Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

Nessie23

greydee wrote: »

going to the states in ten days had my friends check there bank to see if they do an exchange from gbp to us dollar and got a rate of 1.69** in the states now that sounds like a great deal to me since its between 1.56 to 1.57 in the stores more online 1.61 maybe

From previous experience I have found exchanging money in the UK quite uncompetitive. Generally if I need to change money when going abroad I change a small amount in the UK (enough to get me normally from the airport to the accomodation) and then shop around for the best exchange rates at the location. Having a little bit of money is always useful as when you arrive at a station or airport the places changing moey there tend to be quite uncompetitive (although you will find exceptions)!

The downside with this system is that you have to carry the cash on you

PS I have just checked current exchange rate at xe(dot)com and its
1 GBP = 1.62153 USD so maybe 1.61 is not that bad after all!

Cheers Nessie

greydee

Nessie23 wrote: »

From previous experience I have found exchanging money in the UK quite uncompetitive. Generally if I need to change money when going abroad I change a small amount in the UK (enough to get me normally from the airport to the accomodation) and then shop around for the best exchange rates at the location. Having a little bit of money is always useful as when you arrive at a station or airport the places changing moey there tend to be quite uncompetitive (although you will find exceptions)!

The downside with this system is that you have to carry the cash on you

PS I have just checked current exchange rate at xe(dot)com and its
1 GBP = 1.62153 USD so maybe 1.61 is not that bad after all!

Cheers Nessie

ive got an abbey debit card so id get charged for the online purchase so taken the money out and changen over there is the best bet for me :T Though i did change some at the co op travel got a rate of 1.575 which the rest of my local exchangers wanted me to change at least 500 pounds for that rate some 1000 pounds even for a simlar or lesser rate

zoidburg

Hi i think i've already got too many cards to be able to get one of the best cards and was just turned down for the abby zero. So wondered if anyone knew which of the cards i have would be the best to use? I've already discounted the lloyds and the halifax but im wondering just how bad it would be to use my captital one card, as i can't see it mentioned? Thanks for any info on this or any other solution you can think of other than just taking cash. I'm going to France in a just over 2 weeks.

keith160377

I'm going to Bucaramanga, Colombia and will need to purchase Colombian Pesos. The problem is that it is not a currency that is supported by any Currency Exchange places (Fair FX, ICEPLC, Travelex etc). So I don't have a clue on where the best place is to buy it.

Also, I have a very poor credit history with 3 defaults, so I cannot be accepted for any credit cards or even a Nationwide flex account. The only thing I have is one of the cards from hell which is the Vanquis Visa Card.

I would like peoples advice on what is the best option? At present I am thinking about taking about £400 worth of Colombian Pesos in actual currency and then putting the rest on my credit card so that I will spend the £400 first and then I would have to withdraw on the credit card. I believe that I will be charged £3 for the with drawal and 2.75% in Foreign exchange fee. So for example, if I withdrew £250, it would cost me £259.

I have heared about these 'Pre Paid Cards' but I haven't seen any that support Colombian Pesos. Also, can I use these as a credit card and what are the rates of withdrawal?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Many thanks

Regards

Keith

greydee

id take american express travelers cheques just for security in coloumbia and some us dollars walking around with pure cash may get you robbed or much worse but lets see what every one else thinks on here

antenna

If you are prepared to take £400 in pesos then just take cash in dollars......credit cards in columbia are only used for cutting lines of coke....

kRUZO_2

taz12345 wrote: »

Hi I posted a thread elsewhere but it got no replies, I'm a student who will be studying in singapore for 5 months, I was thinking a nationwide flex account would be the best account for acccessing my money abroad, as even with the 1% fee its still the one of the best for withdrawing money abroad (unless someone can show me a better alternative). I know they have changed the terms and conditions on who is eligible. I notice it says if you are not using it as your main account you have to meet the following conditions:
"I am aged 16-21 or transferring from a Nationwide Smart account"
Do I have to meet both conditions? I am 19 years old but I'm not transferring from a smart account. Also those who applied for an account, how long did it take you to recieve your debit card? I was thinking of applying in branch as it may be quicker, I'd need the card before the 3rd of August.

Can anybody help with this? I too need advice on the same thing.

Are there any circumstances where one might be refused an account with Nationwide?

fittaedae

Hi there everyone!

Has any of you lovely people been to Norway? If so what did you do for currency?

We have saved our spending money up so have it in cash, but the prepaid cards dont do Kroner. We do not have credit cards and we bank with the Co-operative Bank, which Martin says not to use for withdrawals because of the charges.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

vix2000

I've been reading this thread and martins article for over an hour now and my head is cabbaged!!!! I'm going to US.

I have a nationwide flex debit card I've had for years and used every time I go abroad, but i was under the impression it was no good since it changed its charging structure.

On Martins chart in his article it gives comparisons for spending 1750 pounds worth of dollars, and says the cost for using a nationwide debit card is zero, but the nationwide website says theres a .84% charge. (is that 14.70?) That seems really cheap to me. Is the chart out of date?

I will need a card to use for cash withdrawals and purchases. Should I get a different card for purchases and use the flex card for cash? All my credit cards are really bad. Should I get a pre-paid card or a different credit card? I'm more confused that ever now. Any advise please?

Nessie23

vix2000 wrote: »

I've been reading this thread and martins article for over an hour now and my head is cabbaged!!!! I'm going to US.

I have a nationwide flex debit card I've had for years and used every time I go abroad, but i was under the impression it was no good since it changed its charging structure.

On Martins chart in his article it gives comparisons for spending 1750 pounds worth of dollars, and says the cost for using a nationwide debit card is zero, but the nationwide website says theres a .84% charge. (is that 14.70?) That seems really cheap to me. Is the chart out of date?

I will need a card to use for cash withdrawals and purchases. Should I get a different card for purchases and use the flex card for cash? All my credit cards are really bad. Should I get a pre-paid card or a different credit card? I'm more confused that ever now. Any advise please?

Hi vix2000. Your assumption I think is correct, essentially Nationwide would only charge you the the visa charge which is 0.84% outside the Europe Visa zone. However 0.84% is still quite competitive when compared to other cards. Do check that the atm machine from which you withdraw money will not charge you any extra fees.

Martin's chart seems to be correct :rolleyes: you can see more on Nationwide's charging at
nationwide.co.uk/creditcard/goldcard/foreigntransactions.htm

You could use your nationwide debit card both for withdrawing money and for purchases. The advantage of using a credit card is that you get Section 75 protection on any purchases over £100 but you have to decide whether this is worth it for you. You can either get a Post Office credit card, Abbey Zero or maybe even a Nationwide credit card (but you would still get the 0.84% fee). But don't use the credit card to withdraw moneyor you will get charged very high fees.

Personally I would also take a small amount either in cash and/or travellers cheques as backup.

Nessie