Best way to get money.

ryan92

Hello
I'm off to Australia next month for a month and I'm a little unsure as to what is the best way to go about getting money and/or using cards.

My current account is with Nationwide and I've a secondary Lloyds TSB current account - I've also Mastercards with both banks.

Obviously I want to stay clear of having to use the credit cards but what would you advise in terms of using my current account debit cards over there?

It's my first time away myself and being only 21 it's not something I'm too knowledgeable in.

Thanks for any help guys

zagfles

Which Nationwide current account have you got and which credit card? If you've not sorted your travel insurance yet you could look at the N/W FlexPlus account for £10 a month (you could upgrade before your holiday and downgrade after I think), that will also give you free cash withdrawals.

The Select credit card doesn't markup the VISA rate for purchases.

ryan92

It's just the flexaccount I have ; I've already got my Travel insurance in place. The credit card is the bog standard Credit Card, not the select.

zagfles

If you live in London could be worth opening a MetroBank account, otherwise maybe the Halifax Clarity credit card if you get get a reasonable limit (it's good for cash too, particularly if you have secure internet access you can use to pay it off every so often).

amcg100

I have a credit card called Santander Zero and it is an awsome card for travelling abroad. I am not sure whether it is still available to new applicants but you should check it out. There is no cash advance fee, so you can withdraw from any cash machine free. There are no foreign transaction fees, so you can spend on it as if you were in the UK. The exchange rates ( which I always check when I get home ) have always been better than anything else I could have got.

If you draw cash you will be charged interest from day 1, but you can avoid this pitfall by keeping a credit balance on the account.

Archergirl

I think you can use your Nationwide debit card fee free in the ATMs in Oz. Ask in the branch also check on your cc as I think they are fee free as well.

zagfles

Archergirl wrote: »

I think you can use your Nationwide debit card fee free in the ATMs in Oz. Ask in the branch also check on your cc as I think they are fee free as well.

Only on the Plus account, not the normal Flexaccount. The normal credit card has some complicated mechanism to "earn" commission free use abroad.

Gloomendoom

ryan92 wrote: »

It's just the flexaccount I have ; I've already got my Travel insurance in place. The credit card is the bog standard Credit Card, not the select.

Ideally, you want at least two cards on different accounts. One could be lost and it's also not unheard of for an ATM to eat a card. It happened to me in the USA. Sometimes a card will temporarily not work for no apparent reason.

We use the Halifax Clarity with Barclaycard and Barclays debit cards (fee free in Westpac ATMs) as backup.

Make sure you have twice as much money available as you think you will need. Australia is eye wateringly expensive!

ryan92

Just thought I'd update you all ; I've upgraded to the FlexPlus account and cancelled my existing Travel insurance policy as I was still within my 14 days cancellation period.

zagfles

Be aware that the FlexPlus does charge for debit card payments, it's just cash withdrawals that are free, so you'd probably be better using your credit card rather than debit for payments, assuming you've "earned" enough commission free allowance for your spending.

Also watch out for DCC (if the ATM asks if you want to be charged in GBP make sure you say NO). Not sure if this is as prevelant in Aus as in Europe.

ryan92

zagfles wrote: »

Be aware that the FlexPlus does charge for debit card payments, it's just cash withdrawals that are free, so you'd probably be better using your credit card rather than debit for payments, assuming you've "earned" enough commission free allowance for your spending.

Also watch out for DCC (if the ATM asks if you want to be charged in GBP make sure you say NO). Not sure if this is as prevelant in Aus as in Europe.

Thanks for the tips
I only plan to use cash withdrawals anyway - can keep a better tabs on my money that way whereas using the card debit wise I'd end up spending more!
If I do need to use them, I've £250 commission free on the cc ; can just use that and then immediately make a payment to avoid any interest being chargable on those transactions?

I'll maybe book an appointment at the branch to get more help etc so I'm fully aware of everything.