Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

imper

Thanks NiftyDigits, but I don't really have time to get any card that isn't over the counter on Monday. I don't really mind having Euros left over, as I'll be travelling again to the Eurozone later this year, so I'm more concerned about the exchange rate. Yeah, I did want a Metro Bank card (I'll try again in May) as I'm guessing that the Euro is more likely to go down against the £; its a gamble of course. Change now and fix the rate at the best its been for a while, or hope that ECB QE keeps pushing the Euro lower. Travelex have bad exchange rates, does anybody know what exchange rate I'd get on a Virgin pre-paid card ?

NiftyDigits

imper wrote: »

Thanks NiftyDigits, but I don't really have time to get any card that isn't over the counter on Monday. I don't really mind having Euros left over, as I'll be travelling again to the Eurozone later this year, so I'm more concerned about the exchange rate. Yeah, I did want a Metro Bank card (I'll try again in May) as I'm guessing that the Euro is more likely to go down against the £; its a gamble of course. Change now and fix the rate at the best its been for a while, or hope that ECB QE keeps pushing the Euro lower. Travelex have bad exchange rates, does anybody know what exchange rate I'd get on a Virgin pre-paid card ?

Currently; 1.3088€. Will go down commensurate if the rate lowers.

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

Order the KP so that you have it for the next time. Learn from previous mistakes.

antenna

There are NO TRICKS with Ruben Exchange,you get the rate as stated daily for ANY amount of money......over £500 you need proof of id.....everybody gets the same rate for ANY amount exchanged.....£1 or £10000..subject to money laundering laws....
As for the Mastercard Rate......I have 4 Spain ATM reciepts for recent transactions with a Metro Mastercard debit card (using your own entity will calculate rate) and i have never got the Mastercard published rate........perhaps someone could also check using actual atm reciepts before stating that you get the actual rate as published.
On saturday i withdrew 300 euros and my bank statement showed £222.61..so at a rate of 134.75......as as happened before this could/will change in 2 days to around £224.50 on my statement therefor showing an exchange rate of around 133.7......as posting i cannot check saturdays official mastercard rate as the site is down,but as soon as i will update this post.
And when i get my updated bank statement i will confirm what has happened.
ps,for info...fridays published mastercard rate showed 135.6278 to the pound

murphydavid

[QUOTE=perhaps someone could also check using actual atm reciepts before stating that you get the actual rate as published.
[/QUOTE]

OK done that
https://www.mastercard.com/global/currencyconversion/

Took 500 Euro from atm in france on 30/12/14 and it was submitted to the Halifax clarity bank on 31/12/14
mastercard exchange rate on 30th = 0.779940 x 500 = £389.97
and on 31st =0.774441 x 500 = £387.22
I was debited £387.39 from my credit card
I was expecting to pay £389.97 but lucky for me the rate went down

Can't complain.

zagfles

I've always got the published MasterCard rate when using my Halifax Clarity. And always got the published VISA rate with 0% markup when using my Nationwide Select or Nationwide FlexPlus for cash. Sometimes the rate is a day out, probably due to time differences etc. And yes I am sad enough to check most of them.

If you haven't got the published rate on a 0% markup card then you're likely to have been ripped off by DCC.

zagfles

murphydavid wrote: »

OK done that
https://www.mastercard.com/global/currencyconversion/

Took 500 Euro from atm in france on 30/12/14 and it was submitted to the Halifax clarity bank on 31/12/14
mastercard exchange rate on 30th = 0.779940 x 500 = £389.97
and on 31st =0.774441 x 500 = £387.22
I was debited £387.39 from my credit card
I was expecting to pay £389.97 but lucky for me the rate went down

Can't complain.

I think you're looking it the wrong way round. You need to select GBP as the base currency, and look at the EUR rate in the list.

This gives 1.290686 on 31/12/14, which gives the exact amount you were charged: 500/1.290686 = £387.39

You're looking the rate someone with a EUR denominated card would get charged for a GBP purchase. It makes hardly any difference and shows how tiny the Mastercard exchange rate markup is! About 0.02% !

antenna

antenna wrote: »

There are NO TRICKS with Ruben Exchange,you get the rate as stated daily for ANY amount of money......over £500 you need proof of id.....everybody gets the same rate for ANY amount exchanged.....£1 or £10000..subject to money laundering laws....
As for the Mastercard Rate......I have 4 Spain ATM reciepts for recent transactions with a Metro Mastercard debit card (using your own entity will calculate rate) and i have never got the Mastercard published rate........perhaps someone could also check using actual atm reciepts before stating that you get the actual rate as published.
On saturday i withdrew 300 euros and my bank statement showed £222.61..so at a rate of 134.75......as as happened before this could/will change in 2 days to around £224.50 on my statement therefor showing an exchange rate of around 133.7......as posting i cannot check saturdays official mastercard rate as the site is down,but as soon as i will update this post.
And when i get my updated bank statement i will confirm what has happened.
ps,for info...fridays published mastercard rate showed 135.6278 to the pound

Ok,the results are in....as follows
Saturday,withdrew 300 euros,provisional bank statement showed £221.61, so a rate of 134.75. Cleared at £221.19 so rate of 135.63.
Sunday withdrew 300 euros,provisional bank statement showed £221.14,a rate of 135.69 then cleared at £221.19 so rate of 135.63.
I am happy with that.........but you do need to get your timing right!

zagfles

antenna wrote: »

Ok,the results are in....as follows
Saturday,withdrew 300 euros,provisional bank statement showed £221.61, so a rate of 134.75. Cleared at £221.19 so rate of 135.63.
Sunday withdrew 300 euros,provisional bank statement showed £221.14,a rate of 135.69 then cleared at £221.19 so rate of 135.63.
I am happy with that.........but you do need to get your timing right!

So better than Ruben then?

antenna

zagfles wrote: »

So better than Ruben then?

I agree.............Ruben 133 yesterday and you know exactly what you will get,if you have the cash available,but with Metro Mastercard debit your money is in the uk and you never know for sure with the settlement delay what exact rate you will get,but,on balance,looks good to me.

Quaint1

I question the statement (in the article - http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money#debit) about having to change bank accounts to take advantage of the Metro Bank Debit card - you DON'T have to switch accounts. I opened an account at my local Metro last week - took 20 minutes, I didn't need to deposit any cash at the time, (I did subsequently deposit some cash from my £2 jar!) and, as long as you pass the credit check, which I did, you get the MasterCard Debit Card printed on the spot. I wasn't even asked about switching - I asked and was told I didn't have to.
If you do a lot of travelling to Europe (as I do, to certain countries and plan to do more of!) this is a saver - no fee for transactions OR cash withdrawals (other than local ATM charges)