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adindas

Wise solution

ADINDAS

Mary_Unwin wrote: »

I have applied for a Halifax Clarity Card which has been approved. I bank with Nationwide and i am going to Menorca on 19 September. I think I will take around £50 worth of Euros, pay be Credit card as much as possible and draw more money from my Nationwide Flex account if necessary. Does that sound like the best thing to do?

MyBigToe_2

Hey, im looking for some advice regarding using currency in mexico

Im going for about 3 months, and want to take about £800 cash, and I have signed up for the halifax card (i think i got it, but the website crashed halfway through and i have to call up tomorrow)

Should i also get a prepaid card do you think? Can you only top up online, and can you top up with another persons debit/credit card? (My family could then add money if i need it for an emergency)

im looking to have about £3000 total, and i can use my online banking to pay off the credit card every month.

ran1gers2001

Hi guys I'm off to Florida in a couple of weeks and was wondering what is the best way to take my currency. I've had a read here and have ended up more confused than I was before so really looking for some advice on what is the best option.

Last time I went I just used my Nationwide debit and credit card but it seems that is no longer the best option. I would be likely to use about £800-£1000 at most.

Any ideas?

Cheers.

luci

If you already have a Nationwide debit and credit card then you might be as well to continue using them. They currently have a 1% loading which is the Visa fee and is less than most other cards.

The new overseas charges don't happen until 1 November and only apply to the debit card, not the credit card.

After 1 November the Halifax Clarity credit card might be your best bet with no charges on purchases and cash withdrawals at 12.9% with no fees which equates to 1% a month.

zaffi

hi guys, going to the states to get married and honeymoon we'll be away for just over 4 weeks and can't decide the best way to sort our money.

The main issue is the volume, we could have upto £12K saved for the trip so it's how best to use it as even an average say 1% charge is potentially £100 or so :eek:

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to arrange spending, we did look at a dedicated dollar bank account with citibank but not sure on the rate.

The zero and clarity cards, i'm not too sure on it depends on credit limits but say we spent £6K on one of them but paid it off within a month, would it be £60 in fees?

any advice would be greatly appreciated
cheers
zaf

CountryGoose

The cheapest way will to be spend as much as possible on a zero loading card and keep cash to the min. No need for a $ bank account or bulk FX.

If you really are spending 12K in four weeks, a lot must be on high end hotels, food and attractions. Unless you're in Vegas and spend a lot of time at the tables.....

I just applied for a Clarity card and came away with a 6.5K limit - if you do the same, you will need to make payments mid trip via internet or phone banking to make sure you don't bust your limit.

As there are two of you, you could both get cards and get a bit of safety in case one is lost/stolen and also for a higher combined limit.

I would also get a FairFX Anywhere card - free, can be topped up quickly and good if you need cash quickly.

slouchycub

What percentage of people exchange their travel money online?

zaffi

CountryGoose wrote: »

The cheapest way will to be spend as much as possible on a zero loading card and keep cash to the min. No need for a $ bank account or bulk FX.

If you really are spending 12K in four weeks, a lot must be on high end hotels, food and attractions. Unless you're in Vegas and spend a lot of time at the tables.....

I just applied for a Clarity card and came away with a 6.5K limit - if you do the same, you will need to make payments mid trip via internet or phone banking to make sure you don't bust your limit.

As there are two of you, you could both get cards and get a bit of safety in case one is lost/stolen and also for a higher combined limit.

I would also get a FairFX Anywhere card - free, can be topped up quickly and good if you need cash quickly.

cheers for the reply, I can honestly see us spending that amount, we'll be in vegas for 1 week to get married, so will be gambling but not too much! But we will be travelling about and with no fixed itinery we could spend quite a lot in accom, assuming say $100-200 per night for 21 nights that adds up, plus the travelling whether it be car hire or air fare or train/bus fare. Not even mentioned food or entertainment.

I think tbh your suggestions seem to make sense probably the cc for spending and the fairfx for withdrawals? or the cc for everything with the fairfx only as a backup?

lorne57

Hi

I've been looking at the travelmoneymax site through MSE at the US dollar exchange rate.

The top 5 or so companies always seem to be in the top 5 and I've never heard of some of them:(

Anybody had any problems getting cash/TC through any of them?

We've usually trawled the high street but the rates are really low out there at the moment so thought I'd try online.

Any advice?....its a lot of money to lose if there are problems and its needed within the next 2 weeks:eek:

luci

Crown Currency Exchange consistently give the best rates, but you need to order from them at least 10 days in advance. They deliver on the date agreed.