Need both cards?

ostaragirl1

I'm going to Budapest so won't be exchanging money here like I would with euros. I have a Halifax clarity card but should I get something like a Starling card I can top up for cash withdrawal? 

bagand96

Always a good idea to have a second card, in case the first one gets lost/blocked/stops working etc.  I never rely on one card as my only source of spending.  Starling is great - its an actual bank account, not a card that you top up, free spending and withdrawals.

eDicky

Yes, take both Clarity and Starling, don't rely on only one.

Why would you exchange money to euros, but not forint, in the UK instead of just using your Clarity..?

ostaragirl1

eDicky said:

Yes, take both Clarity and Starling, don't rely on only one.

Why would you exchange money to euros, but not forint, in the UK instead of just using your Clarity..?

I read somewhere that you get a better exchange rate there rather than here but maybe that's not right? 

Alexd52

ostaragirl1 said:

eDicky said:

Yes, take both Clarity and Starling, don't rely on only one.

Why would you exchange money to euros, but not forint, in the UK instead of just using your Clarity..?

I read somewhere that you get a better exchange rate there rather than here but maybe that's not right? 

If you use one of the specialist travel cards, such as Halifax Clarity card, or Starling Bank debit card, then yes you will get a better rate. They are foreign exchange fee free, and will get the best MasterCard rate on the day, this rate will almost certainly be better than buying the currency here in the UK 

NoodleDoodleMan

Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong - but selling Sterling abroad for the local currency will always give you a better deal at the prevailing rate rather than buying that country's money in the UK ?

That's before factoring in "user friendly" cards like Starling etc.

benjus

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong - but selling Sterling abroad for the local currency will always give you a better deal at the prevailing rate rather than buying that country's money in the UK ?

That's before factoring in "user friendly" cards like Starling etc.

Not sure why you have highlighted "selling" and "buying" - in both cases you are selling Sterling and buying the other currency. The only difference is the physical location where you are doing it.

So you are saying that it's always better to change Sterling to foreign currency abroad rather than here. Which is a complex question, but I don't think it's true. For a start, you have an advantage here that you can pick and choose currency exchange providers, some of which offer excellent rates, whereas when you arrive in the foreign country you'll probably just have to go with whatever is to hand, which may offer lousy rates. It also varies a lot from one country to another. I haven't actually compared but I think it's quite likely that exchanging Sterling for US dollars in the USA would be likely to give a worse rate than doing the same here.

I don't generally exchange cash, but as an example when travelling to Argentina I buy US dollars here in the UK at the best rate I can find, and exchange them for the "blue" exchange rate in Argentina. It may be possible to do this with Sterling cash, but I think it's highly unlikely that I would get such a good rate, given the high demand for US dollars in Argentina. 

NoodleDoodleMan

Not sure why you have highlighted "selling" and "buying" - in both cases you are selling Sterling and buying the other currency. The only difference is the physical location where you are doing it.

I was always under the impression that buying foreign currency in your native country was a different (less advantageous) rate from selling your currency in the country about to be visited.

If I were to buy 100 Euro at the Post Office bureau (for example) using Sterling - would I be able to sell that amount back to the PO and get the same Sterling value in return ?

J_B

NoodleDoodleMan said:

If I were to buy 100 Euro at the Post Office bureau (for example) using Sterling - would I be able to sell that amount back to the PO and get the same Sterling value in return ?

In a word ... no!

benjus

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Not sure why you have highlighted "selling" and "buying" - in both cases you are selling Sterling and buying the other currency. The only difference is the physical location where you are doing it.

I was always under the impression that buying foreign currency in your native country was a different (less advantageous) rate from selling your currency in the country about to be visited.

If I were to buy 100 Euro at the Post Office bureau (for example) using Sterling - would I be able to sell that amount back to the PO and get the same Sterling value in return ?

In general no, unless you get some sort of buy-back guarantee. The rates that the PO sells Euros are different to the rates for buying Euros.

Whether it's cheaper to exchange here or abroad is really all down to market forces like supply and demand, and competition. Generally speaking if you're visiting a country with a less common currency you're unlikely to find it here and if you do the rate will probably be awful, so you're probably better off taking hard currency with you (in some cases Sterling is fine, in others it can be better to take USD or maybe EUR - even if you have to convert the money twice). If it's a major currency then it's quite likely to be better to exchange here at one of the best value exchange houses.

AlexMac

NoodleDoodleMan said:

...If I were to buy 100 Euro at the Post Office bureau (for example) using Sterling - would I be able to sell that amount back to the PO and get the same Sterling value in return ?

Why even ask? Not only would you lose on the sell-back, but you'd be daft to buy at the PO in the 1st place.  2 weeks ago I got a rate of 1.22 Euros to £1 on my Halifax Clarity card for a 1,000 Euro plus acccomodation payment in Spain (we were away for three weeks).  If I'd paid in Euros bought at a UK Post Office, that would have cost me 80 quid more... All hail Halifax!