Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

wandererswfc

Hi, i'm off 2 ibiza next week and i have a nationwide flex account card, would it be better for me to get a little bit of euros here to cover transport then get the £500 out there, also which cash machine ofters the better rate thanks

switch007

wandererswfc wrote: »

Hi, i'm off 2 ibiza next week and i have a nationwide flex account card, would it be better for me to get a little bit of euros here to cover transport then get the £500 out there, also which cash machine ofters the better rate thanks

Yes, take a little bit of cash, but mostly on your card. Make sure when you take out from a machine you select EUROS not GBP! I used a lot of different machines in mainland Spain and it didn't matter which bank's ATM you used as long as you select EUROS each time, they go through the VISA rate.

switch007

MigsyBigsy wrote: »

Hello All,

just got back from Turkey and have money left over (as is always the case). Does anyone know where the best place to change my Turkish Lira into sterling?

thanks

How close are you to London Victoria? Theres quite a few foreign exchange places near there: "Thomas Global Exchange" for example. I got the best rate I could find to change my euros. I did a 150 mile round trip on the train because I saved quite a bit on a couple of thousand euros

switch007

antenna wrote: »

I have a Cash Card from nationwide tied to my Flex-Account it has the Cirrus and Link logos.......my question....withdrawing cash abroad is, it correct with this card nationwide wont charge a fee but the provider bank which runs the atm will.......I checked on the Cirrus site to find a Fee-Free atm but none were found,so,for example,on a £500 withdrawal from my flex-account balance what will the foreign bank charge me?

Well, I went to Spain for 10 months and used many different ATMs. All of them gave me a choice of being billed in Euros or GBP. Pick EUROS everytime, then you receive good Visa rates. I don't know about other countries I'm afraid but I'm sure it'll be the same. It's probably some stipulation from VISA or something that the banks have to provide the option.

khafc

Hi there

I am going on holiday to Spain in a few weeks and basically want to put all the money I spend out there on a credit card that does not charge fees when out there, and preferably is interest free for a few months so that I can just pay it off over time.

is there a credit card out there that is best for this? Either to pay for everything with cash or to withdraw cash whilst abroad for no fee.

or would it be easier paying to change up euros over here by paying for them with an interest free Credit card and then just use cash when abroad?

Any advice welcome - many thanks!:T

benjus

khafc wrote: »

Hi there

I am going on holiday to Spain in a few weeks and basically want to put all the money I spend out there on a credit card that does not charge fees when out there, and preferably is interest free for a few months so that I can just pay it off over time.

is there a credit card out there that is best for this? Either to pay for everything with cash or to withdraw cash whilst abroad for no fee.

or would it be easier paying to change up euros over here by paying for them with an interest free Credit card and then just use cash when abroad?

Any advice welcome - many thanks!:T

The problem with using credit cards to withdraw cash abroad is that you have three separate charges:

1. Cash advance fee
2. Foreign exchange loading
3. Interest on cash balance (usually starts being charged immediately)

Even if you try to buy Euros in the UK with a credit card it will be classed as a cash advance and attract charges (1) and (3).

I don't think there are any cards that avoid all of these charges. All cards that I have seen advertising 0% rates only apply these rates to purchases and/or balance transfers - cash advance interest rates tend to be around 25%.

The Abbey Zero card is the best credit card I know of for use abroad - it does not charge for (1) and (2), but you still have to pay (3) for cash advances.

If you can also get a Nationwide FlexAccount you could use this to make cash withdrawals, and try to spend as much as possible on purchases with the Abbey Zero card (but never using the Abbey Zero card to withdraw cash). This would allow you to take advantage of the Abbey Zero 0% for 6 months offer.

Generally speaking, if you need to borrow cash a personal loan or overdraft facility is the best way - not a credit card.

So it boils down to the following recommendations, as I see it:

1. Abbey Zero for purchases and cash withdrawals - problem with this is that you will be charged a LOT of interest on the cash advance balance unless you can pay the card off quickly. Abbey may (I'm not sure) operate a negative payment hierarchy, which means that you will have to pay the entire balance on the card in order to clear the cash advance balance.
2. Abbey Zero for purchases + Flexaccount for cash withdrawals - you won't pay interest on the credit card for 6 months, but you will only be able to withdraw cash from money you already have (unless Nationwide gives you an overdraft facility or you arrange a loan).

shedods

Going to Dubai in October. Have £2000 spending money. Not keen on carrying that amount of cash. I have been reading about the Nationwide Debit Card, would this be a good option. How do I go about getting one, do I just transfer my £2000 on to it and withdraw in Dubai. Will I be able to use the Nationwide card ok in Dubai. Thanks in advance

bluefrog_2

Hello, I don't use a credit card much at all, so have got a bit caught out.
We recently went to spain on a family holiday. We reseaeched MSE to see what was the cheapest way of buying Euos. It seemed that Travelex was the best rate and cheapest. We ordere and picked up the euros at the Airport.
I was surprised to discover on returning and getting my credit card bill that we had acash advance fee of £30, which was 2.5p.c. of amount, plus we had been chrged a month's interest on this transaction of £9.99.
Co-op bank have reimbsed me the interest after i complained but said they could not do anything about the other charge and take it up with Travelex. Looking at their website it does say credit card users may be subject to a cash advance fee from their card issuer. This was not clear to us when we purchased the currency.
Is there any way we can be reimbused this charge?

canadamoney

A member of my family is studying in Canada. I'd like to be able to send them money when necessary, and wondered what would be the best way to do this. I'd like them to be able to use ATMs to withdraw cash and spend money electronically. Sending money from my bank via international bank tranfer is too costly and takes too long, so I wondered about a prepaid card that I can top up from here if necessary. The cards mentioned are only in US $ and Euros, is there a better way?

adecor

canadamoney wrote: »

A member of my family is studying in Canada. I'd like to be able to send them money when necessary, and wondered what would be the best way to do this. I'd like them to be able to use ATMs to withdraw cash and spend money electronically. Sending money from my bank via international bank tranfer is too costly and takes too long, so I wondered about a prepaid card that I can top up from here if necessary. The cards mentioned are only in US $ and Euros, is there a better way?

Open up a new Nationwide Flex A/c . You can control what's in the account & send them the debit card so that they can withdraw from the atm. I've done this with myself & it works a treat as the exchange rate is one of the best.