Nationwide Flex Account Help

scottishgirl87

Hi there, LONG time lurker of these boards, now signed up as I think this will be the best place to ask my question!

Going to America in May with my boyfriend. I, myself, have a Nationwide Flex Account which I'm happy with and will be using while we are there. However, boyfriend doesn't and we're in a bit of a muddle as to which will be the best solution for him.

Instantly, I said for him to get a Nationwide Flex Account, then found out they've put the new stipulations in place (when I signed up all I had to do was transfer £100 to the account). If he follows Martin's advice and signs up, opening an e-Savings Plus account with £1 in the process, what happens to this?! Will he be made to put more money in it down the line or what? I don't really understand how it works.

The other alternative is for him to get a FairFX card (or similar), however, I'm not completely convinced on this. I've heard great things about it but I don't like the fact that your money wouldn't be fully covered say anything happens to FairFX.

So do we just sign him up for the NW account (there's always the chance he won't be accepted) or do we take what seems the easier option of a FairFX card?

hartcjhart

ask nationwide for the basic account which only gives you a 'hole in the wall' card

anna42hmr

scottishgirl87 wrote: »

Hi there, LONG time lurker of these boards, now signed up as I think this will be the best place to ask my question!

Going to America in May with my boyfriend. I, myself, have a Nationwide Flex Account which I'm happy with and will be using while we are there. However, boyfriend doesn't and we're in a bit of a muddle as to which will be the best solution for him.

Instantly, I said for him to get a Nationwide Flex Account, then found out they've put the new stipulations in place (when I signed up all I had to do was transfer £100 to the account). If he follows Martin's advice and signs up, opening an e-Savings Plus account with £1 in the process, what happens to this?! Will he be made to put more money in it down the line or what? I don't really understand how it works.

The other alternative is for him to get a FairFX card (or similar), however, I'm not completely convinced on this. I've heard great things about it but I don't like the fact that your money wouldn't be fully covered say anything happens to FairFX.

So do we just sign him up for the NW account (there's always the chance he won't be accepted) or do we take what seems the easier option of a FairFX card?

i have recently opened up a nationwide flex account got accepted for cheque book and full visa debit card without selecting to have the account as my main one, and no transfers for dd's etc which they seem to imply you must do.

I have received the card cheque book etc already and account is up and running

wether it is because i have had their credit card for years i dont know, but i applied via their online site (as i operate my nationwide cc online)

Is it a card that you want for cash withdrawls or just payments in shops etc, as if it is payments in shops, you could consider the following credit cards: santander zero, post office and nationwide credit card. The first 2 dont charge for use abroad, nationwide charge 1% out of europe. However dont withdraw cash on the card as charge interest from withdrawls.

Or if you trust eachother financially, you could use your flex current account when need to withdraw cash for the both of you, and he get a credit card for payments for you both in shops etc.

Also US dollar travellers cheques are widely accepted out there (can even use them as payment in larger shops/resturants/hotels etc without changing them in banks etc) they were great for us when we went to new york and orlando in 2007

scottishgirl87

Thanks for the replies. Don't want to go down the credit card option I'm afraid.

We used my FlexAccount alone while in Vegas in 2008, however, this was stupid as if we'd lost the card or an ATM had swallowed it we'd have had no access to money, luckily we didn't but don't want to take that chance this time.

To be honest, I think it'll be mainly used to withdraw cash from ATM's, however, last time I did use my Flex Account card to purchase some items in shops (nothing major, clothes mainly).

Argh I just don't know what to do for the best!

anna42hmr

scottishgirl87 wrote: »

We used my FlexAccount alone while in Vegas in 2008, however, this was stupid as if we'd lost the card or an ATM had swallowed it we'd have had no access to money, luckily we didn't but don't want to take that chance this time.


Argh I just don't know what to do for the best!

in that case then i would suggest that he tries for the nationwide flex account and hopes for the best and then if declined, get travellers cheques in us dollars, as if your cash card doesnt work can use them to buy stuff in shops etc or exchange them for cash in the banks.

i tend not to go on hols without t.c's as i know they are outdated but were invaluable in australia when my cards and cash were stolen. the t/cs were stolen as well (and my passport) but luckilliy american express replaced them by 9.30 the next morning (they were stolen at 9pm so called their emergency line, and they set up a theft report, arranged for replacements and set up pass codes so i could use the replacements in the banks whilst waiting for my passport to be replaced by the consulate as had no id)

also paper travellers cheques are used more widely in australia and america unlike europe/uk. as i said before many shops take them as if they were dollar notes and give the change in notes etc. we only had one shop that did not take them in new york and that was a tiny independant corner shop

ferf1223

scottishgirl87 wrote: »

The other alternative is for him to get a FairFX card (or similar), however, I'm not completely convinced on this. I've heard great things about it but I don't like the fact that your money wouldn't be fully covered say anything happens to FairFX.

So do we just sign him up for the NW account (there's always the chance he won't be accepted) or do we take what seems the easier option of a FairFX card?

Actually, your funds are still protected if FairFX go bust - I asked this question of them previously as I was similarly worried...apparently the funds relating to the FairFX cards are held in a ring-fenced account with NBS - so if FairFX goes bust, no one can touch the money in the client account so we would be OK.

However, if NBS goes bust, then yes, we would be screwed...something their initial reply to me did not make clear and I challenged them on when I received my card and the T&Cs made it clear that the funds would not be protected if NBS went bust. FairFX did answer the question I asked 'what happens if FairFX goes bust' but didn't actually address the logical follow-up question.

Nevertheless, we have put some money on cards with them our last 2 trips and haven't had much of an issue. We have 2 - because if one is lost or stolen you can contact them to move the funds from one to the other. We got them at separate times and in both cases got £7.50 quidco for signing up.

The only problem I've had with FairFX is once I asked for $700 and only got $500 from the ATM...the transaction went through as $500, so I didn't lose anything, but it was odd. The other time I had a problem one cashpoint rejected the card twice (I didn't try a third time)...but used it at another cashpoint later that day and all was OK

We're planning on using them again for our trip in April...but we will never use FairFX alone - we also have a Nationwide card and bring some cash...

Baldur

scottishgirl87 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. Don't want to go down the credit card option I'm afraid.

We used my FlexAccount alone while in Vegas in 2008, however, this was stupid as if we'd lost the card or an ATM had swallowed it we'd have had no access to money, luckily we didn't but don't want to take that chance this time.

To be honest, I think it'll be mainly used to withdraw cash from ATM's, however, last time I did use my Flex Account card to purchase some items in shops (nothing major, clothes mainly).

Argh I just don't know what to do for the best!

For the USA, the Cash Card Account may be a better option than a full Flex account, as the associated (Cirrus-based, from memory) Debit Card doen't currently attract the 1% VISA fee that the Flex a/c Debit Card does for ATM withdrawals outside the VISA Europe sphere of operations.

hartcjhart

Baldur wrote: »

For the USA, the Cash Card Account may be a better option than a full Flex account, as the associated (Cirrus-based, from memory) Debit Card doen't currently attract the 1% VISA fee that the Flex a/c Debit Card does for ATM withdrawals outside the VISA Europe sphere of operations.

yep thats the chappie:beer:

scottishgirl87

Thanks guys. I think we're going to try for the Nationwide card first.

However, does anyone know what happens with the e-Savings Plus account that he'll have to have attached to the account?

scottishgirl87

Ok, have tried to sign up and it's offering the Cash Card instead of Flex Account. Should we take this then to solely use abroad?