Someone please confirm - Exchanging cash or using debit card, best option?

LFryer87_2

So I'm going to Krakow in just under 2 weeks time and the best place I've found to exchange my money is at Marks and Spencer's. based on £400, I can get 1,883.60 Zloty at an exchange rate of 4.709.

Then it occurred to me that even though my bank account (Yorkshire Bank) incur charges when I spend abroad, I would still get more for my money using my debit account.

Again, based on £400, I would get 1923.84 Zloty with a "Foreign Cash Fee" of 3.75% and based on the current exchange rate of 5.00

Now the question is, is it as simple as this? Can I simply withdraw equivalent of £400 in Krakow, get current exchange rate and pay the foreign cash fee of what will roughly be £15-16.

Thanks in advance for the help

[Edit] I've just realised I can only withdraw a max of £350 a day with my account. So that will mean to trips to the ATM and 2 sets of charges, but I will still save, just not quite as much.

YorkshireBoy

LFryer87 wrote: »

[Edit] I've just realised I can only withdraw a max of £350 a day with my account. So that will mean to trips to the ATM and 2 sets of charges, but I will still save, just not quite as much.

Unless I'm missing something, the "2 sets of charges" will still amount to 3.75% of the total amount withdrawn.

So the same charge if you get 2 x £200 or 1 x £400?

Shoe leather costs nothing. Maybe you're paying bus fares/taxi costs to get to the ATM?

budgetflyer

Often thats the case for the sake of a fiver. It really depends how much that fiver means to you?
For me "the chase is better than the catch"
Ie ill spend all day getting a half % better. Regardless of the real cost. Thats just me. Its a hobby too.

zagfles

LFryer87 wrote: »

So I'm going to Krakow in just under 2 weeks time and the best place I've found to exchange my money is at Marks and Spencer's. based on £400, I can get 1,883.60 Zloty at an exchange rate of 4.709.

Then it occurred to me that even though my bank account (Yorkshire Bank) incur charges when I spend abroad, I would still get more for my money using my debit account.

Again, based on £400, I would get 1923.84 Zloty with a "Foreign Cash Fee" of 3.75% and based on the current exchange rate of 5.00

Now the question is, is it as simple as this? Can I simply withdraw equivalent of £400 in Krakow, get current exchange rate and pay the foreign cash fee of what will roughly be £15-16.

Thanks in advance for the help

[Edit] I've just realised I can only withdraw a max of £350 a day with my account. So that will mean to trips to the ATM and 2 sets of charges, but I will still save, just not quite as much.

Yes. But watch out for DCC - sometimes the ATM will offer to convert the currency to GBP, do not take this option as the rate is likely to be a rip-off (I think the charge was 6% when I was offered this by a Polish ATM).

For future get a card which doesn't charge, see the guide on this site.

zagfles

budgetflyer wrote: »

Often thats the case for the sake of a fiver. It really depends how much that fiver means to you?
For me "the chase is better than the catch"
Ie ill spend all day getting a half % better. Regardless of the real cost. Thats just me. Its a hobby too.

Eh? What chasing is involved? Just stick your card in an ATM and withdraw cash. It's usually less hassle than getting cash changed here, as well as being cheaper.

LFryer87_2

Thanks for all the replies, only just remembered to check the thread.

zagfles wrote: »

Yes. But watch out for DCC - sometimes the ATM will offer to convert the currency to GBP, do not take this option as the rate is likely to be a rip-off (I think the charge was 6% when I was offered this by a Polish ATM).

For future get a card which doesn't charge, see the guide on this site.

I'd forgotten about your first point, thanks for reminding me!

I did try and get one of them Halifax credit cards, but I was declined. Couldn't understand why, as I work full time and have no bad credit history, currently live with relatives though so I suppose that could be why... All the other cards had a similar rate to YB, so wasn't really worth the hassle.

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Unless I'm missing something, the "2 sets of charges" will still amount to 3.75% of the total amount withdrawn.

So the same charge if you get 2 x £200 or 1 x £400?

Shoe leather costs nothing. Maybe you're paying bus fares/taxi costs to get to the ATM?

Well, I guess i just presumed it was a charge that incurred for each transaction, the t+c's on the Yorkshire Bank site aren't very clear on that. Hoping you're right, lol.

Gloomendoom

LFryer87 wrote: »

Well, I guess i just presumed it was a charge that incurred for each transaction, the t+c's on the Yorkshire Bank site aren't very clear on that. Hoping you're right, lol.

Am I missing something? There is a minimum charge of £1.50 so, as long as you take out £40 or more each time, you will be charged 3.75% whether you take out the same amount of money in one transaction or a 1000.

It all seems clear enough to me...

http://www.ybonline.co.uk/personal/travel/important-travel-information/

LFryer87_2

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Am I missing something? There is a minimum charge of £1.50 so, as long as you take out £40 or more each time, you will be charged 3.75% whether you take out the same amount of money in one transaction or a 1000.

It all seems clear enough to me...

http://www.ybonline.co.uk/personal/travel/important-travel-information/

I'm with you now, basic maths was failing me for a moment there... :think: