Avoid or Reduce Bank Charges in Spain

biggmick1

Here's the copy of the text from Santanders website.

"Everyday Current Account
A simple and straightforward current account, with no monthly fee

What you can get for no monthly fee
No minimum monthly funding or monthly fee to maintain the account"

https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/current-accounts/everyday-current-account


And I did make it clear that my last post was about my research on Santander cards not about Halifax, Barclaycard or any other cards.

NoodleDoodleMan

Didn't realise the credit card reference was Santander only - my bad.


As for the Everyday Current Account - no dispute that there is no monthly fee or minimum monthly funding to maintain the account - but that does not cover fee free foreign ATM debit card use, unless Santander have been advising me wrongly since I opened the account.


I've emailed them to confirm/refute the minimum £500 condition for ATM fees - watch this space.


Incidentally I came across a response from Santander on this issue sent in January.


Dear Mr X, <P> Thank you for your email regarding fees whilst travelling abroad. <P> If a customer has a current account with Santander and are paying in at least £500 each month, there are no fees when you withdraw cash from a Santander cash machine in Spain and the Canary Islands. <P>

Of course this may have been revised since then.

biggmick1

I would say that response from Sanatnder is a bit generic as it says "If a customer has a CURRENT account with Santander" and doesn't mention the Everyday account specifically.

Here's a link to the "Fee Information Document" for the Everday account I was referencing
https://www.santander.co.uk/assets/s3fs-public/documents/fid-everyday-current-account.pdf

Here's the text of the relevant part of the fees document on page 2 of the PDF

Withdrawals from Santander cash machines in Spain
using a debit card
Fee not charged

There's no mention in the PDF of any funding requirement and on the main Everyday Account page that directs to the PDF it specifically says there is no funding requirement.

I suppose it could be different T&C's for new accounts or maybe it's a clerical error one way or the other.

voucher

Are pre paid cards a better way or do you still pay charges on those.

eDicky

voucher wrote: »

Are pre paid cards a better way or do you still pay charges on those.

In general prepaid cards that you 'load' with foreign currency, especially those sold by the Post Office, travel agents or supermarkets, are very bad deals overall and it would be cheaper to just use a regular bank card with its fees.

There is one offered now, FairFX or Caxton, I forget, that gives a £35 bonus on a £500 load when applying through the MSE link - this makes it more attractive.

But these and any other cards available in UK will be subject to the same ATM fees imposed by Spanish banks.

biggmick1

eDicky wrote: »

In general prepaid cards that you 'load' with foreign currency, especially those sold by the Post Office, travel agents or supermarkets, are very bad deals overall and it would be cheaper to just use a regular bank card with its fees.

There is one offered now, FairFX or Caxton, I forget, that gives a £35 bonus on a £500 load when applying through the MSE link - this makes it more attractive.

But these and any other cards available in UK will be subject to the same ATM fees imposed by Spanish banks.

I generally agree with eDicky there are some terrible prepaid cards about especially from travel agents. but there are a few prepaid cards that aren't too bad and I'd say they are better than some of the High Street banks for rates. It's hard to quantify exactly because they mostly work on a flat few plus a percentage so you get a better overall rate the more money you take out of an ATM with each transaction.
But in Spain you've still got the problem of the charge that the Spanish bank will charge on any card (except for Santander cards at SantanderATMs) but these can be avoided if you follow the advise in the earlier posts.
I would say follow the advise on MSE's travel cards page and you can apply for a debit card or credit card with lower fees than even the best prepaid card just as easily. There are even accounts and cards for people with not so good credit ratings.

adindas

biggmick1 wrote: »

I would say that response from Sanatnder is a bit generic as it says "If a customer has a CURRENT account with Santander" and doesn't mention the Everyday account specifically.

Here's a link to the "Fee Information Document" for the Everday account I was referencing
https://www.santander.co.uk/assets/s3fs-public/documents/fid-everyday-current-account.pdf

Here's the text of the relevant part of the fees document on page 2 of the PDF

Withdrawals from Santander cash machines in Spain
using a debit card
Fee not charged

There's no mention in the PDF of any funding requirement and on the main Everyday Account page that directs to the PDF it specifically says there is no funding requirement.

I suppose it could be different T&C's for new accounts or maybe it's a clerical error one way or the other.

With Everyday Account Even you do not pay ATM fee using Santander cash machines in Spain you are still paying currency conversion fee of 2.75%.

"Foreign currency conversion fee for withdrawals: Percentage of total transaction value 2.75%"


With Santander 123, Santander 123 lite, Santander Select you do not pay both currency conversion fee and ATM Fee if are using using Satander Cash Machines in Spain.

NoodleDoodleMan

Here is the reply I have just received from Santander reference the Everyday Current Account fees.

