Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

stuartt007

So we all know that the Nationwide Visa Debit card will start charging us from May/June this year for all non-European transactions, but what's the score with their Cashcard account? What does it use instead of Visa for foreign ATM cash withdrawals? Is there zero fee on this card post May/June? Is it therefore the best card to take on holiday for non-european destinations, assuming all you want to do is ATM transactions?

KMcD

Hi everyone. I'm looking for some advice.
I'm taking my 2 kids (by then they'll be 17 and 10) to visit some relatives in Las Vegas this summer. As they've been saving like mad they want to keep their own money separate from mine. I thought pre-paid cards would be safer but all the pre-paid dollar cards I've seen say you have to be 18 to have one so should I apply on their behalf but with different card companies as you can only have one? Are there any dollar cards for under 18's?
I was thinking on getting one of these pre-paid cards too as my other options are an RBS maestro card for my current account, a Tesco credit card or an MBNA credit card.
HELP ME PLEASE! I'M SO CONFUSED!
K.

MikeyC123

I travel a lot overseas and have been using Nationwide no problem for months for drawing out cash on the debit card.

In the article http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money#topcards

the table at the bottom shows that there will be ZERO charge for withdrawing money from the debit card in the future, which continues to be great.

However if you read the Nationwide website it implies this is not the case and you will be charged for withdrawing money even from the Flexaccount Debit card. www.nationwide.co.uk/foreigntransactions

Third question down, I quote below, this would imply the MSE article is wrong.

I have a Cash Card Account that I use to withdraw cash when I'm on holiday. Will I be charged?
No. Initially, only Visa debit card transactions will have a fee applied. Your cash card is run by a different provider and is only available for withdrawing cash (it does not have facilities to make purchases online or at retailers). Our Cash Card Account is our Basic Bank Account and is available/suitable for customers who meet the Basic Bank Account criteria.

emphasis in bold made by me. Could anyone confirm please.

jennyj

We are travelling to Dubai on 25/4 and am not sure of how to get the best deal. As always we have used the travel tool maximiser which gives us the best rates. However, as I have an Abbey Zero credit card am I better to use this to buy currency in the UAE or here? We realise that we need to spend what currency we exchange in Dubai as the value drops like a stone when back in the UK. If anyone can offer us any advice in this regard it would be much appreciated. Thanks JJ

:question:

jennyj

sim0ne wrote: »

Hi there
We are planning on travelling to the USA (specifically Hawaiian Islands) for our honeymoon in June/July. Obviously we would be affected by the new rates on the Nationwide credit/debit cards for transactions by then so I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice...basically we are going to have approx $850 USD of hotel bills that will need paying by some form of card - and then the rest of our spending money that could be either card or cash (but we prefer card as much as possible). So as I see it we could either apply for the Post Office credit card to pay as many of the card purchases as possible and also get a Nationwide Basic Cash account/card or a prepaid card (e.g FairFX/Caxton) for cash withdrawals. Or if it worked out easier/comparable in price we could just use the prepaid cards for all our purchases. Does anybody know how the Nationwide Cash Account card compares against the prepaid cards? As if they're similar we may just use the prepaid cards for all our purchases.

Thanks in advance[

Hi there, my husband and I travelled to the Hawaiian islands and on a cruise last year and as we prefer to purchase most services etc., on credit card found that the Abbey Zero card worked well. We used this in Bora Bora and Papeete and sure enough no charges whatsoever. I understand that this card is to be re-launched again shortly, therefore maybe you will be able to get this then one card would be suitable for your requirements. Definitely no charges on currency/purchases. Alternatively you could get an AMEX card which does charge 2.99% but with a 5% cash back you are still in pocket at a 2.1% return. I got my card last year then my husband this year, so we are still using his and to maximise the spending power paid off expenditure in order to keep spending to gain as the credit limit takes a while to get boosted. Hope this of some help. ]

dzug1

The prepaid cards will work out considerably more expensive than sticking with Nationwide. Charges are not as bad as when they first came out but they remain among the more expensive methods.

Spafon

hippomaples wrote: »

Its been hideous watching the baht during the last few months, it went from 65 to 47, so difficult. It is now 48 if you buy in the UK and 54 if you change in Thailand via sterling travellers cheques. I always change in Thailand as the exchange rate is so much better but I suggest watch the baht daily and if it goes over 55 in the UK change. I dont think it will drop anymore as its really at rock bottom now. It went to 55 during the PAD airport take over so if Thailand has anymore civil unrest that would be the time to buy. Thailand is an export country so they need to keep this flowing and if the baht gets too strong against the £ we will choose to import goods from other countries. The Thai tourist industry is also feeling the pinch so resorts and hotels are dropping "specials" into their prices so bargains are still to be had.
The king has subsidised the fuel , just paid 19 baht (36p) per litre so everything is still cheap in Thailand even at 54 baht/£. Travellers cheques always get a better exchange rate in Thailand than anything else. Hope this helps and doesnt confuse you more. Pat

Interesting.
Do you know if there's any benefit taking traveller's cheques in a currency other than sterling at the moment? Also is it true you can get a better exchange rate by cashing larger denominations of TC - and if so, what actually counts as larger?
(I'm a real travel newbie so if the answer to these questions is painfully obvious, I apologise now.)

giant08

My 18 year old is travelling to Crete for 11 days for her first holiday with friends. I do not want her to take a load of euros in cash (because of the safety aspect) but not sure which is the best alternative - she hasn't got a credit card (she is still in full time education at college) but she does have an HSBC current account. Would she able to access a pre-paid card or might it be better to use TC's - any advice would be appreciated...

dzug1

giant08 wrote: »

My 18 year old is travelling to Crete for 11 days for her first holiday with friends. I do not want her to take a load of euros in cash (because of the safety aspect) but not sure which is the best alternative - she hasn't got a credit card (she is still in full time education at college) but she does have an HSBC current account. Would she able to access a pre-paid card or might it be better to use TC's - any advice would be appreciated...

If she has a debit card on the HSBC account then that should be fine in ATMs (double check with the branch though).

TCs in Europe - no. Cumbersome and expensive

Prepaid card - maybe. They used to be expensive (with most of the charges hidden), but the better ones aren't too bad now. I'm not a fan but can see that to some they have merits.

davetrousers

If Travellers Cheques are lost or stolen then they are usually replaced within 24 Hours to you (on holiday) if your credit card is lost or stolen they're only going to send a replacement to your home address.

TCs may not be as good VFM but the security might be considered worthwhile.