Travel Money Maximiser Discussion Area

MarkyMarkD

Oh charlotte, please grow up and stop this "charging me for using my own money" tosh.

They are charging you a fee for a service - providing travellers' cheques. They are NOT charging you for "using your own money".

Travellers' cheques cost money to produce and that's why you pay for the service. Almost everyone charges for travellers' cheques.

moob_2

Marky is correct, they will all charge for traveller's cheques, but why use them in this day and age.

Get a nationwide debit card and spend money the way you do back home, without any charges and at the best rate you can get as a consumer.

charlieheard

I used this service (great idea, BTW) to find the best rate for £200 of €, as we're off on holiday this weekend. It mentioned that firstdirect would charge for the service. Then I went to their site, checked the figures, and they don't have a fee. The rate was the same as quoted (1.41), but there was no charge, either for delivery to my house or to an HSBC branch. It rounded up the amount to £205 giving me €290.

So i put £205 into the calculator and, it still came up with the same rate of 1.41, but the best options was €289. So either the info is wrong for firstdirect, or the calculations are wrong!

I should mention that the only connection I have with them is as a customer since they first started.

moob_2

charlieheard wrote: »

I used this service (great idea, BTW) to find the best rate for £200 of €, as we're off on holiday this weekend. It mentioned that firstdirect would charge for the service. Then I went to their site, checked the figures, and they don't have a fee. The rate was the same as quoted (1.41), but there was no charge, either for delivery to my house or to an HSBC branch. It rounded up the amount to £205 giving me €290.

So i put £205 into the calculator and, it still came up with the same rate of 1.41, but the best options was €289. So either the info is wrong for firstdirect, or the calculations are wrong!

I should mention that the only connection I have with them is as a customer since they first started.

Except that the rate for the Euro today is 1.477, hence there is a charge built-in to the exchange rate.

moob_2

Was on lastminute.com site there and they claim "travel cash prepaid Maestro® card is the cheapest and safest way to spend your money abroad. No hidden fees, no monthly charges and no credit checks . Spend directly from the card or get cash out form the ATM. Don't get stung abroad"

Hilariously, when you check their FAQs, they have a giant list of fees apportioned to this card, thereby completely negating their above claim. How can they get away with this claim?!

What are the fees for using my account?

We do not charge any monthly or quarterly fees or for checking your on-line balance and statements or for purchase transactions. The following fees do apply:

Fees
Prepaid Card Purchase Fee £6.99
Customised Prepaid Card Purchase Fee £11.99
ATM Cash Withdrawal Fee £1.50
Foreign Transaction Fee 2.75%
Monthly Management Fee Free
Transaction Fee (UK only) 2.75%
Transfer Of Funds To Other Card Issued By Us Free Customer Services email enquiries Free
PIN Issue / Re-Issue Free
Lost & Stolen Helpline Lo-call rate Customer Service telephone enquiries 60p per minute **
Upgrade or Replacement Fee (Lost/Stolen/Expired) £4.99
Cancellation Fee / Refund Fee £4.99

charlieheard

moob wrote: »

Except that the rate for the Euro today is 1.477, hence there is a charge built-in to the exchange rate.

Is the FX rate shown on the website a virtual rate including charges? I'm not sure I realised that - it doesn't say anything about it that I could find quickly.

Whatever the rates were, I still got more money (€290 delivered) than the best offer on the website (€289 collected). And even though the rates have moved, it's still better than all but the top three collections, and every delivery.

I'm just not sure how it can be so different

edda

moob wrote: »

Marky is correct, they will all charge for traveller's cheques, but why use them in this day and age.

Get a nationwide debit card and spend money the way you do back home, without any charges and at the best rate you can get as a consumer.

Even with a Nationwide debit card, there are still some places where travellers cheques are the only accepted alternative to cash. Admittedly, these are not the most popular tourist spots!

One thing I've noticed - if you order trv chqs online only the person placing the order can sign them. If you're travelling with others and you want to split carrying the chqs between you, you have to place the order by phone. However, you can ring an 0800 number in many cases.

moob_2

charlieheard wrote: »

Is the FX rate shown on the website a virtual rate including charges? I'm not sure I realised that - it doesn't say anything about it that I could find quickly.

Yes. The majority of exchange places build in their commission charge into the rate, but claim they charge no commission.

moob_2

edda wrote: »

Even with a Nationwide debit card, there are still some places where travellers cheques are the only accepted alternative to cash. Admittedly, these are not the most popular tourist spots!

One thing I've noticed - if you order trv chqs online only the person placing the order can sign them. If you're travelling with others and you want to split carrying the chqs between you, you have to place the order by phone. However, you can ring an 0800 number in many cases.

Not really sure what you're getting at, sorry.

The reason I stated the Debit Card is that you can withdraw cash from ATMs for free, and at a better exchange rate than buying TCs.

M4RKM

moob wrote: »

No hidden fees, no monthly charges and no credit checks


What are the fees for using my account?

We do not charge any monthly or quarterly fees or for checking your on-line balance and statements or for purchase transactions. The following fees do apply:

Fees
List of Fees


....thereby completely negating their above claim.....

what is wrong with their claim, they said - no HIDDEN fees, and there are no hidden fees, because they are telling you what fees are. What is your problem?