Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

thrope

Hi,

We got a caxtonfx card becuase it seems like a good deal - particularly like no fees for atm withdrawls.

However, just used it on a short trip to spain and it was impossible to find a bank atm that didn't put a big (~5% charge on it). So taking out €100 debitted 104.80 etc.

Is this standard in spain? These weren't service station type withdrawl machines - they were branches of proper banks (eg BBVA) It seems really high for other bank charges - and reading online I thought there weren't these charges in spain. Do they charge extra because of it being a prepaid mastercard?

Seems like it kind of defeats the point if we get a 5% load at the atm.

brendah34

Hello,
Just to say that we are in Cyprus at the moment and have used our Caxtonfx card both at different bank ATMs and at shops and restaurants and have not been charged commission from any of them.

sho_me_da_money

brendah34 wrote: »

Hello,
Just to say that we are in Cyprus at the moment and have used our Caxtonfx card both at different bank ATMs and at shops and restaurants and have not been charged commission from any of them.

Guys,

Forgive me for asking the most obvious question but im being confused by the flurry of responses in this thread.

Travelling to the USA, what is the best card to go with for withdrawals from an ATML:

1. Nationwide Debit Card
2. Nationwide Credit Card
3. Abbey Credit Catd (zero something)

Im looking for the best card with the best Exchange rates.

Thank you so much!

dzug1

sho_me_da_money wrote: »

Guys,

Forgive me for asking the most obvious question but im being confused by the flurry of responses in this thread.

Travelling to the USA, what is the best card to go with for withdrawals from an ATML:

1. Nationwide Debit Card
2. Nationwide Credit Card
3. Abbey Credit Catd (zero something)

Im looking for the best card with the best Exchange rates.

Thank you so much!

If you are ONLY looking at exchange rates and don't give a toss about interest or other charges then the Abbey, followed by the NW cards.

If you do care about the overall cost, then probably the NW debit card. After that it gets too complicated.

If you don't already have the cards don't assume that you will be accepted for them.

sho_me_da_money

dzug1 wrote: »

If you are ONLY looking at exchange rates and don't give a toss about interest or other charges then the Abbey, followed by the NW cards.

If you do care about the overall cost, then probably the NW debit card. After that it gets too complicated.

If you don't already have the cards don't assume that you will be accepted for them.

Im kinda thinking the cheapest/best/time-saving way to do this is take the dollars with me!

orcadian

I used my Abbey zero card in Spain last week to hire a car and buy some swimwear. Both prices were quoted in Euros, both times I was charged in pounds sterling (by dynamic exchange) and I was never asked if I wanted to pay in pounds - found out only when I got home. Dynamic exchange is the latest banking scam. It should be illegal in the EU to quote you a price in one currency but charge you in another. Moneysaving Expert should start a petition for an outright ban on this disgusting rip-off.

jpw93

Apologies if this has already been asked.

I have been posted to Japan for 3 months and getting money out of my bank account is not so easy - Japan is a cash society and credit cards are not widely accepted.

If I load up my Post Office Mastercard account so that I am always in credit (even after the cash withdrawls) do I end up paying the interest until the payment due date?

If not, would this effectively mean I could use a Santander Zero card for nothing if I put 500GBP on it and ensured it never fell below 50GBP.

bert

Just a quick query on Martin's article I don't understand.

The 1% (worldwide) load on the Nationwide Debit Card. Does that apply to debit card purchases only Or Does it apply to cash withdrawals also?
I'm just trying to ascertain whether I'm going to have to buy everything in cash, but if the load applies to cash withdrawals too I may aswell use the card for purchase transactions - save me going to cash points all the time.

I also have a nationwide gold credit card which I could use for purchasing, but with the 1% load, I may aswell take cash out for all purchases if the nationwide debit card does load on the cash withdrawals.

Former_MSE_Dan

Hi bert,

The quick answer is both.

The 1% load applies to all transactions outside Europe, no matter what type of transaction it is.

HTH

Dan

Baldur

bert wrote: »

Just a quick query on Martin's article I don't understand.

The 1% (worldwide) load on the Nationwide Debit Card. Does that apply to debit card purchases only Or Does it apply to cash withdrawals also?
I'm just trying to ascertain whether I'm going to have to buy everything in cash, but if the load applies to cash withdrawals too I may aswell use the card for purchase transactions - save me going to cash points all the time.

I also have a nationwide gold credit card which I could use for purchasing, but with the 1% load, I may aswell take cash out for all purchases if the nationwide debit card does load on the cash withdrawals.

As per MSE Dan's post - you can find full details and the countries affected on the Nationwide website HERE.