We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

Options
1264265267269270293

Comments

  • cinereus
    cinereus Posts: 2,707 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    So after trying 14 different banks, it turns out even Citibank now charge ~90 ARS for ATM withdrawals in Argentina. The fee is approx £4.50 and the maximum withdrawal is about £100 making it an appalling rate. Xoom and other alternatives charge about 3-4% but are less convenient.

    I specifically use Halifax Clarity and pre-paid cards to avoid issues like this. Are there really no alternatives?

    How do you withdraw cash in Argentina without being hit with huge fees?!
  • Snapelover
    Snapelover Posts: 435 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    iereboy wrote: »
    Post office credit card is free to use abroad. No charges!

    So say we apply for and take one of these on holiday in May to Rhodes, we pay for car hire, say 60 euros, all it would cost us would be the equivalent in GBP when we arrive home to pay the card off? No interest on top?
  • cinereus
    cinereus Posts: 2,707 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    cinereus wrote: »
    So after trying 14 different banks, it turns out even Citibank now charge ~90 ARS for ATM withdrawals in Argentina. The fee is approx £4.50 and the maximum withdrawal is about £100 making it an appalling rate. Xoom and other alternatives charge about 3-4% but are less convenient.

    I specifically use Halifax Clarity and pre-paid cards to avoid issues like this. Are there really no alternatives?

    How do you withdraw cash in Argentina without being hit with huge fees?!

    I guess there is no solution whatsoever for one of the biggest countries in this continent then. Bummer.
  • I need some advice on pre-paid currency cards please. I would only use them for euros, and mainly at ATM machines rather than in shops and restaurants.

    I have previously used tesco cash passport and the titanium card from the money shop, but both now charge for ATM transactions.

    I don't want to carry around too much cash, so these cards used to be ideal, but don't want to pay money each time I use them.

    Are there any cards that don't charge? I believe Asda don't, but I don't have one near me.

    Thanks for your help.
  • eDicky
    eDicky Posts: 6,835 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    clareski wrote: »
    I have previously used tesco cash passport and the titanium card from the money shop, but both now charge for ATM transactions.

    I don't want to carry around too much cash, so these cards used to be ideal, but don't want to pay money each time I use them.
    There is hefty exchange rate loading in addition to charges for ATM use on the cards you have been using, so they were far from ideal. See the MSE advice:

    http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/prepaid-travel-cards
    Evolution, not revolution
  • manulike
    manulike Posts: 71 Forumite
    edited 25 May 2016 at 11:52AM
    My apologies, if this has already been addressed here.

    I have just applied for FairFx Prepaid Travel Card (Euro) using the MSE link and very happy with my £20 - thanks!
    Question I have is, will it be possible to get cash advances / money-back from big supermarkets in FRANCE. And, if so, will that be free of charge or will FairFx still charge me €1.50 as if I did that at an ATM machine?

    Otherwise, are there any ways of getting CASH on a Travel Card without attracting the €1.50 ATM fee. I noticed that the FairFx bank walk-in/cashier use fee is actually €6.50...

    As I live in Cardiff, Wales - the nearest branch of Metro Bank is over 100 miles away!

    Thanks!
  • dj1471
    dj1471 Posts: 1,969 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Home Insurance Hacker!
    manulike wrote: »
    Question I have is, will it be possible to get cash advances / money-back from big supermarkets in FRANCE. And, if so, will that be free of charge or will FairFx still charge me €1.50 as if I did that at an ATM machine?
    It's a credit card so you can't get cashback. If you want to withdraw cash then you have applied for the wrong card...
  • NiftyDigits
    NiftyDigits Posts: 10,459 Forumite
    dj1471 wrote: »
    It's a credit card so you can't get cashback. If you want to withdraw cash then you have applied for the wrong card...

    They thought they'd got one over by getting £20. The fact is that at the very least, around £12.35 of that was eaten by the exchange rate differential. The more they loaded initially, the higher the increase.
    Perversely, it pays to load the minimum of £600. Then at least you have around £6.50 to cover your ATM withdrawals.
    Nothing wrong with FairFx. A decent company. But they need to turn a profit.
  • manulike
    manulike Posts: 71 Forumite
    Forgive me, but I am now confused. The card I applied for yesterday was FairFx Prepaid Travel Card (Euro). I had the impression that this may be used as a regular credit-card for purchases, but is meant to be used as a substitute for CASH - in the same way that Traveler's Cheques once were?

    My intention was to use my Halifax Clarity where possible, and to only use the FairFx Travel Card when I need cash.

    My real hope, was to use it to get free cash advances from merchants in France (hoping that big supermarkets or department stores might do it - in the same way that UK store allow debit card users here to have cash-back when buying something in-store).

    Is there such a Travel Card that somehow allows FREE cash withdrawals (from ATM or otherwise?)

    Again, many thanks for your patience with me!
  • On MSE's advice, I have a Halifax Clarity card. However, on many of my recent holidays to European tourist destinations; Lanzarote, Corfu, Fuerteventura, the exchange rate in the local booze shop has been far better. In future, we'll take a couple of hundred £s to exchange for Euros as well as the card.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 351K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.6K Spending & Discounts
  • 244K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 599K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.9K Life & Family
  • 257.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.