How do you all take your money on holiday?

candlebreeze

I use a monzo card. Have you heard of them.

leylandsunaddict

lindens wrote: »

yes but you get stung by commission exchanging to the GBP.

I use a monzo account as you get £300 per month commission free spending abroad

I presume you mean a foreign transaction fee? Not with a fee free card. We've not used other than a Clarity or a Santander at a Santander ATM for years. Never paid any fees.

Neither a Revolut or a Monzo have a high enough cash free withdrawal limit.

leylandsunaddict

Just be aware that in Spain even though you are using a specialist no fee card for foreign transaction you do get charged using their ATM to withdraw money from cash machines. This practice is quite uncommon in the EU countries

Not at all ATMS. It depends on where in Spain you are.

heatherw_01

leylandsunaddict wrote: »

Not at all ATMS. It depends on where in Spain you are.

And which company ATM you use

BarryBlue

Another endorsement for Halifax Clarity card. We have used ours for years in many countries without a problem. You get a much better rate than an exchange office, and as long as you pay it off when you get home the charges are no more than a few pence.

(The usual provisos here: Don't use an ATM that imposes a charge. And always opt for having your account charged in local currency - Never, ever let the ATM bank do the conversion.)

It is also easy to pay for items using the Clarity card on the same basis. In some countries people hardly seem to use cash now, paying on cards for even small amounts. I noticed in Poland a few weeks ago we seemed to be the only ones with cash! Again, don't let them do the conversion.

We never take any local currency with us now, other than any we have previously brought home with us. We usually have around €100 or so 'float' because we never convert back to £s.

adindas

leylandsunaddict wrote: »

Not at all ATMS. It depends on where in Spain you are.

Well I never said all ATMs. In my previous post I also provide a link the best way to avoid that ATMs fee.

The problem with withdrawing money with the cash machines using your specialist debit/credit card in Spain is that you might know an ATM that did not charge you ATM fee last year but when you come to the same place in the following year, it might not be the case. If there is a bank does not charge it seems that it is just a matter of time before they start charging ATM fee.

heatherw_01 wrote: »

And which company ATM you use

The link I have provided

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6034328

Someone has mentioned Caixa bank is currently one of them

zagfles

lindens wrote: »

yes but you get stung by commission exchanging to the GBP.

Not as much commission as changing cash.

zagfles

adindas wrote: »

Well I never said all ATMs. In my previous post I also provide a link the best way to avoid that ATMs fee.

The problem with withdrawing money with the cash machines using your specialist debit/credit card in Spain is that you might know an ATM that did not charge you ATM fee last year but when you come to the same place in the following year, it might not be the case. If there is a bank does not charge it seems that it is just a matter of time before they start charging ATM fee.



The link I have provided

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6034328

Someone has mentioned Caixa bank is currently one of them

Even if the ATM does charge, as long as you get a reasonable amount out (eg EUR200) it's still likely to be cheaper than any other method of getting cash.

Typical BDC rates include a 4-5% commission hidden in the rate.

adindas

zagfles wrote: »

Even if the ATM does charge, as long as you get a reasonable amount out (eg EUR200) it's still likely to be cheaper than any other method of getting cash.

Typical BDC rates include a 4-5% commission hidden in the rate.

The link I have provided above provide discussion of the best way getting cash from the ATMs in Spain You will get Visa exchange rate while avoiding ATM fees from spanish cash machines.

The general consensus is using Santander Debit Card in Santander cash machines in Spain that meet the criteria, e.g monthly minimum funding requirement have been met.

parking_question_chap

For holidays to Greece or Spain generally just take the lot in cash. Yes might cost a little more, but I dont really want the faff of needing to visit cash points and dont like taking my debit card out of an evening in case I have a few too many and loose it.