippine is 1000 Pesos and like for 500 Euro, no one normally accepts it. Is it possible to negotiate the banknote denomination when you order money online?

Thanks a lot
S.

AlwaysHere · 17 December 2017 at 8:57PM

Get a Halifax Clarity and head to a HSBC ATM.
Similarly a Barclaycard Platinum travel credit card.

That way you can pull out close to £500 per day.

pilotamx · 17 December 2017 at 9:03PM

No HSBC ATM is available where I am going. I already checked cause I am an HSBC customer.
Anyway, both eligibility checkers say I am not eligible. This is a pretty standard problem for me as my financial record is just 7 months old. So I would prefer to exchange rather than thinking about a card.

AlwaysHere · 17 December 2017 at 9:59PM

pilotamx wrote: »

No HSBC ATM is available where I am going. I already checked cause I am an HSBC customer.
Anyway, both eligibility checkers say I am not eligible. This is a pretty standard problem for me as my financial record is just 7 months old. So I would prefer to exchange rather than thinking about a card.

https://www.starlingbank.com/travel/

So forget HSBC.
Even with the standard ATM fee in the Philippine of 250 pesos and an ATM limit of 10,000 pesos, today you would receive 65.479
2.5% off the Mastercard wholesale rate.
Which is actually better than the rate you would get for exchanging cash here.

So perhaps take some crisp £50 notes and the Starling card.

pilotamx · 17 December 2017 at 10:03PM

Ok you suggest anyway to withdraw. I can use the card of my European bank. 2 euro per withdrawal plus 2% of VISA exchange rate. Basically the same.

AlwaysHere · 17 December 2017 at 10:27PM

pilotamx wrote: »

Ok you suggest anyway to withdraw. I can use the card of my European bank. 2 euro per withdrawal plus 2% of VISA exchange rate. Basically the same.

No. it's not the same, as you will then be paying the 2.5% in the form of the ATM fee, another 2% from the (lower than Mastercard) Visa rate and another 2 euros. So that is at least 569 pesos for every 10,000 peso withdrawal. 5.69%

With Starling card it costs just the ATM fee, 250 pesos for every 10,000 peso withdrawal. 2.5%

Up to you...

pilotamx · 17 December 2017 at 10:31PM

Ok I didn't grasp the 2.5% per withdrawal at ATM.
Is the 10k limit per ATM and per transaction? I will need to withdraw a lot of money in two weeks, around 60000.

AlwaysHere · 17 December 2017 at 10:32PM

pilotamx wrote: »

Ok I didn't grasp the 2.5% per withdrawal at ATM.
Is the 10k limit per ATM and per transaction? I will need to withdraw a lot of money in two weeks, around 60000.

if no HSBC, quite likely per transaction.

Either way, no matter how many withdrawals you make, it will still be better value than changing here.
So take a mixture of Pounds/Euros and the Starling Card.

pilotamx · 17 December 2017 at 10:41PM

Well yes, I was just asking to avoid a daily journey to ATM. Unfortunately there are some places, like divings, which don't accept cards and need a lot of cash!

Best way to exchange Pounds to Philippine Peso

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