We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide

Withdrawing money in Eastern European countries?

Hi all,

Next sunday I will be travelling to Budapest and interrailing around eastern Europe. A majority of the countries I intend to visit don't actually use the Euro. So how best do you propose I go about withdrawing cash as I'd rather source it in whatever country I am in than change my sterling to the local currencies before I go.
The reason for this is because we have no plan. i.e. set amount of time in one place, thus i want a bit of flexibility.
Can someone help with the cheapest way to withdraw from ATMs and possibly use chip & pin.

Kind regards

Comments

  • dzug1
    dzug1 Posts: 13,535 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    The fairfx card would be ideal - but getting one in under a week may be a challenge

    Otherwise it's a prepaid card which you can get over the counter (charges tend to be high) or a debit card you already have (charges vary but on average not wildly different from the prepaid card)
  • jainsy
    jainsy Posts: 46 Forumite
    Unfortunately FairFX takes 7-10 days delivery! argh!
  • Donnie
    Donnie Posts: 9,862 Forumite
    Your other choice would be the MyTravelCash Multi-Currency card, but sign up via Moneysupermarket, not direct if you want to get £5 cashback.

    Assuming that you will credit at least £500....Express delivery(free) claims two days, but there will be no name on the card. You can get two(both free) in order to spread your cash over both, for safety reasons.

    You get charged £1 per withdrawal. Nothing for purchases. They shave a reasonable 1.5% off the Mastercard rate.
  • jainsy
    jainsy Posts: 46 Forumite
    Donnie wrote: »
    Your other choice would be the MyTravelCash Multi-Currency card, but sign up via Moneysupermarket, not direct if you want to get £5 cashback.

    What card would you recommend getting the Euro or multi-currency? I assume there is no point in the USD unless there is some sort of exchange benefit?
  • Donnie
    Donnie Posts: 9,862 Forumite
    jainsy wrote: »
    What card would you recommend getting the Euro or multi-currency? I assume there is no point in the USD unless there is some sort of exchange benefit?

    You really have to learn to read. Otherwise you must be joking.
  • jainsy
    jainsy Posts: 46 Forumite
    edited 16 August 2010 at 10:36PM
    Donnie wrote: »
    You really have to learn to read. Otherwise you must be joking.

    Sorry, was at work earlier on my phone so probably missed/misread your post.
    Thanks for your help!
  • Donnie
    Donnie Posts: 9,862 Forumite
    Hope it helps.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 354.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 254.3K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 455.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 247.2K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 603.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 178.4K Life & Family
  • 261.3K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.