Holiday Money - advice please..!!

steve237

You're best off going to the post office, local travel agents and building societies with a calculator and working out who is the cheapest, taking into account the commissions as well as the exchange rates. There isn't normally a awful lot in it though.

Although usually when in Europe - once I've got an amount of cash using as above - I normally just use my debit card abroad for simplicity - usually costs about £2.50 for a transaction.

When travelling outside Europe I always refer to a forum on a travel site like https://www.virtualtourist.com and https://www.tripadvisor.com and go to the forum for the specific country I am travelling to and see if it's cheaper to get it out there - it often is.
By the way, if you're worried about getting currency mail order, I wouldn't worry - it's all recorded delivery and you'd be covered if you're using a reputable company.

Have a great trip!

Nile

Hello wymondham

Welcome to the MSE site.:wave:

The travel spending article written by MSE Martin on the main site is in this link. It will help you to save money.

Enjoy your holiday.

Kind Regards

Nile

MarkyMarkD

Martin's article is OK as a comparison of the different costs of spending on cards, but it doesn't fully address the comparative costs of getting the cash changed in the UK, or the option of taking sterling and changing it in resort.

hammy_the_hammer

steve237 wrote:

You're best off going to the post office, local travel agents and building societies with a calculator and working out who is the cheapest, taking into account the commissions as well as the exchange rates. There isn't normally a awful lot in it though.

Although usually when in Europe - once I've got an amount of cash using as above - I normally just use my debit card abroad for simplicity - usually costs about £2.50 for a transaction.

When travelling outside Europe I always refer to a forum on a travel site like https://www.virtualtourist.com and https://www.tripadvisor.com and go to the forum for the specific country I am travelling to and see if it's cheaper to get it out there - it often is.
By the way, if you're worried about getting currency mail order, I wouldn't worry - it's all recorded delivery and you'd be covered if you're using a reputable company.

Have a great trip!

steve the 3 options you quote aren't the best or cheapest ways of getting foreign cash.
this subject has been done to death every other day .
peeps just search through this forum to find all the answers ...they all consist of nationwide , thomas cook global exchange (or something similar ) , travelex online picking up at airport ( provided you have the right debit card ) and marks and spencers. end of really .
searching for travelex will bring all the threads up hopefully

steve237

OK, but I can confirm that it is often cheaper to buy currency in the country you are travelling to. It depends on the country but in The Gambia the exchange rates were far better than anything I could have got in the UK. I found this out by looking at the travel forums I mentioned above.

tobys_mummy_2

1: nationwide
2: thomas global exchange (but they are only in london)
**********
3: marks and spencers
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the ******s indicate where i would insert debit cards on the list.it depends on their individual charges whether they are better or worse than M&S. for example from personal experience have found halifax to be better, but HSBC to be worse.

any online websites may have better rates, but as it is seen as a cash advance you will have to pay the same charges from your bank as if you made a cash withdrawal abroad. But from the ATM you would get the visa rate for that day, which is always going to be better than the exchange company as it is the rate that exchange companies buy at and they then sell it to you at a lesser one.

pin

Its been asked soo, soo many times, where is the best place to get holiday money?

I know there are articles about holiday money, etc, however I thought I would write a little list of my top choices:

1. Nationwide Debit Card for ATM withdrawals from destination country / Nationwide Credit Card for purchases in destination country (but watch out for Dynamic Currency Conversion).

2. Any other debit card for ATM withdrawals from destination country / any other credit card for purchases in destination country (but for both CHECK T&C's to see exact charges).

3. Thomas Exchange Global in central London: www.thomasexchangeglobal.co.uk

4. Travelex online: www.travelex.co.uk (remember Travelex will price match any other exchange service)

5. Marks and Spencer

6. Thomson Travel (they seem to use Amex as their travel money provider): http://www.thomson.co.uk/po/showEsse...o?essential=fx

7. Co-op Travel (they use Curreny Express / Exchange and offer free delivery for orders over £300):
https://www.currency-express.com/cooptravelshop/

8. Online FX (their rates probably look higher than the others, but do watch, as they charge £4.95 for delivering the currency): http://www.onlinefx.co.uk/

9. Post Office

With 3 - 9, if you are paying with debit / credit card check your T&C's as many providers charge for the priviledge of using money exchange services.