Year Abroad studying in Japan Finances!

Osirls

Hi guys,

So I'm about to fly off to Japan (Fukuoka) for a year this sunday and thought I had a fairly ironed out plan for how I am going to handle my money and transferring my student loan from my UK bank account to Japanese account when I get it.

I have a Nationwide saving account (they wouldn't give me debit card because they are stingy gits hehe) which I have read is the best (or one of?) for making foreign currency withdrawals.

Can anyone advise me further? As I will be handling large amounts of money from my loan etc I wanna get the best deal!

Basically, what is the best way to get my loan of around £1500 each installment into Japanese yen or into my Japanese bank account?
I could try getting a credit card if that's the best deal. Or perhaps a prepaid card?
It's all very confusing..

Thanks!

inneedofmoney

why not get a Nationwide Flex account Cash card accout? This is all I have and I live in Spain can make as many free withdrawals as I like with a good exchange rate. Their visa card I believe they are now charging for withdrawals but not their cash card.

Osirls

Sorry, yeah it's a Nationwide FlexAccount Cash card that I have. I was just planning on withdrawing abroad at 0.84%.

Is that really the best option as it will be for the entire year.
Perhaps I could have my student loan paid directly into my Japanese account when I get it?

thanks again

fifeken

Osirls wrote: »

Sorry, yeah it's a Nationwide FlexAccount Cash card that I have. I was just planning on withdrawing abroad at 0.84%.

If you've got the cash card then there is no charge. The 0.84% charge is a Visa fee and the cash card is Cirrus/Mastercard.

Osirls

I see so that 0.84% is if i use the card to spend?
Seeing it's a cash card I won't be doing that..

So if I withdraw in Japan with this card it costs nothing but the exchange rate that banks are set by Visa as on their currency calculator (30,000yen for £210.00 @ 142.85 to pound)
?

Comparing that to MSE's Currency calculator it seems I get a worse rate than many of the better rates the MSE calculator shows me..

So is it not better to then do big transfers via say travelex online (30,000 yen for £205.91 @ 145.694yen to pound) rather than withdrawing with my cash card each time? Maybe get the travelex prepaid card?

Are my calculations correct?

Thanks again!

fifeken

Yes, the 0.84% is charged on debit card purchases and ATM withdrawals - the cash card can't be used for purchases and doesn't incur the fee on cash withdrawals.

Japan does seem to be a place where the Visa rate isn't competitive compared to those that come up on the MSE Calculator.

I'm not familiar with Travelex transfers/cards so can't really comment.