Spending in South Africa

dave2044

Could someone advise me what the best way to either load or a card to spend on in South Africa with the best rates?

robdog1

I dont think that there is a "good" way to get cash in S.A. without paying for fees of one sort or other, if you use a preloaded cash card you will find there is a withdrawal fee this is usually lower than using a debit card in the ATMs [my own bank Alliance & Leicester/Santander] cap my max withdrawal at atms to £50 daily because of the high incidence of fraud in S.A..The only other peice of advice is to get a Santander Zero card this is good for buying goods and services, no charge for conversions etc. don't use it to get cash out of an atm as you will be stung for high % interest charges. The only crumb of comfort is to prepay things like car hire/accommadation whilst still in the U.K. Having thrown a wet blanket on your holiday having said all that it is a fantastic country and I know you will have a great time, we leave in Jan for our 14th visit and love the place.

Going_to_South_Africa

I'm, not sure if they still offer this service but I have just got back from living there for a yera and I used Nationwide's cash card there fine with no charges, except local standard bank charges. YOu could also set up a Barclays bank currrent account and then withdraw free of charge from ABSA, a South African bank which is owned by Barclays.

Depends if you want the hassle of setting up at account and the time you have.

themightysloth

I've just got back from 3 weeks in South Africa and Namibia (gutted to be home!).

Before i went i got a Halifax Clarity Credit Card based on forum advice here.

they don't charge commission for taking cash out of machines, nor do they have any charges for spending abroad.

I've just got my first statement and everything has come through as i expected.

In SA i withdrew around £300 in total from machines and was charged 78p interest on that cash. no other charges.

Most places in the main cities in SA take credit card (though make sure you always either go with the person to the card machine if you're in a restaurant or bar or have them bring the card machine to you as it is quite common for people to have their card cloned - happened to a friend of mine out there... and there are warnings in all restaurants, hotels, bars about this in Namibia).

It is probably best to spend for goods and services on the card than take out money but as i say above, i was charged v little interest on my withdrawals.

hope that helps! where are you off to in SA?

craigpauli

Good to know...:money: