Travel Money Maximiser Discussion Area

SPJ_3

Might be worth checking out elsewhere but my local Going Places travel agents (which is an agent for Travelex) was last week giving 1.45 to the pound with no commission, which was better than anything showing on the Search Tool!
I also got a CashPassport from them, again no setup charges, no commision but still the usual charges on withdrawal

bzd

Hi,

I was wanting to change a modest sum of about £200 into Euro, since the rest of the family holiday money I put in a Nationwide account and use the card in ATMs abroad, so used the Money Exchange Checker -- Great! Thanks Martin!

Anyway, wanting to pick up the cash in person and flying out from Prestwick, strangely enough Marks and Sparks came out top, which I could get to fairly easily. Wanting to double check the exchange rate I looked at their website and was surprised to see it saying you could buy foreign currency with a M&S &more credit card and suffer no cash advance fee if you pay back in full at the next statement (which I do by D/D anyway).

I double checked this with the person at the M&S Bureau and they confirmed that I would only be charged the same amount as if I had paid cash. This is only when using an M&S Credit (or charge) card at an M&S Bureau. Already having an &more card this seemed like a good deal -- hassle free and I don't even have to pay for it until next month!! In the meantime I gain the interest on the cash I would normally have paid (probably less than a quid in this case though).

Ben

Browntrout_2

Looking at the DIBB website I found a reference to Crown Currency.

It does not get a mention on the tool?

http://www.comparetravelmoney.co.uk/index.asp?sort=USD&#compare

jago25_98

catokelly wrote: »

If you pay by Switch or Maestro or by BACS there is also not charge.
Nationwide do not charge for cash withdrawals abroad, however the hosting bank abroad may make a charge so beware!

Share your experiences with foreign withdrawals worldwide.

How do people buying houses abroad generally transfer money - BACs? If so how is that rate governed?

An simpler way to compare is to just see how much you spend and how much you get.

I will be applying for a Nationwide account purely for foreign spending when I get back. I think I better close an account when I get back though as that would mean 3 current accounts otherwise; bit of a liability!

M&S CreditCard & M&S Bureau combo should be highlighted. I still perfer to take a little foreign cash before leaving.

Former_MSE_Dan

The point already made about debit/credit card charges makes the tool very severely flawed.

Travelex, for example, are one of the best value providers. But unless you pay by Switch card, you are going to get charged a Visa/Mastercard cash advance fee - even if you are using a Visa Debit card.

You can't pay Travelex by any means other than a card, if you order online - you can't use cash over the counter.

The tool needs to be updated to include a "how will you pay for your currency" option, as this severely affects what price you actually pay for your money.

The Maximiser has just been updated with a warning section about using certian debit cards abroad

http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/#charges

This fully lists all debit cards which will charge you if you spend abroad. Any comments and feedback on this would be great

Cheers

Dan

Millennium

I recently bought a place in northern France and used a Currency Broker to transfer the funds.

What I didn't realise was that you can transfer relatively small amounts (say £500) and get far better exchange rates than the 'High Street' or on-line providers offer.

I used https://www.sterlingexchange.co.uk and they are very helpful. They didn't charge me for the transfer to France and the money arrived the same day.

I have used 'spot rates' whereby you get an instant fixed price and also used 'forward buying' where you agree that if a certain rate is reached in the future exchange automatically takes place.

The High Street bureaux usually set their rate once per day, and to allow for any fluctuations during the day they give a worse rate to cover any downward movements. Currency Brokers see the current rates and will give a rate based on that.

It is easy to open a non-residents account in France, even without a property. You get your statements sent to your UK address (within 4 days from France), a cheque book and a debit card. (I'm with Credit Agricole and it's a Mastercard). You can use the card anywhere in the Eurozone to make payments or withdraw Euros. Charges for drawing cash in other Eurozone countries cannot be charged at more than drawing cash from other banks in France that are not your own bank.

French banking is not free. I pay about EUR 2.00 a month for internet banking. It is illegal to 'bounce' a cheque in France, which means that cheques are widely accepted there - and there's no cheque guarantee card. ID is required though.

I hope this is useful and not too far off topic!

caspol

I ran this looking for £250 worth of euro and it came back with a rate of 1.46. through Travelex. However I immediately ran the same figures on the Travelex site and only got a rate of 1.43 which, while not much, is still less. How does this happen? Surely there is no commission being gained by the site steering people to the Travelex site to buy foreign money?!?!

caspol

I ran this tool looking for the best rate for £250 worth of euro and it came back with a rate of 1.46 through Travelex which I though was good and the money can be collected at the airport. However I immediately ran the same figures on the Travelex site and only got a rate of 1.43 which, while not much, is still less. How does this happen? Surely there is no commission being gained by the site steering people to the Travelex site to buy foreign money?!?!

Letsgetem

Thanks for this great idea.

I recently bought my foreign currency from a travel agents. I was a bit crafty and checked the exchange rates first, printed the list, then asked if the travel agents would match it. They said YES!!!!

ailuro2

The list of debit cards that charge is a great idea- we were charged by Smile a few years ago- which is why this time around I'm taking the cash to a M&S bureau de change- I couldn't remember if it was smile that charged us, hubby thought I was getting muddled up- but I'll show him this and can now prove I'm no daft!!;)

Anyone know if Bank of Scotland charge for buying currency with their debit cards?