Best place to buy travel money?

FarmerGilesUK

Hi all. I'm due to go on holiday at the end of August - with the pound currently dropping the way it is I'm inclined to think I might grab a couple of hundred Euros now.

Where is the best place at the moment to buy your travel money?

Regards

heatherw_01

Take a look at https://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/

Takmon

FarmerGilesUK wrote: »

Hi all. I'm due to go on holiday at the end of August - with the pound currently dropping the way it is I'm inclined to think I might grab a couple of hundred Euros now.

Where is the best place at the moment to buy your travel money?

Regards

It's always best to buy travel money when you get to your destination using one of the fee free cards available such as Halifax Clarity or Starling.
There is no point in buying physical currency because you will always get a worse rate.

If you want to try and profit from changes in currency rates then your much better trading on the Forex market than changing money at a poor rate.

jackieblack

Takmon wrote: »

It's always best to buy travel money when you get to your destination using one of the fee free cards available such as Halifax Clarity or Starling.
There is no point in buying physical currency because you will always get a worse rate.

Not always.
Not if the rate drops so much that it’s lower, even with ‘perfect’ exchange rates, by the time OP arrives at his destination than he could get by changing here now!

Takmon

jackieblack wrote: »

Not always.
Not if the rate drops so much that it’s lower, even with ‘perfect’ exchange rates, by the time OP arrives at his destination than he could get by changing here now!

But then you are trying to predict the market and if you think you can predict the market then you might as well be trading in Forex.

Looking at the best cash exchange rate available compared to the current exchange rate (for EUR/GBP) if you were to put just £100 into a Forex account (with 100:1 leverage) and GBP decreased in value by this amount you would make £160 profit.

So basically if your sure it's going to move in your favor then make a Forex trade. If your not sure then you might as well just get the money for the best rate you can while you are there.

jackieblack

Getting a couple of hundred pounds of holiday money is hardly the same as Forex trading. Mr/Mrs average holidaymaker is not a trader and has no desire to be. OP just hopes to get a few extra € for his holiday ‘spends’, based on what is being widely predicted currently in the media. We all do that when we go on holiday - try to get the best rate we can.

Personally, if I’d realised that the rate was going to fall the way it has against $, I’d have exchanged enough here to pay for my hotel a few months ago and would have saved myself a couple of hundred quid over what it appears I’m likely to end up paying with my ‘perfect rate’ fee free credit card in a couple of weeks time - that certainly hasn’t transpired to be ‘always the best way’ although it has worked out in my favour on previous trips. You win some, you lose some, I guess.

But it’s rare in life that any one way is always the best way to do anything - not least because ‘best’ is a totally subjective term.

EveryWhere

If you are going to buy more than £500 worth, try FairFx with their £35 extra currency offer; https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/prepaid-travel-cards/

Less; Revolut
Go via an affiliate link to get free card delivery
Example; https://www.finder.com/uk/revolut-review

You'll be able to exchange your Pounds to Euros at the spot rate via the App(don't do it at weekends).

Takmon

jackieblack wrote: »

Getting a couple of hundred pounds of holiday money is hardly the same as Forex trading. Mr/Mrs average holidaymaker is not a trader and has no desire to be.

That's the point i'm making. If you have no desire to trade on the FOREX market (which is very easy btw) then why worry about the rate at all?

Just focus on getting the best rate you can at the time and be happy with that.

jackieblack wrote: »

OP just hopes to get a few extra € for his holiday ‘spends’, based on what is being widely predicted currently in the media. We all do that when we go on holiday - try to get the best rate we can.

Personally, if I’d realised that the rate was going to fall the way it has against $, I’d have exchanged enough here to pay for my hotel a few months ago and would have saved myself a couple of hundred quid over what it appears I’m likely to end up paying with my ‘perfect rate’ fee free credit card in a couple of weeks time - that certainly hasn’t transpired to be ‘always the best way’ although it has worked out in my favour on previous trips. You win some, you lose some, I guess.

But it’s rare in life that any one way is always the best way to do anything - not least because ‘best’ is a totally subjective term.

I don't see the point in worrying about how the rate will change and feeling like you have lost out if you have no interest in trading on the forex market.

If you decide to buy currency early to get a better rate then you are effectively trading on the forex market but in a really ineffective way.
So i say either do it properly or don't worry about the rate. I don't see why people want to do this "half-arsed" method of trying to buy currency at a better rate then having a sour feeling while away if the rate doesn't go their way.