Day trip to Calais - is it worth it?

harryhound

Last time I used my credit card at Auchan, I found I had paid a surcharge because the till had converted the Euro bill into Sterling, adding 3% in the process. In theory you can refuse to pay it; but as I was late for the ferry, I did not have time to argue the toss with customer services.

This chain has also stopped giving out free carrier bags (in the huge Dunkerque branch anyway) so have a few useful Tesco bags & wine boxes with you in the car.

pippo

Hi Harryhound, good point about the currency conversion, you can usually choose to pay in euros or sterling when you are putting in your PIN. A further point though is that some ccs now charge a premium for monies spent abroad even if they area sterling transaction.

You see what these boards do to you - I now read the small print of the terms & conditions.

They haven't supplied carriers for some time, but their strong bags are quite cheap & last for years - we keep taking them back!

harryhound

No currency conversion charge on credit card and no cash commission on the debit card.

C_Ronaldo

pippo wrote: »

This reply may be too late for BBL, but I would use the 'daytripper' site.
If going to Citi Europe remeber to take tesco club card!!
We tend to use the Auchan hypermarkets - both near Calais and near Boulogne. It pays to visit their website (it has an English version) and print off vouchers before we go.
Most staff at the stores speak some English if your french isn't too good!
Last year we got a loyalty card from customer services which gives an automatic 10% discount on their own brands. It also gives a loyalty bonus which can be taken as money off next purchase, but the reclaim is time limited, so we do a big shop first (mainly wine) and then go back in for a general shop and then ask for a rembursement.
For some reason there are extra bonuses in the Calais store on Tuesdays and we have found locals giving us extra vouchers at the check-out.
As I said this may be too late fo BBL, but hopes it helps others.

the thing is with auchans loyalty card you need to use it often as they must cancel any cards that havent been used in so long

susan_haruel07

tooting_jane wrote: »

This site tells you all about a day trip to Calais, including the things that are cheaper in France.
http://www.day-tripper.net/

It has a page dedicated to foot passengers too
http://www.day-tripper.net/shoppingfootpassengers.html

thanks. the day tripper is a really good site.

weathers warm so its a good bet

dzug

harryhound wrote: »

No currency conversion charge on credit card and not cash commission on the debit card.

But in this case the currency conversion (with the charge) was done by Auchan, not Nationwide. Even with a Nationwide card you'd have had had to pay.

They are supposed to offer you the choice of euros or sterling where they do this. I suspect they don't always bother.

harryhound

On my most recent visit to Auchan, I stopped at a bank to replenish the Euro float, that I always have, THEN I went shopping and paid in cash.

Nationwide will give you a credit card sized piece of cardboard that says "I want to pay in local currency" in Spanish French & Italian !

Still a pain in the backside though.

Harry.

PS I remember going shopping one year, on a saturday and as I stood waiting my turn at the checkout, I managed to decipher a hand written notice warning that the old 100FF (10GBP approx) note would nolonger be legal on Monday. Near miss there! Managed to pay 100FF in cash and balance on the card.

malamala

We had a look at the prices of Jack Daniels, Baileys and other alcohol although we did not buy any, as we don't drink much, we found the prices at Tesco's much cheaper than Auchan, Carrefour!