Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

ManAtHome

Susan1942 wrote: »

What I have done previously is just take money out of my Santander debit card and I am not sure how much they charge me to do

No extra charges IF it's an account you need to fund by £500 a month (eg 123 account) AND you use a Santander ATM (anywhere) in Spain. If not, pretty expensive - around 4.25% of the amount withdrawn if I'm reading the T&Cs correctly http://www.santander.co.uk/uk/current-accounts/current-account-faqs

The Clarity (not Clarion btw..) at 12% is 1% a month or 0.25% a week (ish...), so no big deal if you pay it when you get back home (you could make payments 'over there' if away for a long time).

PeacefulWaters

Susan1942 wrote: »

I have had a look at the Halifax Clariton credit card I could get one but I have a Post Office one which I do use for overseas I want to withdraw cash while I am away as I stay with my Brother and his family As I am there I always give them some money on a weekly basis We use this along with their money to fund coffees groceries and small items What I have done previously is just take money out of my Santander debit card and I am not sure how much they charge me to do so I know I could take a larger amount out so cutting down on the no of withdrawals I see I can take money with the Clarion card but there is a interest charge of around 12% and this starts as soon as I withdraw the money I could put money on a card I understand but would this be possible Any other ideas I normally take a fair amount of money with me and I will use the Post Office card for any big purchases I suppose I could use this card for a lot more things I always want to have some ready cash Any other suggestions any thanks Sue

The interest on a Clarity Card withdrawal is around 3p per £100 per day.

Given that many other cards will charge £3 plus interest for any cash withdrawal it is massively cheaper.

To the point that many won't worry about the interest until they come home because it's such a piddling amount more than offset by a favourable exchange rate.

Susan1942

Thanks for that I will go ahead and get the Clarity card I always set up a DD for any card I use I am away for 39 days so not quite 6 weeks If it costs so little to withdraw cash then it would be cheaper than using my Santander card I have their 123 account as it pays me 3% interest on my current account plus cashback for certain things I keep a healthy balance due to this How do I apply for the Clarity card Can I do it online ? or do I need to go into their branch where I live ?
Thanks again for the advice Sue
Again thanks

hybernia

Susan: I applied for a Clarity card this morning, I used the link from MSE to go straight to the application form. Took less than 5 minutes to fill it in and I've been accepted. Woohoo! I also opted for online banking and was accepted because I dont want to set up DDs. Thanks to MSE and niftydigits.

hybernia

Oops . . . a blonde moment coming on here. Not that I am but anyway. This is going to sound really really. . . stupid, but.

I have never used a credit card to obtain a cash advance anywhere. When on overseas holiday I have simply found an atm and used my debit card (yes I know now, how silly.)

So . . . is it the case that I now just find an atm and instead of using the debit card for cash I pop in the Halifax Clarity card instead? (It appears to be Mastercard.)

I think I've understood the advice elsewhere about not asking for cash on a sterling exchange rate and ask for euros instead but it's this business of actually using a credit card for the first time for a cash advance.

Sorry if this is today's silliest inquiry.

Susan1942

I am just about to apply for the card I will get my money in Aus $ and I will set up direct debit but as I do online banking I may well over ride the DD and just pay online
I did a dummy run and it said 90% I will be approved for card Good luck I am sure you will be ok Sue

murphydavid

hybernia wrote: »

Oops . . . a blonde moment coming on here. Not that I am but anyway. This is going to sound really really. . . stupid, but.

I have never used a credit card to obtain a cash advance anywhere. When on overseas holiday I have simply found an atm and used my debit card (yes I know now, how silly.)

So . . . is it the case that I now just find an atm and instead of using the debit card for cash I pop in the Halifax Clarity card instead? (It appears to be Mastercard.)

I think I've understood the advice elsewhere about not asking for cash on a sterling exchange rate and ask for euros instead but it's this business of actually using a credit card for the first time for a cash advance.

Sorry if this is today's silliest inquiry.

Yes but
Make sure the ATM is not making a charge like the ones in garages in the UK sometimes do.
Tell Halifax where and when you are going or they may block it to stop fraud.
You are limited by Halifax to the maximum cash you can take out in a day.
Some ATMs also limit the amount you can take out in one go.

Not clear about your last paragraph but. The ATMs have never asked me about currency they just spew out in local currency (Euros in Europe). The ask for Euros may be for when you are in a shop or cafe etc you don't need to pay in cash (to save using the ATM and walking about carrying loads of cash) but use the card to pay the bill and then you must ask to pay the bill in Euros. I only ever get cash from ATMs and never pay in cash if I can use the card direct which is in most shops.

Susan1942

I have just completed the application for the Halifax Clarity card It has all gone through and I sat up the DD as well as I always pay the balance in full I will use this card in Australia in place of the Post Office one I have used in the past I will want to take cash out probably on a weekly basis and am wondering if I can override the DD by paying it earlier I do this with my Talk Talk account and get a saving of 10% If I pay this earlier and I could do it by setting up an account to pay money direct from my online bank current account Would this be OK I have asked contact by email and Post but not SMS I would know how much I took in cash but maybe not all that I had spent If I am in Australia I will not get my account by post away for 39 days Would I confuse matters by trying to pay the cash element early Or do you think I should set up online banking with them I don't think I could do this as I will not have a bank account with them just a credit card They have given me more credit than I asked for but not a problem I am wondering if I should use the card now for once or twice as I am not going on holiday until December I will notify them as I do with my bank. I am hoping that this card will reduce the amount I pay for money I withdraw whilst I am away I will need to check how much I can withdraw on any given day I assume that if I take out money it will be in Australian $ but it will be calculated by my bank as it normally does
Sorry this is so long winded Many thanks for any information given here Sue

ManAtHome

murphydavid wrote: »

Not clear about your last paragraph but. The ATMs have never asked me about currency they just spew out in local currency (Euros in Europe).

The ATMs I've used in Spain and Greece over the last few years have all had a screen offering the option to be billed in Pounds or Euros (these have all been bank-owned).

David - are you using a Euro card? I have a Caxton Euro (pre-paid) card for emergencies - don't use it that often, but I think that just spits out euros. My Santander (UK) debit and Clarity credit do ask about conversion.

Hybernia - well worth carefully reading the screens when you make your first withdrawal - the "charge in pounds/euros" is usually the first one after you select the amount.

zagfles

Susan1942 wrote: »

I have just completed the application for the Halifax Clarity card It has all gone through and I sat up the DD as well as I always pay the balance in full I will use this card in Australia in place of the Post Office one I have used in the past I will want to take cash out probably on a weekly basis and am wondering if I can override the DD by paying it earlier I do this with my Talk Talk account and get a saving of 10% If I pay this earlier and I could do it by setting up an account to pay money direct from my online bank current account Would this be OK I have asked contact by email and Post but not SMS I would know how much I took in cash but maybe not all that I had spent If I am in Australia I will not get my account by post away for 39 days Would I confuse matters by trying to pay the cash element early Or do you think I should set up online banking with them I don't think I could do this as I will not have a bank account with them just a credit card They have given me more credit than I asked for but not a problem I am wondering if I should use the card now for once or twice as I am not going on holiday until December I will notify them as I do with my bank. I am hoping that this card will reduce the amount I pay for money I withdraw whilst I am away I will need to check how much I can withdraw on any given day I assume that if I take out money it will be in Australian $ but it will be calculated by my bank as it normally does
Sorry this is so long winded Many thanks for any information given here Sue

It gets very complicated if you pay in full by DD and want to pay cash off early.

See https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4975403