Credit Card help - Abroad Wedding

J_Austin92

Hello everyone, i hope you're all well and staying safe and sane.
Me and my Fiancee are looking to book our wedding shortly for 2024.
As it's going to cost between 13,000-16,000 euro's (wedding only) we wanted to ideally put it onto a reward credit card to help us with some rewards in the future - ideally something with air miles to help us with the overall wedding costs.
The wedding is in Greece and is to be paid in Euros , via Bank transfer.
The problem i seem to be having is I've looked at a few, British airways , Virgin , Avios points - i don't want to get stung with lots of Fees.
It seems i need to consider the fee's of paying in a different currency to english pounds - does anyone have an advice here?
I'm paying this private company to do the whole thing, so it's going to be bank transfers (1500 euros deposit and the rest over the next 3 years)
Is there any credit cards where i can gain points but not pay huge currency exchange fees or bank transfer fees?
Shall i just stick to UK purchases and have to just pay for the venue as normal -  or is this not really an option for us.
I hope someone can point me in the right direction,
Thank you so much , 
Jake

Thrugelmir

If the company requires payment by bank transfer. Then card is not an option. You'll need cash in the bank account to effect transfers. The company concerned isn't going to accept fees at their end either. 

Ebe_Scrooge

To echo the point made above - you've stated that the company requires payment via bank transfer, so you're not going to be able to pay by card.  You could potentially look at a money transfer card - but that would seem a bit pointless as you'll have to pay a balance transfer fee, and you won't get any S75 protection, so I see no benefit in doing that.  Will they accept a credit card for the deposit, with the balance by bank transfer?  If so then do that, you'll then benefit from S75 protection.  And if that is possible, then take a look at the Credit Card guide on the main MSE site - Halifax Clarity is one of the old favourites that doesn't charge FX fees, but there are several others around now that also offer fee-free exchanges.

Just a note of caution - I'm always a bit sceptical of any company that only accepts payment via bank transfer.  If they go belly-up, or don't deliver, you've got no protection at all.  If I were you, I'd make damn sure I'd got a comprehensive insurance policy in place (not sure you can even insure against a company not delivering, but there probably is something out there if you search around).

Sandtree

Ebe_Scrooge said:

 You could potentially look at a money transfer card - but that would seem a bit pointless as you'll have to pay a balance transfer fee, and you won't get any S75 protection, so I see no benefit in doing that.  

They also wouldnt get any "rewards" like Avios which is what the OP explicitly stated is why they want to use a card to pay rather than S75 protection.

J_Austin92 said:

As it's going to cost between 13,000-16,000 euro's (wedding only) we wanted to ideally put it onto a reward credit card to help us with some rewards in the future - ideally something with air miles to help us with the overall wedding costs.
The wedding is in Greece and is to be paid in Euros , via Bank transfer.

Even if you went for a BA Premier credit card for the spend above alone would get you circa 20,000 avios plus a 25,000 bonus which at most would currently get you two economy returns for circa £50 depending on if you were flying peak or off-peak. Clearly you can spend more between now and then to earn more avios but on the basis you are looking to spread this cost over 3 years I'm guessing you'll be cutting back elsewhere.

Miles are good, especially for flying Business or First on long haul, but you need to either spend a lot or save for a long time to get to a worth while total.

[Deleted User]

Sandtree said:

Ebe_Scrooge said:

 You could potentially look at a money transfer card - but that would seem a bit pointless as you'll have to pay a balance transfer fee, and you won't get any S75 protection, so I see no benefit in doing that.  

They also wouldnt get any "rewards" like Avios which is what the OP explicitly stated is why they want to use a card to pay rather than S75 protection.

J_Austin92 said:

As it's going to cost between 13,000-16,000 euro's (wedding only) we wanted to ideally put it onto a reward credit card to help us with some rewards in the future - ideally something with air miles to help us with the overall wedding costs.
The wedding is in Greece and is to be paid in Euros , via Bank transfer.

Even if you went for a BA Premier credit card for the spend above alone would get you circa 20,000 avios plus a 25,000 bonus which at most would currently get you two economy returns for circa £50 depending on if you were flying peak or off-peak. Clearly you can spend more between now and then to earn more avios but on the basis you are looking to spread this cost over 3 years I'm guessing you'll be cutting back elsewhere.

Miles are good, especially for flying Business or First on long haul, but you need to either spend a lot or save for a long time to get to a worth while total.

All of which is wonderful but completely moot as the provider wants payment by BACS only

Sandtree

Deleted_User said:

Sandtree said:

Ebe_Scrooge said:

 You could potentially look at a money transfer card - but that would seem a bit pointless as you'll have to pay a balance transfer fee, and you won't get any S75 protection, so I see no benefit in doing that.  

They also wouldnt get any "rewards" like Avios which is what the OP explicitly stated is why they want to use a card to pay rather than S75 protection.

J_Austin92 said:

As it's going to cost between 13,000-16,000 euro's (wedding only) we wanted to ideally put it onto a reward credit card to help us with some rewards in the future - ideally something with air miles to help us with the overall wedding costs.
The wedding is in Greece and is to be paid in Euros , via Bank transfer.

