Buying travel currency

Legacy_user

We are off on holiday at the end of next week. We both have Halifax Clarity Cards with more than enough available credit but would like some currency too.
I was looking at the travel money maximiser and Best Foreign Exchange offer the best rate for US$ today. I was thinking of buying £1K of currency and am looking advise on 3 things.

1 - Given we have the Clarity Cards do you think we should buy so much? (I do like having cash incase something goes wrong with the cards)

2 - I don't have a Best Foreign Exchange account and so am wondering does it take long to set up and how quickly do they deliver.

3 - Does anyone with previous experience of Best Foreign Exchange know if you can ask for small notes when you place the order? Fairfx sent me nothing but large Euro notes when I bought currency from them earlier this year.

benjus

Why are you bothering buying any foreign currency at all if you have Clarity cards?

System

Although we have told Halifax we will be outside the UK I really worry about what we would do if we lost a card or it didn't work somewhere. That hasn't happened to us yet in all fairness.

We do need some currency because of toll roads and I don't like the thought of handing a card over for small purchases. Maybe I'm worrying over nothing.

benjus

You have two Clarity cards between you, and presumably you have other cards you could use as backup... personally I think you are worrying a bit too much. I've relied on cards while travelling for the last 15 years or so and have never had any significant problems.

As for tolls, I don't know about the US, but I always pay for tolls by card when travelling in Europe, as the card payment lanes are automated and usually have fewer queues.

Having said that, having some cash is always useful - but why not withdraw it from an ATM when you arrive? (try to find a bank that doesn't charge a fee for foreign cards though)

Anyway, back to your question... I don't have experience with Best Exchange, although I have used similar outfits and the accounts are usually very quick to set up.

System

I had another read of the travel money article and thought why not get a Fairfx prepaid card but it takes 7-10 days for delivery of the card. We leave on the 9th November . Trust me to leave it late.

benjus

Pam17 wrote: »

I had another read of the travel money article and thought why not get a Fairfx prepaid card but it takes 7-10 days for delivery of the card. We leave on the 9th November . Trust me to leave it late.

I really don't understand your logic... you have a perfectly good Clarity card - two in fact - yet you are thinking of getting a prepaid card that will be more expensive to use than the Clarity card you already have... If you want a backup in case something goes wrong with the Clarity cards, just take your normal debit card.

System

benjus wrote: »

I really don't understand your logic... you have a perfectly good Clarity card - two in fact - yet you are thinking of getting a prepaid card that will be more expensive to use than the Clarity card you already have... If you want a backup in case something goes wrong with the Clarity cards, just take your normal debit card.

My normal debit is the Nationwide Flexaccount. I suppose I could load some more cash on that in cash of emergencies but really do moneysavers travel abroad with no cash at all and only credit cards albeit good credit cards?

benjus

Pam17 wrote: »

My normal debit is the Nationwide Flexaccount. I suppose I could load some more cash on that in cash of emergencies but really do moneysavers travel abroad with no cash at all and only credit cards albeit good credit cards?

Absolutely! Ever since I first started travelling abroad as an adult (i.e. the last 15 years or so) I have relied almost exclusively on cards - even in places like South America. On my first few trips I would take some cash as backup, but I quickly realised that even this wasn't necessary and I don't bother at all these days (unless I have some left over from a previous trip).

BTW the Nationwide Flexaccount is no longer free to use abroad like it used to be, but it's still cheaper than average and a decent backup option.

huw01

Yes, I haven't taken currency with me in years by now. Always use ATM's for cash. I take my Norwich and Peterborough Debit Card with me for cash withdrawals, my Halifax clarity for purchases and as a ATM card in case there is a problem with the N&P card. I also then take a backup debit and credit card with me.

Even if there was a problem with using ATM's you could still advance cash in a bank over the counter with MasterCard

Neil49

benjus wrote: »

Having said that, having some cash is always useful - but why not withdraw it from an ATM when you arrive? (try to find a bank that doesn't charge a fee for foreign cards though)

.

We were in New York a few weeks ago and found that TD Bank did not charge for atm withdrawals (whereas Chase charged $3 - but did warn you in advance).

I'm not sure if TD are just New York based but they are a Canadian bank (Toronto Dominion) so coverage in other parts of the USA may be limited.

pollypenny

We take cash, then draw more from an ATM if needed. I worry about the way waiters in restaurants take the card away to process it.

DS and DIL are quietly amused at the old biddy's fussiness, but we are always warned not to let the card out of our sights.

I'd be interested to hear what other regular travellers to the US feel.