Buying Euros - Abbey Zero Credit Card

SaverSueG

Hi all, please forgive me if this is a stupid question but I can't get my head round the various charges when buying foreign currency.

I want to buy Euros prior to going on holiday and having asked at the Travel Agents and Post Office in branch for their rates, the exchange rates for various Online services are higher. But I would normally pay cash therefore the rate I see in the TA/PO is exactly what I pay.

From what I understand, if I order online eg using the Post Office site, I need to pay using a card when I order. So although the rates look better it is outweighed by charges which will be applied by the card provider.

I have an Abbey Zero Credit Card. If I use this to buy online, can anyone confirm if there will be no charges so I would get the better rate? Or are there still some hidden charges somewhere? I would pay the credit card bill as soon as it arrives.

We only want £400 or £500. Many thanks for any advice.

ferf1223

Even if there are no charges for buying foreign currency, it would be classed as a cash advance - so you would start paying interest (at the higher cash advance rate) from the time of the transaction as there is no interest free period on cash advances.

According to the terms of the card it appears that there are no cash advance fees and no fees for foreign exchange transactions...so it doesn't sound like there would be any fees (may be worth calling them and asking though), but you would need to figure out how much interest you might pay.

Plus the Post Office site says that payment by MasterCard incurs a 1.5% fee, minimum £4, maximum of £15.

Have you looked at places like Crown Currency (you pay by cheque or bank transfer so no fees)? I'm surprised if you have found local travel agents/post office branch with better rates.

dzug1

I would expect (though I'm not 100% certain) that it's the Post Office who would charge you for using the Santander card, not Santander

SaverSueG

Thanks to you both for your replies.

Agree (thanks ferf1223) looks like I would have to pay cash advance interest charges. Can't work out what these are (my maths never was that good) but am reluctant to do this anyway in principle! I didn't find the mastercard fees.

Will check out Crown Currency. Thank you.

Donnie

Erm....why do you need to buy them prior to going on holiday? Why not withdraw them with the Zero card when you get there? Is it because the Euro is weak at the moment?
A PM is on the way to you.

SaverSueG

Hi Donnie have replied to your PM thank you. I suppose I feel more comfortable having cash in case we struggle to find cash machines in the resort. Or I can't get them to work. I'm still a bit of a dinosaur with technology, don't really understand how it all works and cash is so reassuring!!

ferf1223

I agree with you, Sue...we're fine with technology and go overseas a few times a year so it's not new to us...but we still normally buy about 1/2 the cash we think we will need before we go and use other options (Nationwide debit card, Santander Zero debit card, FairFX) to withdraw the remainder. That way we feel like we have time to sort things out in case something goes wrong. I would personally never arrive in another country without at least a decent amount of the coin of the realm in my bag already.

glenderg

SaverSueG wrote: »

Thanks to you both for your replies.

Agree (thanks ferf1223) looks like I would have to pay cash advance interest charges. Can't work out what these are (my maths never was that good) but am reluctant to do this anyway in principle! I didn't find the mastercard fees.

Will check out Crown Currency. Thank you.

Might be an idea to buy your money and then pay your CC bill next day so only a very small amount of intrest to pay.

Donnie

ferf1223 wrote: »

I agree with you, Sue...we're fine with technology and go overseas a few times a year so it's not new to us...but we still normally buy about 1/2 the cash we think we will need before we go and use other options (Nationwide debit card, Santander Zero debit card, FairFX) to withdraw the remainder. That way we feel like we have time to sort things out in case something goes wrong. I would personally never arrive in another country without at least a decent amount of the coin of the realm in my bag already.

Ludicrous More to do with anxiety than common sense. Not too many airports or towns without cashpoints or a Bureau de Change.