Even if you went for a BA Premier credit card for the spend above alone would get you circa 20,000 avios plus a 25,000 bonus which at most would currently get you two economy returns for circa £50 depending on if you were flying peak or off-peak. Clearly you can spend more between now and then to earn more avios but on the basis you are looking to spread this cost over 3 years I'm guessing you'll be cutting back elsewhere.

Miles are good, especially for flying Business or First on long haul, but you need to either spend a lot or save for a long time to get to a worth while total.

All of which is wonderful but completely moot as the provider wants payment by BACS only

Guess you didnt read the first sentence that says its moot as even where they to get a transfer card you dont get avios on transfers but that would allow them to fund the monies via the credit card.

The rest is simply pointing out their sums involved dont really get them that much in terms of Avios anyway.

[Deleted User]

Sandtree said:

Deleted_User said:

Sandtree said:

Ebe_Scrooge said:

 You could potentially look at a money transfer card - but that would seem a bit pointless as you'll have to pay a balance transfer fee, and you won't get any S75 protection, so I see no benefit in doing that.  

They also wouldnt get any "rewards" like Avios which is what the OP explicitly stated is why they want to use a card to pay rather than S75 protection.

J_Austin92 said:

As it's going to cost between 13,000-16,000 euro's (wedding only) we wanted to ideally put it onto a reward credit card to help us with some rewards in the future - ideally something with air miles to help us with the overall wedding costs.
The wedding is in Greece and is to be paid in Euros , via Bank transfer.

Even if you went for a BA Premier credit card for the spend above alone would get you circa 20,000 avios plus a 25,000 bonus which at most would currently get you two economy returns for circa £50 depending on if you were flying peak or off-peak. Clearly you can spend more between now and then to earn more avios but on the basis you are looking to spread this cost over 3 years I'm guessing you'll be cutting back elsewhere.

Miles are good, especially for flying Business or First on long haul, but you need to either spend a lot or save for a long time to get to a worth while total.

All of which is wonderful but completely moot as the provider wants payment by BACS only

Guess you didnt read the first sentence that says its moot as even where they to get a transfer card you dont get avios on transfers but that would allow them to fund the monies via the credit card.

The rest is simply pointing out their sums involved dont really get them that much in terms of Avios anyway.

First sentence:

They also wouldnt get any "rewards" like Avios which is what the OP explicitly stated is why they want to use a card to pay rather than S75 protection.

Try again

Sandtree

Deleted_User said:

Sandtree said:

Deleted_User said:

Sandtree said:

Ebe_Scrooge said:

 You could potentially look at a money transfer card - but that would seem a bit pointless as you'll have to pay a balance transfer fee, and you won't get any S75 protection, so I see no benefit in doing that.  

They also wouldnt get any "rewards" like Avios which is what the OP explicitly stated is why they want to use a card to pay rather than S75 protection.

J_Austin92 said:

As it's going to cost between 13,000-16,000 euro's (wedding only) we wanted to ideally put it onto a reward credit card to help us with some rewards in the future - ideally something with air miles to help us with the overall wedding costs.
The wedding is in Greece and is to be paid in Euros , via Bank transfer.

Even if you went for a BA Premier credit card for the spend above alone would get you circa 20,000 avios plus a 25,000 bonus which at most would currently get you two economy returns for circa £50 depending on if you were flying peak or off-peak. Clearly you can spend more between now and then to earn more avios but on the basis you are looking to spread this cost over 3 years I'm guessing you'll be cutting back elsewhere.

Miles are good, especially for flying Business or First on long haul, but you need to either spend a lot or save for a long time to get to a worth while total.

All of which is wonderful but completely moot as the provider wants payment by BACS only

Guess you didnt read the first sentence that says its moot as even where they to get a transfer card you dont get avios on transfers but that would allow them to fund the monies via the credit card.

The rest is simply pointing out their sums involved dont really get them that much in terms of Avios anyway.

First sentence:

They also wouldnt get any "rewards" like Avios which is what the OP explicitly stated is why they want to use a card to pay rather than S75 protection.

Try again

Yes, see the word "wouldnt" in there that you've now quoted twice? They can get a cash transfer credit card, transfer the money to their current account then do the BACS transfer to the merchant but they WOULDNT get any avois for doing so.... its rather simple to get.

NoodleDoodleMan

"Just a note of caution - I'm always a bit sceptical of any company that only accepts payment via bank transfer.  If they go belly-up, or don't deliver, you've got no protection at all."

Good advice.

J_Austin92

Thank you all for the advice so far. 
So credit card rewards is out the question. Fair enough. 
I'm regards to protecting myself wedding insurance will be purchased - I will need to check they cover cash transfer's. 
I'm going to contact the company to see if there's a different way to pay to try and protect ourselves. 

A cash travel credit card sounds like an option by only for the deposit it sounds like?

Am I going to be hit with fees paying the wedding as it will need converting to euros?

Thank you 

Sandtree

"Fees" come in two flavours anyway, there are overt fees where they say they'll charge you 1.5% of the value and there are covert fees where they just give you a bad exchange rate. If you are paying by transfer then certainly compare your banks offering to the likes of Transferwise and look at the total amount of GBP required to send the 5,000Euro (or whatever the sum) rather than just fees or exchange rates.

If the merchant doesnt accept credit cards then there is no option to try and get protection from the card.