Student studying abroad

twhatmough

My son is about to study in France and Spain for 1 year. What would be the best bank account for him, and is there any good advice for him?

Oldernotwiser

A Nationwide Flexaccount allows you to withdraw money on the Continent without paying any charges and at a decent exchange rate.

Make sure he has his EHIC and takes out insurance as well.

MrsManda

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

A Nationwide Flexaccount allows you to withdraw money on the Continent without paying any charges and at a decent exchange rate.
Make sure he has his EHIC and takes out insurance as well.

The Flexaccount is good but you need to check that it still has no charges for cash withdrawals - they changed some of their conditions recently and not all countries are now covered.
Nationwide's cash reward credit card is also good for use in other countries but again check the conditions as I'm sure they've changed in the last few weeks.

WolfSong2000

Last time I checked, as long as you're in the EU there's still no charges - it's ony outside the EU they charge, but I could be wrong on this .

Oldernotwiser

WolfSong2000 wrote: »

Last time I checked, as long as you're in the EU there's still no charges - it's ony outside the EU they charge, but I could be wrong on this .

That was my understanding of the recent changes as well.

mquine

Advise him to take a Nationwide VISA debit card with him when he goes over and to open a local bank account asap. For France, he'll need to specify he wants a carte bleue instead of an withdrawal card. All banks are pretty much the same - most important to go for a bank that has a good branch near him. Might be worth it if his group of fellow students agree to open an account at the same bank and refer each other for maximum freebies. Be aware that it is the norm to pay a monthly fee for the privilege of owning a bank account in France. (Couple of euros, max.) However, you do get good customer service as a result. Also, if he doen't have a CB, it'll be obvious he's a foreigner. He'll never pass for French.

An EHIC card will entitle him to pay for his healthcare in France, just like the French do. Prescriptions are more expensive over there, so it's worth stocking up on medication here before he goes if he does have an ongoing condition.

Btw, encourage him to find out about the CAF. Pretty much everyone is entitled to housing benefit, even students. I don't think students get a lot, compared to people who work but who are on low wages, but every little helps.

If he runs into trouble, a BIJ is a good place for advice. I've never been to a town without one in it.

If he's under 25, tell him to get a Carte 12-25. (Like a Young Person's Railcard.) It makes the already cheap train travel even cheaper.

Champion and Casino both have loyalty cards. (Like a Tesco Clubcard.) It's worth getting one even for only six months.

No idea about Spain.

Oldernotwiser

mquine wrote: »

An EHIC card will entitle him to pay for his healthcare in France, just like the French do. Prescriptions are more expensive over there, so it's worth stocking up on medication here before he goes if he does have an ongoing condition.


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An EHIC card will entitle him to have 70% of his healthcare covered, just like the French do. This is why I said he needs to take out additional insurance. I can't see any benefit in opening a French bank account; as you say, they're expensive to run.

Kez1983

I went to Germany and Spain for my degree. I opened a bank account in Germany as I worked and needed wages paying, but was studying in Spain so just used my English account. I wouldnt bother with a local account if he is just studying.

Just on the trip in general, the best advise I can give is to socialise with as many people as possible, he wont just meet French/Spanish people but people from all over the world. I will never forget running into a person at uni in Spain that I had met at a party in Germany! Talk of coinsidence!

For accomodation I cant really comment on France, but with Spain there are always rooms available. He could always do as I did for second semester and contact someone from his uni that is doing 1st semester in that place and just take over their room!! Easy Peasy!

If there is anything else you need to know PM me and Ill try and help!!

mquine

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I can't see any benefit in opening a French bank account; as you say, they're expensive to run.

The exchange rate?

MissPop

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I can't see any benefit in opening a French bank account; as you say, they're expensive to run.

If he's working abroad, I can only assume he will have to have one to receive his wages/pay for accomodation etc. Just makes things easier (plus as mquine said, if he did it all using an English account, he would lose out due to the exchange rate) Anyway, as I see it, the year abroad is to immerse yourself in the language, including the mundane stuff like banking - dealing with French/Spanish banks will certainly help in that respect!

Oldernotwiser

MissPop wrote: »

If he's working abroad, I can only assume he will have to have one to receive his wages/pay for accomodation etc. Just makes things easier (plus as mquine said, if he did it all using an English account, he would lose out due to the exchange rate) Anyway, as I see it, the year abroad is to immerse yourself in the language, including the mundane stuff like banking - dealing with French/Spanish banks will certainly help in that respect!

Nobody said he was working abroad (although of course he might be). If he's living on his loan/grant/money from family then it won't make any difference if it's paid into a UK or foreign bank account; the exchange rate will affect it either way.

French bank accounts charge a minimum of 5 euros a month to operate, more if you want internet access or a debit card. That's quite a bit of unnecessary money if you're on a limited income.