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Foreign hotel bill

grimmo49
grimmo49 Posts: 5 Forumite
in Credit cards
Could anyone tell me the best way to pay a hotel bill abroad. I booked a hotel direct in tenerife for my family in september and paid the deposit of 790 euros for which i was charged £19. When it comes to pay the balance what is the best way to pay. Thanks for any help
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Comments

  • thebritishbloke
    thebritishbloke Posts: 1,472 Forumite
    grimmo49 wrote: »
    Could anyone tell me the best way to pay a hotel bill abroad. I booked a hotel direct in tenerife for my family in september and paid the deposit of 790 euros for which i was charged £19. When it comes to pay the balance what is the best way to pay. Thanks for any help

    Depends on who you bank with, the Halifax Clarity credit card has no foreign fees. BarclayCard only charges 2.99%.

    It'll be cheaper to do it with whoever you normally bank with or credit card than getting foreign currency.
    Credit 'Score' - Don't buy the credit 'score' that Experian, Equifax and Noddle want to sell you. It's an arbitrary number that means nothing when it comes to applying for credit.

    ALWAYS HAVE A DIRECT DEBIT SET UP FOR THE MINIMUM PAYMENT ON YOUR CREDIT CARDS, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU PLAN TO LOGIN AND PAY EACH MONTH.
  • CLAPTON
    CLAPTON Posts: 41,865 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    grimmo49 wrote: »
    Could anyone tell me the best way to pay a hotel bill abroad. I booked a hotel direct in tenerife for my family in september and paid the deposit of 790 euros for which i was charged £19. When it comes to pay the balance what is the best way to pay. Thanks for any help

    how did you pay?
    what sort of card?

    pay with a debit or credit card that does not make an overseas currency charge and pay in local currency
  • grimmo49
    grimmo49 Posts: 5 Forumite
    paid on m&s credit card(master card)paid deposit over the phone
  • thebritishbloke
    thebritishbloke Posts: 1,472 Forumite
    grimmo49 wrote: »
    paid on m&s credit card(master card)paid deposit over the phone

    Easiest option is to just absorb the fee, it's not that big a fee in the grand scheme of things.

    If you want to save, just get the Halifax Clarity card.
    Credit 'Score' - Don't buy the credit 'score' that Experian, Equifax and Noddle want to sell you. It's an arbitrary number that means nothing when it comes to applying for credit.

    ALWAYS HAVE A DIRECT DEBIT SET UP FOR THE MINIMUM PAYMENT ON YOUR CREDIT CARDS, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU PLAN TO LOGIN AND PAY EACH MONTH.
  • grimmo49
    grimmo49 Posts: 5 Forumite
    The only thing is the balance is 3000 euros
  • Hooloovoo
    Hooloovoo Posts: 1,281 Forumite
    EUR3790 for a hotel in Tenerife? Crikey, I can think of better places to go for that sort of money ...

    As said, you need something like a Halifax Clarity card or a Post Office card that doesn't charge anything for foreign transactions.
  • Sparx
    Sparx Posts: 909 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Hooloovoo wrote: »
    EUR3790 for a hotel in Tenerife? Crikey, I can think of better places to go for that sort of money ...

    He said the holiday is for his family, so for all you know that could be 6-8 people which wouldn't be a bad deal.. :p
  • grimmo49
    grimmo49 Posts: 5 Forumite
    As the last person said, the holiday is for 8
  • mandragora_2
    mandragora_2 Posts: 2,611 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 17 May 2014 at 8:26PM
    The only advice I can give is pay at the end of the stay if you can, though get the amount to be charged written down and confirmed ahead of time. We did this when we went to Tenerife (in a reputable hotel), and it was fine - though I was surprised that we could do it, as in most instances in the UK I've found that with online booking you either have to pay on booking, before departure or on check-in. Also, check and clarify, are there local taxes to be paid (usually per person, per day) which will be in addition to the listed amount? It's usually about a few quid per person, per day, but it can add up. I've had a few nasty shocks that way in Italy, but I can't remember now if it applied in Spain too.
    Reason for edit? Can spell, can't type!
  • thebritishbloke
    thebritishbloke Posts: 1,472 Forumite
    grimmo49 wrote: »
    As the last person said, the holiday is for 8

    I'd either absorb the cost (another £80) or apply for the Halifax Clarity and hope that you get a big enough credit limit.
    Credit 'Score' - Don't buy the credit 'score' that Experian, Equifax and Noddle want to sell you. It's an arbitrary number that means nothing when it comes to applying for credit.

    ALWAYS HAVE A DIRECT DEBIT SET UP FOR THE MINIMUM PAYMENT ON YOUR CREDIT CARDS, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU PLAN TO LOGIN AND PAY EACH MONTH.
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