How to buy travellers cheques or foreign currency

pin

watcher wrote:

M&S rates are good but beware if you pay by visa debit card as there will be a 1.5% charge which does not show until you check your bank statement. M&S do not advertise this.

I think this a charge coming from your debit card provider, not M&S. For example Barclays charge, but Nationwide does not.

watcher_2

Our bank would not admit to making the charge but said it was generated by Visa International. Even so, I think it would be prudent for M&S to advise customers of this charge - I could easily have obtained cash instead of using my debit card.

pin

watcher wrote:

Our bank would not admit to making the charge but said it was generated by Visa International. Even so, I think it would be prudent for M&S to advise customers of this charge - I could easily have obtained cash instead of using my debit card.

I'm not too sure about that, ie the bit about A&L saying its something Visa do. Even if that is the case, it would still be in your terms.

About M&S telling you, again I don't think its their responsibility. Saying that, Travelex do state that:

[font=arial,verdana]

Please note: The purchase of travel money with a credit/debit card may incur a cash advance fee charged by your credit/debit card issuer. This fee would be levied irrespective of whether your travel money was purchased by phone, over the internet or over the counter. This is NOT charged by Travelex. Maestro/Switch cards do not incur a cash advance fee.

[/font]

purplegirluk1

So if we take maybe £100 in euros on holiday and then use our Nationwide debit card to pay for everything else or to take cash out of the machines we will be saving on all fees? It won't charge anything at all? I just want to make suare that I have read this right as I am sorting our money out tommorw for our holiday on Tuesday. Thanks in advance :-)

pin

purplegirluk1 wrote:

So if we take maybe £100 in euros on holiday and then use our Nationwide debit card to pay for everything else or to take cash out of the machines we will be saving on all fees? It won't charge anything at all? I just want to make suare that I have read this right as I am sorting our money out tommorw for our holiday on Tuesday. Thanks in advance :-)

That's about right. However watch for Dynamic Currency Conversion. Also no real need to even take £100 worth of Euros. You could get away with about £20 - 50 and then get the rest from an ATM.

purplegirluk1

What does Dynamic Currecy Conversion mean? We alrady have 100E so will take that with us and then use the card for the rst I think. We are going to a pretty samll town but hope that there will be cash machines around, fingers crossed.

pin

purplegirluk1 wrote:

What does Dynamic Currecy Conversion mean? We alrady have 100E so will take that with us and then use the card for the rst I think. We are going to a pretty samll town but hope that there will be cash machines around, fingers crossed.

There are a load of threads already on that subject, I'll try and find some (on DCC).

For ATMs have a look at the Mastercard and Visa website and they both have ATM finders.

pin

Some threads on the subject (there are more BTW):

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=75932

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=36555

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=73991

purplegirluk1

Thanks Pin, I am a little worried that I won't know if they are charging it or not but I will give it a go and see. I am sure that I will be able to get cash out to use if I do get charged. Thanks again.

pin

purplegirluk1 wrote:

Thanks Pin, I am a little worried that I won't know if they are charging it or not but I will give it a go and see. I am sure that I will be able to get cash out to use if I do get charged. Thanks again.

I've been using Nationwide for several years now in countless countries both to get money out from ATMs and using the credit card in shops. Never had a problem. Some ATMs will charge, but they normally say so. These ATMs are out of the control of Nationwide.