Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

~Chameleon~

Is it worth exchanging money in UK before travelling to Egypt or would I get better rates over there? Would I actually need any before arriving at the hotel? Transfers already booked and paid for.

I've just applied and been accepted for Halifax Clarity card to use whilst over there. I wasn't planning to pre-load it as some have mentioned but just pay off the entire balance when I return to UK. Any reason why I shouldn't do this? Why are people suggesting pre-loading when it's free to withdraw cash?

dzug1

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Why are people suggesting pre-loading when it's free to withdraw cash?

Because they don't want to pay interest - not even the trivial amount that arises.

murphydavid

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Is it worth exchanging money in UK before travelling to Egypt or would I get better rates over there? Would I actually need any before arriving at the hotel? Transfers already booked and paid for.

I've just applied and been accepted for Halifax Clarity card to use whilst over there. I wasn't planning to pre-load it as some have mentioned but just pay off the entire balance when I return to UK. Any reason why I shouldn't do this? Why are people suggesting pre-loading when it's free to withdraw cash?

With clarity you will get the rate shown here on the day you spend

https://www.mastercard.com/global/currencyconversion/index.html

Provided you tell the shop keeper your card is to be charged using the local currency amount and not coveted to pounds by them or their bank. They may try hard to do this as they get a bonus for doing so which you pay.
and Provided you don't go to an ATM that charges a service fee.
So when you are over there your card is effectively still over here.

It may have changed since I was last there but
Do you need some cash? Well there may be an ATM at your arrival airport and you should definitely learn how to say "no thank you" or "I have no money" in Egyptian before you go or you could have porters fighting over the privilege of carrying your case across the few feet of airport entrance to your awaiting mini van. They don't speak a word of English till they get a tip then by magic they do. Whatever you do don't let them carry then not tip or you will gain a whole vocabulary of Egyptian *** words.

~Chameleon~

murphydavid wrote: »

With clarity you will get the rate shown here on the day you spend

https://www.mastercard.com/global/currencyconversion/index.html

Provided you tell the shop keeper your card is to be charged using the local currency amount and not coveted to pounds by them or their bank. They may try hard to do this as they get a bonus for doing so which you pay.
and Provided you don't go to an ATM that charges a service fee.
So when you are over there your card is effectively still over here.

It may have changed since I was last there but
Do you need some cash? Well there may be an ATM at your arrival airport and you should definitely learn how to say "no thank you" or "I have no money" in Egyptian before you go or you could have porters fighting over the privilege of carrying your case across the few feet of airport entrance to your awaiting mini van. They don't speak a word of English till they get a tip then by magic they do. Whatever you do don't let them carry then not tip or you will gain a whole vocabulary of Egyptian *** words.

Ahhh yes, I've been warned about the very helpful people willing to carry my cases or escort me across the road :rotfl:

I'm fairly certain there's an ATM in the hotel complex which not only allows you to withdraw cash using a card but will also allow you to exchange sterling notes to Egyptian pounds.

Do you know whether they readily accept sterling/euros as alternative payment in the same way Turkey & Greece do?

murphydavid

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Ahhh yes, I've been warned about the very helpful people willing to carry my cases or escort me across the road :rotfl:

I'm fairly certain there's an ATM in the hotel complex which not only allows you to withdraw cash using a card but will also allow you to exchange sterling notes to Egyptian pounds.

Do you know whether they readily accept sterling/euros as alternative payment in the same way Turkey & Greece do?

If you offer to pay in sterling notes a person's carrying a wad of notes. A kind of one man band money exchange who inhabit markets and shopping zones is called forth. I never used one, never had the need so don't know what rates etc. I believe however they only accept notes so £5 or maybe £10 and change is returned in local currency.
Another unrelated thing. I like bartering as much as anybody but also like to go walkabout and found I was loosing a lot of valuable time finding a continuous variety of personage bartering between me and the view I wanted to experience. Saying no in English just doesn't work at all. "No" said in Egyptian works quite well but by far the best thing was as I left the hotel entrance I chose one of the many guides who presented; one I liked the look of and bantered a price, Very cheap sometimes free (I think they get paid by a variety of shop keepers to bring in customers).
With a guide by your side its a whole better experience you just tell him where you want to go or just tell him to stay with you while you wander about and no one else bothers you.
Also don't be shy of battering (first establish if you are battering in Egyptian pounds or English it saves a whole lot more battering at the end) then just because he starts at £100.00 don't be embarrassed to offer him £1. Yes he will take the £100 if you give it to him but I expect you could end up paying a fiver or less. You may need to walk away when he says seven and let him call you back. If he don't call you back then he's really reached his lower limit and if you want it he won't be surprised to see you come back. The longer you barter the cheaper it gets. The first price he says is irrelevant and things like "it cost me £10 how can I sell it to you for £3" is just barter. If he starts with "how much will you give me for this" and you like it, then look at it critically for a time mumbling about the quality and pick at it with a finger nail etc then start at a fifth of what you would be willing to pay because he will multiply what you say by 5 and set that as a target in his head then multiply it by at least another 20 for his start point. So you say £1 he says £100 then you may eventually get back to £5 if you have a half hour to waste.
Just reminiscing really

~Chameleon~

All very useful tips. Thank you very much for taking the time to reply

John_Pierpoint

murphydavid wrote: »

I decided to Google my own comment and found this
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/clarity-credit-card-halifax-no-cash-withdrawal-fee-no-balance-transfer-fee-1186076
Someone says they used Halifax Clarity "during my trip through south america". So It sounds OK to me

In Ecuador & Peru (the two countries I visited) sometimes the Clarity card would work in an ATM, some days it wouldn't, in a large town that was no real problem as one just found another ATM.
Most ATM's would charge a small fee, especially in shopping centres, rather than in the wall of a major town centre bank; if you have the time and the amount of currency find a "good" bank chain and try to stick with it.

avaratz

Hello,

I am sure I'm being a bit stupid here (its been a long day), but would someone be able to explain what this means:

"Interest on cash withdrawals?: Yes even if repaid in full "

I am looking at one of these cards as an alternative to carrying cash, does the above mean I will be charged interest regardless of how long I take to repay the card?

So if I travel to Europe tomorrow, withdraw money, and pay it off in full next week, I will still be charged interest? Obviously it would be a small amount, but I'm just trying to make sure I don't get stung without knowing beforehand

Thanks very much for the help.

~Chameleon~

avaratz wrote: »

Hello,

I am sure I'm being a bit stupid here (its been a long day), but would someone be able to explain what this means:

"Interest on cash withdrawals?: Yes even if repaid in full "

I am looking at one of these cards as an alternative to carrying cash, does the above mean I will be charged interest regardless of how long I take to repay the card?

So if I travel to Europe tomorrow, withdraw money, and pay it off in full next week, I will still be charged interest? Obviously it would be a small amount, but I'm just trying to make sure I don't get stung without knowing beforehand

Thanks very much for the help.

I think it's because with this (and Lloyds) cheaper interest cards, they start applying interest on the day of transaction rather than at statement date as with other cards, so unless you cleared the card same day then there is always going to be a small (depending on size of transaction) amount of interest due.

avaratz

Thanks, makes sense, just wanted to make sure I understood it correctly