Travel Money Maximiser Discussion Area

ak301

Apologies if a similar question has already been posted on this thread.

I'm off to New York next wednesday and am after some advice on my spending money.
I'm thinking of taking something around $400 - $500 for a 7 night stay.
This is to cover most things such as transport and meals etc.
I have an Egg Visa credit and an Abbey Visa Debit card should I find anything expensive I'd want (this trip is for my 30th B/day) but I want to avoid using them where possible.

Am I best suited getting the majority of the money in Travellers Cheques with a smaller amount (say under a third) in cash?

Is the Travellex Cash Passport worth using?

Thanks in advance for advice

Regards
Tony

martyw

losthour wrote: »

I presume ICE has nothing to do with Travelex?

I'm thinking of ordering my dollars from Travelex and picking up in Gatwick South. Never done this before though- presume they give you a reference number etc?!

Yup, different company. I've used Travelex before and lots of people are happy using them.

On this occasion I wanted the cash before hitting the airport and Travelex were not the best rate for me (I think they deliver but you have to order by phone for that).

Easiest is to just print your email receipt and hand that over.

poppy10_2

jcumpsty wrote: »

Furthermore, at the post office you can book the money for collection, pay by cash, and avoid the hefty debit card fees that some FORCE you to pay.

You can't book online and pay in cash at the post office.

caroline999999

Please can anybody advise whether they have used Thomas Exchange Global for postal orders and what their experience was like.

I am about to transfer my money over, but having a little panic about the reliability of the company. I go on holiday two weeks today, my bank have advised that the transfer will take 3 working days to be received by TEG, and TEG should then send out the currency guaranteed next day delivery. Are these timescales realistic?

Thanks

kaydee

I've also posted this on the spending money overseas forum, but there seems to be a good bit of crossover here!!
Does anyone have any experience of these prepay travel cash cards?
The one mentioned in the other forum fairfx.com looks very interesting, and there is a similar product from ICE. These both look good compared to the offerings from traditional banking institutions!
I know that Nationwide are best for debit and credit abroad - and I have those myself!
I am looking for a way of making sure my 15 year old has access to money on a 2 week school trip abroad without the risk of carrying all his cash around all the time.
Any other alternatives gratefully received!

dinglebert

Wanted to buy $1900 in US travellers checks. Checked the online calulator and Thomas Exchange Global came out best at £1002.45. My bank were far worse but I phoned local branch of Thomson holidays who the holiday was booked through. They offer $1800 for a £1000. I pointed out that the post office were far better than that and they immediately jumped to $1900 for £1000. Better price than online and a quick pop down to the shop and 15 minutes later got the cheques. Had never tried to haggle on exchange rates before.

clarky18

Can anyone help, i have been told by a few people that sometimes you can more money for your pound if you exchange it when your aboard, can anyone confirm if this is the case. If so are you getting alot more for your money???

hammy_the_hammer

no that isn't normally the case ....read the stickies and search the forum for the best ways to get your holiday cash

ger_ryan22

So can anyone help me around this hefty credit card charge?

Basically I want $1200 in Travellers Cheques and could only afford it on my Credit Card but now I hear that the card issuer will see this transaction as a cash advance, basically I might as well have gone to the ATM and took the cash out, is there any other way around this or do i simply bite the bullet and pay the high APR on such an amount or is Debit Card the way to go on this type of thing? It has to be Travellers Cheques as the place I'm staying only accepts them or Cash

please help!!

bsmallwo

Sorry if this is the wrong board, but just wanted some quick advice. My friend is traveling to Russia and was advised to take US Dollars instead of rubles, then to change them to rubles when he gets there. This seems a bit odd to me - and you would have to pay 2 lots of commission - anyone know why it would be better to take dollars over there???