[FONT=&quot]"Dear Mr X, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thank you for your email. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]We can confirm if you have a current account and pay in at least £500 per month, you can get free cash machine withdrawals in Spain (including the Spanish Islands) when you use any Santander branded cash machine. This means there will be no cash handling fee and no foreign transaction fee. Please note you must use a visa debit card as cash cards are not eligible for this benefit. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]When making a purchase in a currency other than sterling you will be charged a non-sterling transaction fee of 2.75% of the value plus a non-sterling purchase fee of £1.25 for each transaction. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]When you are completing a withdrawal from a cash machine or bank abroad you will be charged a non-sterling transaction fee of 2.75% of the value plus a non-sterling cash fee of 1.5% of the value (at least £1.99). [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Please note that for all cash withdrawals and card purchases abroad, if you are given the option of paying in local currency or sterling, the local option should be chosen unless you are certain that the exchange rate is more favourable. If you choose sterling, it means that the retailer or bank will handle the conversion and may charge a conversion fee or a foreign-usage fee or both. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]When a transaction is made in a currency other than sterling, the amount is converted using the exchange rate set by Visa on the date the money is taken from the account. Visa exchange rates can be found at www.visaeurope.com and an advisory rate will also be shown on your statement. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]There is no charge if you are buying travellers cheques or foreign currency at another bank, post office, bureau de change or other outlets displaying the Visa sign within the UK. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]You can view the fees and charges for using your account abroad on our website santander.co.uk > Help and Support > Frequently Asked Questions > Frequently asked questions general > What are the fees and charges for using my Debit Card outside the UK. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Finally we would like to make you aware that for any future travel within the European Union, we do not need to be notified as the EU has a high coverage of Chip and PIN we can identify you and will monitor for fraud in the same way as if you were using your card in the UK. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]However when travelling outside of the EU, to ensure you have full use of your card abroad, please contact us prior to travelling to advise your travel date and destinations."
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thanks to Adindas for highlighting the currency conversion fee issue in respect of the Everyday Current Account.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Notice that Santander also confirming that a non sterling cash fee applies at an ATM.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I'll be using my Select debit card in future !!!
[/FONT]

EveryWhere

NoodleDoodleMan wrote: »

Here is the reply I have just received from Santander reference the Everyday Current Account fees.

[FONT=&quot]"Dear Mr X, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thank you for your email. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]We can confirm if you have a current account and pay in at least £500 per month, you can get free cash machine withdrawals in Spain (including the Spanish Islands) when you use any Santander branded cash machine. This means there will be no cash handling fee and no foreign transaction fee. Please note you must use a visa debit card as cash cards are not eligible for this benefit. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]When making a purchase in a currency other than sterling you will be charged a non-sterling transaction fee of 2.75% of the value plus a non-sterling purchase fee of £1.25 for each transaction. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]When you are completing a withdrawal from a cash machine or bank abroad you will be charged a non-sterling transaction fee of 2.75% of the value plus a non-sterling cash fee of 1.5% of the value (at least £1.99). [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Please note that for all cash withdrawals and card purchases abroad, if you are given the option of paying in local currency or sterling, the local option should be chosen unless you are certain that the exchange rate is more favourable. If you choose sterling, it means that the retailer or bank will handle the conversion and may charge a conversion fee or a foreign-usage fee or both. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]When a transaction is made in a currency other than sterling, the amount is converted using the exchange rate set by Visa on the date the money is taken from the account. Visa exchange rates can be found at www.visaeurope.com and an advisory rate will also be shown on your statement. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]There is no charge if you are buying travellers cheques or foreign currency at another bank, post office, bureau de change or other outlets displaying the Visa sign within the UK. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]You can view the fees and charges for using your account abroad on our website santander.co.uk > Help and Support > Frequently Asked Questions > Frequently asked questions general > What are the fees and charges for using my Debit Card outside the UK. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Finally we would like to make you aware that for any future travel within the European Union, we do not need to be notified as the EU has a high coverage of Chip and PIN we can identify you and will monitor for fraud in the same way as if you were using your card in the UK. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]However when travelling outside of the EU, to ensure you have full use of your card abroad, please contact us prior to travelling to advise your travel date and destinations."
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thanks to Adindas for highlighting the currency conversion fee issue in respect of the Everyday Current Account.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Notice that Santander also confirming that a non sterling cash fee applies at an ATM.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I'll be using my Select debit card in future !!!
[/FONT]

adindas is quite wrong.

The 2.75% forex charge applies only to ATM in Spain that are not Santander ATM.

We can confirm if you have a current account and pay in at least £500 per month, you can get free cash machine withdrawals in Spain (including the Spanish Islands) when you use any Santander branded cash machine. This means there will be no cash handling fee and no foreign transaction fee.

adindas

EveryWhere wrote: »

adindas is quite wrong.

The 2.75% forex charge applies only to ATM in Spain that are not Santander ATM.

Well it will need someone with everyday account to test it in Spain. The quotation is probably a generic answer which include Santander 123 not specifically linked to everyday account.

I have not seen any report, confirmation about no fee in foreign withdrawal with every day account, basic account. People who are frequent travellers to Spain are likely qualify for Santander 123 or Select so will hold these accounts rather than basic or everyday account. It seems most people experience here are about Santander 123/ select.

With Santander 123, Santander 123 lite people will normally need to pay £500, to get the perks such as cashback, foreign withdrawal. Similarly, to Santander 123 or Santander Select. With Everyday account there is no perks attached to it perks so no monthly deposit needed. Similar to basic account with cash card.

I remember I read somewhere that you will not get the perks such is foreign currencies withdrawal with basic account (cash card). Also, if you see the fee information on the sheet above, it is not spell out. Keep in mind there are two fees here. ATM Fee and currency conversion fee.

Foreign currency conversion fee for withdrawals[/FONT]; Percentage of total transaction value 2.75%

Withdrawals from Santander cash machines in Spain [/FONT]using a debit card: Fee not charged. (it is not clear here whether only ATM fee or both ATM Fee and currency conversion fee).

So unless someone has tried it with Everyday AC debit card, it is not clear yet.