MSE News discussion. Nationwide kills cheap overseas spending

ManAtHome

gusmelv wrote: »

If I am reading you correctly........it would seem that I would be better withdrawing cash in Spain on a Clarity card and then paying the cash into my Spanish account? - rather than transferring funds on online banking?

Or sticking to my Nationwide cards and doing the same?

Looks that way for now - the Clarity card is a suspiciously good product**. It's effectively the same as the Nationwide credit card for purchases, and a pretty amazing 1% (ish) a month for cash advances.

Although you can't pre-load it (so you'll end up paying some interest), you could withdraw cash then pay it off when the transaction appears on your (online) statement - possibly just a few pence interest.

Only downside could be credit and ATM limits if you're trying to move thousands rather than hundreds.

**Will be interesting to see how long the current terms last...

From November, the Nationwide debit card will cost 2% plus a quid for ATM withdrawals (so around 2.3% on a 300 euro max w/d, 3% for 100 euros). The credit card has a cash withdrawal surcharge as well as interest. Whilst better than most, the gap is narrowing (and now not as good as the Clarity or FairFX/Caxton/Rational pre-paid cards).

C_Mababejive

Aotearovas wrote: »

Before getting carried away with the munificence of Nationwide in giving free travel insurance instead of ‘free ‘ money, a word of warning if you are a keen motorcyclist. The Travel Insurance policy as currently detailed on the Nationwide website will only cover you if you are riding a machine up to 125cc. This is useless for anyone, like me, who likes to tour Europe on a much larger machine.
RELYING UPON THIS POLICY COULD BE DANGEROUS FOR YOUR HEALTH AND WALLET.
BTW, too many travel policies are like this, containing this insidious exclusion in their small print. If you are a touring biker I urge you to read the small print, just in case

Indeed though for health purposes,i always take my EHIC card as i am entitled to reciprocal healthcare in the EU. I would much rather attend many non UK EU state hospitals than languish i a UK hospital.

RobertinHerts

The promised standard mass mailing letter has still not turned up, has anyone's? But I picked up leaflet in branch today entitled 'We're making some important changes to your current account'. Interesting that they don't use the 'Flexaccount' name on the front of the leaflet.

On page 5 they alledge that withdrawals abroad are still cheaper than competitors and list 8 banks with their charges.

Robert

luci

liv1975 wrote: »

Don't know where you get your Travel Insurance from mate, but my wife (who has a pre-existing medical condition to add to the complication) and I have worldwide cover inc USA/Canada with good cover / low excess for £32/year!

Can I ask who you have your travel insurance with? It's always handy to have another company to try.

I called Nationwide Travel Insurance tonight and it's an additional £20 for worldwide cover. They covered the OH's PEMC with no additional premium.

jonesjw

If Nationwide offer a service, it is not an abuse for customers to use it.

If Nationwide advertise they are different, run for the benefit of members, actively promote free overseas withdrawals & then quickly change that policy, that is an abuse of customers. Time to move some of my money in protest.

DesG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la0gB_FJ3gY remember that Nationwide!

I have lodged an official complaint, and will be closing my accounts after the next AGM where I will be registering my protest vote.

LondonPerson

Is it not better to keep 1p in the account just to make them suffer so their profit per account is low, the measurement that they are trying to correct. Whip out your capital sums and the working balance that you have but keep the account so it screws up their measurements, although the measurements will head west as they loose the ready sums that they loan out to other people at higher values than they pay you.

One guesses that they have inertia built into their modelling where they believe that customers won't leave Nationwide having set confusion in peoples minds over their other worthy product which will cost them less to offer than than any lost income and capital from people switching out ["free" European insurance v the savings less the costs of dumping "free" use of cards abroad]. The letter from Nationwide I got said one third of Flexaccount users used their cards abroad each year and I would guess those customers are not poor people with small investments in Nationwide but loaded people who see this as an abusive act on it's customers and are not the type of people that do "inertia".

On that para I have where they talk about who benefits from no fees in card use abroad and it's not equitable, it's hardly equitable not to offer the benefits of this insurance too all whether it is your sole account / main account or not, whether you want it or not etc. So they have some duff logic by not matching on a per £ basis my rewards over somebody who has a smaller amount of income they pass through the account. All of this equitable business is tosh.

Why does Joe Bloggs who goes to Bogner every year not see a bit of action either. That is hardly equitable is it. It could be in Tory circles... ah post 6th May logic in all of this one thinks. Perhaps the marketing pigeon hole for Flexaccount customers is now young somethings who go to Ibiza for a weekend, cash in hand, get plastered and more, but know they are OK since they have a Flexaccount should something happen [as long as the bike is not above 125cc and any other limiting terms], they would have obviously lost their debit card [they have many uses so I understand] and would have no need to draw cash out. Oh well since we don't fit into this marketing cluster, one should take one custom elsewhere [one could play with this for a bit].

I reckon that Nationwide management have bitten off more than they can chew on this one.

Dr_Cuckoo3

DesG wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la0gB_FJ3gY remember that Nationwide!

Thats not the good old Nationwide

I've had an account long enough to remember when they charged Cashbuilder customers 60p for LINK ATM withdrawals . InvestDirect customers 60p for Nationwide ATM withdrawals and FlexAccount customers 60p for RBS/TSB ATM withdrawals (When RBS/TSB joined LINK)

There is nothing nice about Nationwide

Some funny people joined Nationwide post Harden to save them from the carpetbaggers :A

Any post-signaway member who was old enough to open an account pre-signaway is a .........

divsco

Hello There...

My first post here on MSE...

I also got my informative letter and associated pamphlet in the mail yesterday...

After a little bit of thought...

I wonder if this is a precursor to big changes..??

Most notably perhaps a whirl on the stock market merry-go-round..!!

Just think how much less the "Nationwide" would have to pay out to eligible customers..
Who are simple NOT customers anymore..??
Even the ones who are still customers would likely also not qualify because......
They simply didn't have "X" amount of cash in their account on a certain date..

I'll venture a guess at this being either 01/01/11 or 01/04/11
No Doubt the qualifying amount being £100.01+ or £250.01+

Who knows perhaps just paranoia on my part..

But i will admit to always keeping my account funded with a few hundred pounds for the last twelve years or more..

Ever since i got a very nice little share payout from the Northern Rock..
When they privatised themselves..

I remember at the time there was some qualifying criteria for the NR..
"X" amount in your account on a certain day..??

This is either pie in the ski. or food for thought.?

Regardless I'm sticking around..

C_Mababejive

Its all very well talking about moving accounts but who to? Santander are reputedly carp and others have excessive charges for minor transgressions. Maybe NW is the best of a bad bunch still?