Travel Money - Rome/Sorrento

clarabell1984

My H2B and I are planning our honeymoon at the moment for next April/May!

We are going for 2 nights in Rome (hotel prepaid) and 14 nights in Sorrento (Villa will be prepaid but 150 euro cash deposit to be paid on arrival).

We will be flying to Rome then travelling down to Sorrento by train then flying home from Naples.

I know that we will need a good bit of spending money for day trips, eating out and food shopping for the villa but i'm unsure of the best way to take this.

I understand that a Halifax Clarity credit card may be best for spending or a Ukash prepaid travel card for eating out in restaurants etc but feel we will need to take cash also for buying train tickets, food shopping etc.

I'm not really comfortable taking a lump sum of cash in euro notes but get confused by the charges of withdrawing cash abroad.

Can anyone advise what they think would be the best thing to do?

Voyager2002

Use ATMs to withdraw cash using your Halifax Clarity card...

If you can get to London easily then open an account with Metro bank and use that card for cash withdrawals.

clarabell1984

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Use ATMs to withdraw cash using your Halifax Clarity card...

If you can get to London easily then open an account with Metro bank and use that card for cash withdrawals.

I don't have a Halifax Clarity card but was thinking about applying for one if. I have read a little about it but was always told that withdrawing cash on a credit card was a big no no so was confused by that. Also i'm not sure if i'd get the card as I already have 2 other credit cards just now for wedding stuff or maybe not get enough of a limit on it.

I live in Glasgow so London is out for me i'm afraid!

benjus

clarabell1984 wrote: »

was always told that withdrawing cash on a credit card was a big no no so was confused by that

This is for 3 reasons:

• Most credit cards (but not the Halifax Clarity) charge a "cash advance charge" for cash withdrawals
• Most credit cards (including the Halifax Clarity) charge interest on cash withdrawals as soon as the transaction hits the account - unlike purchases which generally have an interest-free period, so you don't pay any interest on purchases if you pay the card off in full each month. However, if you pay off the cash withdrawals as soon as you get back, the interest will be minimal.
• Credit reference agencies track credit card cash withdrawals separately and report them to lenders. This can be seen as a red flag to indicate that you are struggling financially, so might be an issue if you're applying for a mortgage or similar and you're a borderline case for meeting the lender's criteria. Although I would have thought explaining the reason for the cash withdrawals would be enough to put their minds at ease.

clarabell1984

Thanks so much for the information!

I'm thinking that I maybe would prefer not to go down the Halifax Clarity route then.... would a prepaid card be the next best thing?

SW17

benjus wrote: »

• Credit reference agencies track credit card cash withdrawals separately and report them to lenders. This can be seen as a red flag to indicate that you are struggling financially, so might be an issue if you're applying for a mortgage or similar and you're a borderline case for meeting the lender's criteria. Although I would have thought explaining the reason for the cash withdrawals would be enough to put their minds at ease.

Interesting, didn't know this. So would making cash withdrawals on a CC impact your credit rating even if you paid balance in full each month (including interest on cash)?

benjus

SW17 wrote: »

Interesting, didn't know this. So would making cash withdrawals on a CC impact your credit rating even if you paid balance in full each month (including interest on cash)?

According to Experian:

Importantly, none of these pieces of information are going to be significant in isolation, so making the odd cash withdrawal on your credit card should not hurt your credit score – as long as the rest of your credit history tells a good story!

http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/questions/askjames358.html

benjus

clarabell1984 wrote: »

Thanks so much for the information!

I'm thinking that I maybe would prefer not to go down the Halifax Clarity route then.... would a prepaid card be the next best thing?

Personally I'd just go for the Halifax Clarity unless you're being very careful with your credit record for some reason. Otherwise, Kalixa Pay is a decent prepaid card.

clarabell1984

benjus wrote: »

Personally I'd just go for the Halifax Clarity unless you're being very careful with your credit record for some reason. Otherwise, Kalixa Pay is a decent prepaid card.

I just don't like the idea of withdrawing cash going against me especially just after we are married and probably going to be trying for a mortgage for a bigger house.

If i'm reading it right, The Kalixa Pay card charges ATM fees and it also costs a fee to purchase it, where the Ukash doesn't.

clarabell1984

Tried to apply for the Clarity card and was rejected. I've never been rejected for anything in my life!

benjus

clarabell1984 wrote: »

If i'm reading it right, The Kalixa Pay card charges ATM fees and it also costs a fee to purchase it, where the Ukash doesn't.

Ukash card is £9 isn't it? Or is there a free code somewhere?

Anyway, if you go for the GBP Ukash card, all EUR transactions have 2.75% added (making it similar to a typical debit card). If you go for the EUR Ukash card you'll have to accept their exchange rate which I can't find right now but probably isn't great.

With Kalixa Pay the conversion from EUR to GBP is done at the prevailing interbank rate.