Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

Bluebirdnick

Good evening all,

I'm going away for most of Sept and Oct to Europe and the US, and I'm trying to find the best way to get my currency without leaking cash through commission and poor exchange rates. I actually have a Euro savings account at a German bank but it is pretty empty, but it does give me some more options. My research so far has got me to the following, but I'd really appreciate some help:

1) exchange rates when buying cash at the post office etc are poor (say, 1.12 on the EUR) - I think they call this the buy rate

2) exchange rates when buying things on credit cards are better - I was told by the Post Office that I'd get the "business rate" on purchases.

What is the "business rate"? The lady at the post office couldn't tell me the business rate on that day so that I could compare it to teh buy rate. Is it significantly better than the buy rate in the window? Is it spot rate, or close to it? I can also make a transfer from my UK account to my German account, but it costs £12 a pop. The exchange rate last week was 1.167, which was a lot better than the rate in the window at the post office; is this rate of 1.167 the same as I'd get on my credit card for purchases? If so, I might as well keep my spending on the credit card and save the £12 fee.

Is this the same for debit cards?

3) On top of the spread on the exchange rate, banks charge a commission for using cards abroad (both for purchases and withdrawals). I'll be doing plenty of both. Santander don't charge this commission on purchases and withdrawals, and the Post Office don't charge it on purchases. However, the Santander card accrues interest from the day the cash is withdrawn. The only way to get "free" cash withdrawals (in Europe) is with a Nationwide card.

Will the exchange rate when withdrawing cash on a Nationwide cade be the same as it would on a credit card (i.e. better than the buy rate in the post office window)?

Is this correct? I think my priorities are:
1) get the best exchange rate
2) avoid commissions/withdrawal fees
3) avoid interest on debt balances on credit cards

Therefore, I think the best option is to have a Nationwide card for withdrawals (in Europe), and a Santander card for purchases (worldwide). Provided I don't use it for cash withdrawals, a Post Office card would be just as good. I'd obviously clear the credit card in full at the first opportunity. When I'm in the States I will just try to avoid cash withdrawals, but that may be difficult as I'm going to Las Vegas! (I wonder if I can buy chips as a purchase, or whether this is treated as a cash withdrawal?)

Is my plan OK, or have I misunderstood?

Thanks!

Nick

roywra

A quick warning, I used the rate comparison tool and decided to collect my foreign currency from the Post Office and paid for it on my Visa Debit card.

The rate was good, such that I though collecting it was worth not getting the very best rate.

However, the Visa Debit incurred a 2.5% handling charge :eek: hidden in the small print.

BigRobUK

The article says that the Travelex cash passport charges a withdrawal fee from ATMs but the Travelex site says this is waived if you get the card directly from them. Is this new?

dzug1

Bluebirdnick wrote: »

The exchange rate last week was 1.167, which was a lot better than the rate in the window at the post office; is this rate of 1.167 the same as I'd get on my credit card for purchases? If so, I might as well keep my spending on the credit card and save the £12 fee.

Is this the same for debit cards?

Will the exchange rate when withdrawing cash on a Nationwide cade be the same as it would on a credit card (i.e. better than the buy rate in the post office window)?

Is this correct? I think my priorities are:
1) get the best exchange rate
2) avoid commissions/withdrawal fees
3) avoid interest on debt balances on credit cards

Therefore, I think the best option is to have a Nationwide card for withdrawals (in Europe), and a Santander card for purchases (worldwide). Provided I don't use it for cash withdrawals, a Post Office card would be just as good. I'd obviously clear the credit card in full at the first opportunity. When I'm in the States I will just try to avoid cash withdrawals, but that may be difficult as I'm going to Las Vegas! (I wonder if I can buy chips as a purchase, or whether this is treated as a cash withdrawal?)

Is my plan OK, or have I misunderstood?

Thanks!

Nick

Yes to all the above

Buying chips may well be treated as a cash advance. It should be, if the casino are following the rules

A Nationwide debit card for cash withdrawals is still likely to be best buy in the USA.

bleach_blonde

Dear all,

I am a newbie but am a regular to this site.

I have just tried to apply for an Abbey Zero credit card but was told I could not unless I earned over £7500. I am a student and earn just over £2000. I then tried the Post Office - you have to earn over £8000. I had no problem with Nationwide when applying last year, I have savings etc, and my experian report is fine. Unfortunately, I cannot use my Nationwide Credit Card or Flex A/C this year because I am off to New York. This credit card will only be used for holiday to get the better exchange rate than using cash. Can anyone offer any advice on what I can do? I thought of listing one of my parents first but my mum works part time earning just under the thresholds again and my Dad was made redundent only last week.

Thanks

hatch069

Hi, I am going to Morocco in Nov, how do the Nationwide cards stackup here?
Any other tips for this part of the world would be greatly appreciated.

Glittermonkey

BigRobUK wrote: »

The article says that the Travelex cash passport charges a withdrawal fee from ATMs but the Travelex site says this is waived if you get the card directly from them. Is this new?

Yes. As of last week Travelex have stopped their ATM charges when using a Cash Passport abroad. It only applies to Cash Passports purchased direct with Travelex and not with their partners (Tesco/Sainsbury Travel Money, Thomas Cook, Co-op Travel etc)

minerva_windsong

I'm going to Istanbul next month and am thinking of getting the Nationwide debit card as mentioned on the Cheap Travel Money article. However there are a couple of things I'm confused about:

1) How does it work with the e-savings account? Do I have to open the e-savings account, put however much money I want in that, and then transfer it to the current account?

2) If Nationwide want me to use the current account as my main one, but I already have a student account with Halifax. Will this affect my ability to get the other account?

3) What happens if I leave the Nationwide accounts open for holiday purposes? I may want to use them again in the future for holiday money and was wondering whether it would be OK to simply leave them dormant, as I don't want to constantly close and open them every time I go away. Is that possible? Or do they need regularly topping up (if so I could possibly use the savings account to stash away holiday money)?

Apologies if these are stupid questions, but I've only ever spent money abroad before in cash or travellers' cheques and am not really sure what to do!

rangerbabe

Infrequent visitor to the site but I have a question that someone might have an answer for.
I'm off to Paris for a week in September and was planning on taking mostly cash and using my debit card for any large transactions.
As a good moneysaver I have two current accounts, one for salary in and household bills out, and another for daily and weekly spending. One of these is a Halifax account (so that's a NO NO) and the other is Alliance & Leics (part of Santander).
So, fellow moneysavers, my question is, as A&L are part of Santander, will my card be subject to all the charges, or not????
What about one of those pre-paid cards, I have always avoided them in the past but having seen them mentioned on this site I am considering them as an option too.

emma15_2

Hi

Thanks for the tips on your travel money page. Am I missing something with regards to Travellers Cheques? Why wouldn't this be an alternative to using your debit/credit cards?

You can order them at the post office commission free (I think they only charge on the Sterling AMEX travellers cheques) and they buy back commission free.

So in theory, you take some cash with you and travellers cheques knowing you have the security (if you lose them).

Thanks