Spending abroad

paiten

Hi,

Me and my family are going to Corfu and i have been looking into spending abroad. We were going to exchange £500 into Euros and 1k into travellers cheques. We also have the Halifax clarity card for emergencies. However, reading into it, It seems TC's are old news. So what do I use? We have a Natwest debit card and Nationwide debit card as well as the Clarity. I understand that for big purchases the clarity is good but what about things like eating out or small amounts of cash? Thanks in advance for any help!:eek:

knightstyle

Use the clarity for everything and pay in full at end of month, no fees and good exchange rate. If you need cash use the card and pay the full outstanding balance immediately. We are in France for the season and have been doing that for a few months. The only problem we have found is that you can only withdraw £300 in cash a day even though we have two cards, might be worth going into a branch and seeing if they will up that. Oh and tell them you are going abroad before you go.

iceburn

Also with travel cheques if they lost they can be replace. But as you said that now being replace with travelex passport card. Exchange rate not the best but it's big Plus is if card get lost / stolen they will send money over / new card. But that in theory. Don't know that part reality but actually using the card in march during our trip of France was a nightmare. Nearly lost card to get money

Bob_the_Saver

paiten wrote: »

Hi,

Me and my family are going to Corfu and i have been looking into spending abroad. We were going to exchange £500 into Euros and 1k into travellers cheques. We also have the Halifax clarity card for emergencies. However, reading into it, It seems TC's are old news. So what do I use? We have a Natwest debit card and Nationwide debit card as well as the Clarity. I understand that for big purchases the clarity is good but what about things like eating out or small amounts of cash? Thanks in advance for any help!:eek:

I think you can buy Corfu for that.

dawyldthing

i'd avoid the travel passport card to be honest. I had one for my Asia trip and it was charge after charge unless you get it changed into the currency your going to (which you can for euros). if you want the card check on the best buy table on here as i got ripped off with the percentage for each transaction with Thomas cook

zagfles

paiten wrote: »

Hi,

Me and my family are going to Corfu and i have been looking into spending abroad. We were going to exchange £500 into Euros and 1k into travellers cheques. We also have the Halifax clarity card for emergencies. However, reading into it, It seems TC's are old news. So what do I use? We have a Natwest debit card and Nationwide debit card as well as the Clarity. I understand that for big purchases the clarity is good but what about things like eating out or small amounts of cash? Thanks in advance for any help!:eek:

You have one of the best cards there is for foreign usage, ie the Clarity, and you also have a reasonable one as backup (Nationwide), so why get ripped off by changing cash or using TC's? These will be about 5% more expensive than using the Clarity.

Just withdraw cash from an airport ATM when you arrive, or wait till you get to the resort if you're on a package and don't have to pay for transfers. Maybe take a hundred or so in GBP for emergencies.

Pay the Clarity off as soon as you get back. Maybe leave your spending money in the Nationwide account so it's accessible there should the Clarity not work for any reason.

paiten

Thank you. The clarity does seem to be my best option with my Nationwide as back-up. Was a bit worried about a lack of ATM's in Corfu but someone on another forum has told me there are 5 so I should be fine if I need cash. Been in debt with credit cards Before so I will definitely pay it off as soon as I get home!
Bob the saver, It does seem like a lot but with two teenagers, eating out every evening, and excursions, I am more worried it's not enough!!:o

GettingItRight

I too am going away and will use the Clarity credit card (when the card comes through) as first choice and the Nationwide credit card as my second choice.

Ascot_Ed

Clarity card has been excellent for me. We like to travel and previously used Nationwide Flex but with the charges they introduced it is no longer good value.
With Clarity all you will pay is the interest on any cash withdrawal - there are no other fees. Just pay off the balance as soon as you return to the UK and the interest charged will be minimal.
I now take only a small amount of foreign currency with me as the rate you get on the Clarity card will beat any high street or online exchange rate. I then withdraw cash as I need it or use the card for all transactions while abroad.
You should also phone HBOS to advise that you are using the card abroad to minimise the chance of transactions being blocked in Corfu.

scheming_gypsy

paiten wrote: »

Thank you. The clarity does seem to be my best option with my Nationwide as back-up. Was a bit worried about a lack of ATM's in Corfu but someone on another forum has told me there are 5 so I should be fine if I need cash.

lol, there'll be a lot more than 5 cash points in the whole of Corfu. I can think of at least 2 in Kavos

you've got 99 to choose from http://www.holidaycorfu.org/banks_in_corfu/

paiten

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

lol, there'll be a lot more than 5 cash points in the whole of Corfu. I can think of at least 2 in Kavos

you've got 99 to choose from http://www.holidaycorfu.org/banks_in_corfu/

Sorry my mistake, I meant there are 5 in the area I'm visiting!:T