Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

straped

Hi

I have a POOR credit rating ! and bank with HSBC but will need to withdraw cash while I'm away -

Was wondering do you think that Nationwide will open a basic acount for me ? or does this just come with a cash card and if so can I use that abroad ?

Don't really need a debit card just a means to withdraw cash.

redthunder123

I have a €1560 euro deposit to pay for a hotel booking (skiing in January)
- what is the best way to pay this? The hotel will give their Iban a/c number if I request it.
I have all the cash in a deposit a/c.
Can use Tesco C/Card (which earns points)
Lloyds Visa Debit
or RBS Gold A/c
I'm paying the deposit for family as well so is it cheaper to pay in one lump rather than three ppls deposits. (They will definitely pay me back so no worries there!)
Many thanks

dzug1

redthunder123 wrote: »

I have a €1560 euro deposit to pay for a hotel booking (skiing in January)
- what is the best way to pay this? The hotel will give their Iban a/c number if I request it.
I have all the cash in a deposit a/c.
Can use Tesco C/Card (which earns points)
Lloyds Visa Debit
or RBS Gold A/c
I'm paying the deposit for family as well so is it cheaper to pay in one lump rather than three ppls deposits. (They will definitely pay me back so no worries there!)
Many thanks

The Tesco credit card looks like the best way - I'm assuming the hotel DOES accept credit cards. Make sure they charge in euros, not ££ - that could be tricky remotely

bigboyeast

Redthunder123

Watch which card you use. Tesco Credit cards are provided by RBS (currently). All RBS credit and debit cards don’t use the Visa or MasterCard wholesale rate, but use a rate set by RBS (which has a 500 point spread). This is significantly worse that the Visa/MC rates. I am in the middle of a complaint process with RBS and it looks like this will be referred to the FSA as I believe they are in breach of the Payment Services Regulation 2009 when doing this practice.

Look at the figures

Tesco RBS rate - 2.75%
RBS RBS rate - 2.75%
Lloyds Visa rate – 2.95% + £1

I am checking rates on a daily basis to back up my case. Comparison is hard as RBS/Tesco apply their rate when they post transaction to your account and Lloyds will apply Visa rate when transaction is settled with Visa (usually also the date the transaction is posted to your account). As an example, for a transaction settled on 26/07 rates would be

MasterCard 1.1965
RBS 1.1684
Visa 1.1958

Loaded RBS/Tesco = 1.1371 ( RBS – 2.75%)
Loaded Lloyds = 1.1615 (Visa – 2.95%)

Therefore
Tesco/RBS = 1560/1.1371 = £1371.91
Lloyds = (1560/1.1615) + 1 = £1344.09

Get a better card or use the Lloyds debit or pay RBS £27 extra

Toe-Jam

straped wrote: »

Hi

I have a POOR credit rating ! and bank with HSBC but will need to withdraw cash while I'm away -

Was wondering do you think that Nationwide will open a basic acount for me ? or does this just come with a cash card and if so can I use that abroad ?

Don't really need a debit card just a means to withdraw cash.

Try a prepaid card https://www.caxtonfx.com for europe will give you free atm withdrawals

and a fairfx anywhere card for anywhere else https://www.fairfx.com

rd6821

Hello all,

I'm going to Budapest on the 11th August. I haven't got any suitable cards and it seems too late to order one of the credit cards now. I also assume since the pre-paid cards don't seem to cover Forints as currency, they're a no go either. It seems the cheapest cash is from The Change Group. I can collect this from Luton airport, where they have a branch. My question is how far in advance can I order? I'm looking to order just over a week in advance of collection, because I will be unable to order them after this. Also, if I pay by faster payments transfer, will the same debit card charges be applied?

abandonded

Holiday over, have 270 euros left and am wondering where would be the best place to sell them. Any ideas?

dzug1

abandonded wrote: »

Holiday over, have 270 euros left and am wondering where would be the best place to sell them. Any ideas?

A friend who is going to Euroland is the best place. A mutually advantageous rate can be agreed - or you can rook him if you are that way inclined and he doesn't read this forum.:)

High Street rates vary from day to day and are generally poor - there is far less competition to buy back than to sell, so the spread is wider.

Merrion_Square

abandonded wrote: »

Holiday over, have 270 euros left and am wondering where would be the best place to sell them. Any ideas?

Mmmmm...euros....yes please! I'm off to France on Tues. 3rd Aug. and need just about that amount. Are you in London (or south east)? If so, how about exchanging with me at whatever the Yahoo exchange rate is at the time? http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/q?s=GBPEUR=X

PS: any euro coins would be especially welcome.

PPS: if anyone else has unwanted euros then I'm always happy to exchange on the above terms.

sscrabble

dzug1 wrote: »

Most credit cards don't like you 'front loading' - it's often against the T&C.

What happens if you do it is another matter - you may well get away with it, or they may at some stage return the payment, or they may just write to you asking you not to do it again.

That's general advice - how it applies in this particular case I've no idea.

I had the same idea, to front load --- can anyone confirm whether you can get cash $ in the usa without any fees if you front load a clarity card ?