Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

Susan1942

Thanks for the information and I have read the info on Martin's web site re travel money.
I have a Post Office Platinum card and my Alliance and Leicester debit card. It all seems to complicated to do anything else than use the CC as much as possible and take a fair amount of $ with me and use my Debit A&L card to draw cash when I need it.
It is difficult being away for 8 weeks and if I draw a reasonable amount of money each time it will cut down the no of withdrawals I make.
I am only reluctant to use my card in small restaurants etc just in case it is cloned although I do have CPP identidy and card protection. Just hate the idea of the hassle involved.
Also looking at the money maximizer tables but am reluctant to order money from a source I am not familiar with. I normally use Post Office or M&S rather than a travel agent. Any ideas on who is safer or would you too be reluctant to order on line.

Thanks for the advice given already and would value any further ideas.

Sue

CountryGoose

Susan1942 wrote: »

Thanks for the information and I have read the info on Martin's web site re travel money.
I have a Post Office Platinum card and my Alliance and Leicester debit card. It all seems to complicated to do anything else than use the CC as much as possible and take a fair amount of $ with me and use my Debit A&L card to draw cash when I need it.
It is difficult being away for 8 weeks and if I draw a reasonable amount of money each time it will cut down the no of withdrawals I make.
I am only reluctant to use my card in small restaurants etc just in case it is cloned although I do have CPP identidy and card protection. Just hate the idea of the hassle involved.
Also looking at the money maximizer tables but am reluctant to order money from a source I am not familiar with. I normally use Post Office or M&S rather than a travel agent. Any ideas on who is safer or would you too be reluctant to order on line.

Thanks for the advice given already and would value any further ideas.

Sue

I see that dzug1 posted the charges last night while I was writing some replies.

The bottom line is this: you will pay an eye watering 4.25% for any cash you draw on your A&L card, and there is the small risk you may be skimmed.

Cheapest way is to get a FairFX or Travelex Cash Passport Globe and load it with your cash (or get both - they're free - and split your cash). Draw $ out from ATMs away from casinos that do not charge fees and use cash for everything. You get the same rate from the ATM or using it a shop. If you're concerned about skimming, don't use the card. You'll pay 1.5% on everything.

If you spend £1000 on holiday, you'll save £27.50 over the A&L card.

Your choice.

meher

Alright, after some struggle I gave up on this and instead got some information from a friend - what he told me was that these so called free of commission servces are not as free as they appear - it's purely designed for a feel good effect. Whilst it's true that some might not charge on top of the exchange rate, the truth is that they make up by monumental rates whilst exchanging. So effectively all these servces make money, directly or stealthly and in fact the latter could turn out to be more expensive when you compare and calculate it. I don't know if the same applies to cards.

thaimoonmonkey

meher wrote: »

Alright, after some struggle I gave up on this and instead got some information from a friend - what he told me was that these so called free of commission servces are not as free as they appear - it's purely designed for a feel good effect. Whilst it's true that some might not charge on top of the exchange rate, the truth is that they make up by monumental rates whilst exchanging. So effectively all these servces make money, directly or stealthly and in fact the latter could turn out to be more expensive when you compare and calculate it. I don't know if the same applies to cards.

Hang on then, should i get the FairFx card or not??

thaimoonmonkey

thaimoonmonkey wrote: »

Hang on then, should i get the FairFx card or not??

Well, i just got one anyway and saved £5 with the money supermarket link:D

meher

thaimoonmonkey wrote: »

Well, i just got one anyway and saved £5 with the money supermarket link:D

I hope you went through this link http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money#prepaid it says

The FairFX* prepaid card, which must be applied for online, charges no spending or foreign 'loading' fees, and can be topped up for free by debit card or bank transfer.
Apply via its own website and there's a £9.95 application fee, but the link above takes you through comparison site Moneysupermarket, meaning the fee is waived provided you load more than €10/$20.

Currently if you top-up at least £500 when opening, it'll boost the amount you load by £5. This bonus means the overall exchange rate challenges the top credit cards for overseas spending. When we compared the rates, the method that gave the most bang for your buck changed daily.

However, with FairFx it's the rate on each day you load up (, not spend that counts. So if the pound strengthens after you load the card, you will lose out. Though conversely if it weakens you'd gain. You get a different rate each time you load the card.

The only cost is €1.50/$2 to withdraw cash from an ATM, less than most credit or debit cards. You get FairFx's own exchange rate, which changes daily but generally beats the other prepaid cards and cash rates (compare it with TravelMoneyMax.com's best).

having gone through this, am wondering if I could use this to make online payments abroad

peterdarlison

what is a personal VPN service?
Pete

Susan1942

Thanks for the information. I am concerned after reading what has been happening with the Crown situation and how so many people have lost their money.
Looked at the Fairfax web site and tried to see who they are. Are they a Bank? It does not look so to me therefore it might not be a wise move.
Really confused about it all. Didn't realise that I paid as much as this in interest as I used my card 2 years ago also on a 7 week holiday. I need to let my bank know that I am out of the country in case they stop my card.

Thanks again

CountryGoose

peterdarlison wrote: »

what is a personal VPN service?
Pete

VPN is a Virtual Private Network. It creates a private tunnel for the data from your computer to travel through the internet. Normally used by companies for remote workers to access the company servers without a security risk.

For home users they provide a secure link from your laptop to home, or from your PC to the VPN host - protecting you from nasty wifi snoopers.

Here's a FAQ from a random commercial VPN provider: http://www.strongvpn.com/security.shtml

I've never used them, just googled for an easy FAQ on the subject. The wikipedia entry is a little techy for the novice.

Susan1942

I spoke to Santander re the A&L withdrawals to day and they tell me a fee of £1.99 minium plus 2.75 currency conversion fee but that the fee for withdrawal is 1%.
Just what you have said but needs must.

Sue