Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

callum9999

guriinii wrote: »

Hi,

I'm starting traveling and working abroad in about a month and have no idea when I'll be back in the UK. I've been looking at many resources for back accounts, debit cards and so on and I haven't been able to find a reasonably cheap/ free debit card.

Does anyone has any advice on debit cards?

Didn't occur to you to look at the article on this very site then? Norwich and Peterborough, or if you're in London, Metro Bank.

callum9999

WelshSun wrote: »

I second the Travelex Cash Passport Globe. Its the best value prepaid travel card.
Don't buy a currency card, get the Globe card.

I don't understand how a card you either have to top up with £1k or buy for £30 (unless there are discounts somewhere?) and then pay a flat rate of 1.49% mark up could possibly be better than a card that is free to buy and charges a 0% mark up?

Am I missing something here?

guriinii

callum9999 wrote: »

Didn't occur to you to look at the article on this very site then? Norwich and Peterborough, or if you're in London, Metro Bank.

I apologise, there is a lot of info on this site, but thank you that is exactly what I was looking for.

callum9999

guriinii wrote: »

I apologise, there is a lot of info on this site, but thank you that is exactly what I was looking for.

Sorry - didn't mean to say it that harshly! It's just irritating that the exact same questions are asked constantly despite (from my viewpoint) the information being incredibly easy to find yourself!

TakeThis

callum9999 wrote: »

I don't understand how a card you either have to top up with £1k or buy for £30 (unless there are discounts somewhere?) and then pay a flat rate of 1.49% mark up could possibly be better than a card that is free to buy and charges a 0% mark up?

Am I missing something here?

You clearly are.

As you have advised the 'newbie', the information has already been posted umpteen times. So I'm not going to post it for you again. Do a search, it's all there.

Sandmonster

horse54101 wrote: »

I wonder how many people would just give in and take their offer after queuing up for ages to get to the counter?!

I did - & won't use the PO again for cash - will stick to my bank in future:o

Also tried the CaxtonFX card for first time in place of the traditional travellers cheques which are now out of fashion. Worked OK, but somewhere in the system, any cash withdrawals are 'pre-authorised' before the money is taken off your balance. This pre-authorisation reduces the available balance and then remains against the card for a long time after the money is debited from the account. As I didn't want to load up extra cash, the only way around was to phone Caxton and get them to remove the pre-authorisation. I see the cost of the phone call as a hidden cost that is not highlighted in the main MSE website article.
Obviously I don't know if the problem is at the Caxton end, or caused by something in the ATM system?

Neilsimo

My 18 year old son is about to go travelling aroung Europe for four weeks before going to university. Most destinations are in the Eurozone but he is also going to the Czech Republic and Hungary.

What is the cheapest/safest way of getting cash/paying for living expenses while he is away?

Thanks

williamro

I have found that it is much better value to exchange sterling abroad rather than in UK. OK there is a slight risk in carrying cash and this may not be suitable for long trips or visiting different countries but the rates are much better abroad. This year I have seen this in the Caribbean & Malta. Huge savings by changing cash locally in Ukraine and Egypt and probably many other places. You can check the local rate before going overseas on the internet by looking at foreign exchange rates for tourists on local banks' websites. This may have been mentioned before but I do not have time to read 1900 contributions!

Aaron

Sandmonster wrote: »

[...] Worked OK, but somewhere in the system, any cash withdrawals are 'pre-authorised' before the money is taken off your balance. This pre-authorisation reduces the available balance and then remains against the card for a long time after[...]

That's new to me. Didn't happen with my CaxtonFX in 2010 but I think some things have changed since then. I'd expect it was a bad habit of the ATM operator. Where were you? Maybe someone here knows for sure. Did you try asking Caxton about it? They used to be fairly friendly.

jameshill003

Hi,
Thanks for sharing..