Best way for spending in Spain

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meishka
meishka Posts: 42 Forumite
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edited 5 January at 11:39PM in Flights, currency & car hire
I have a Wise account and a Chase account. Which is the cheapest way to fund my spending abroad, load up Wise with sterling and convert to euros then spend the euros with the card or just use the card which takes from the sterling balance? Or use a Chase card? I'm thinking its best to fund Wise via sterling and convert to euros but not 100% sure which is cheapest!
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  • csw5780
    csw5780 Posts: 47 Forumite
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    Chase has no charges and has the best rates. 
  • NoodleDoodleMan
    NoodleDoodleMan Posts: 3,370 Forumite
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    edited 6 January at 1:34PM
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    Chase is good, a top choice.
    I would also have a "user friendly" credit card as backup - the Virgin Money Travel Card is ideal - but don't use it to withdraw cash, that apart, it's rated highly on MSE.
    If you are looking to withdraw cash - the best deal in Spain is a Santander UK debit card used at a Banco Santander fully branded ATM at/in a branch - no fees of any type. 
    If you are interested I can expand on what Santander UK account is best.

     




  • Barkin
    Barkin Posts: 428 Forumite
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    csw5780 said:
    Chase has no charges and has the best rates. 
    Chase use the Mastercard rate, so the same rate as anybody else using Mastercard rates. 
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 15,290 Forumite
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    Barkin said:
    csw5780 said:
    Chase has no charges and has the best rates. 
    Chase use the Mastercard rate, so the same rate as anybody else using Mastercard rates. 
    Note that the Mastercard rate is slightly less favourable than the Visa rate.
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 15,290 Forumite
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    The big problem in Spain is that DCC is ubiquitous. So paying by card always involves the risk of being overcharged in this way. I speak Spanish reasonably well and always make it clear that I want to pay in Euro, and yet I still sometimes ended up being charged in sterling (at a very unfavourable rate). The worst is when merchants change the currency after you have entered your PIN or touched your card.

    You might consider identifying a bank that does not charge for cash withdrawals, and then paying for everything in cash Euro.
  • njkmr
    njkmr Posts: 146 Forumite
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    edited 6 January at 2:00PM
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    NoodleDoodleMan said:
    Chase is good, a top choice.
    I would also have a "user friendly" credit card as backup - the Virgin Money Travel Card is ideal - but don't use it to withdraw cash, that apart, it's rated highly on MSE.
    If you are looking to withdraw cash - the best deal in Spain is a Santander UK debit card used at a Banco Santander fully branded ATM at/in a branch - no fees of any type. 
    If you are interested I can expand on what Santander UK account is best.

     




    Yes please which Santander account  is best.?
  • NoodleDoodleMan
    NoodleDoodleMan Posts: 3,370 Forumite
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    njkmr said:
    NoodleDoodleMan said:
    Chase is good, a top choice.
    I would also have a "user friendly" credit card as backup - the Virgin Money Travel Card is ideal - but don't use it to withdraw cash, that apart, it's rated highly on MSE.
    If you are looking to withdraw cash - the best deal in Spain is a Santander UK debit card used at a Banco Santander fully branded ATM at/in a branch - no fees of any type. 
    If you are interested I can expand on what Santander UK account is best.

     




    Yes please which Santander account  is best.?
    Santander Everyday Current Account is the best choice.
    No strings attached, such as Direct Debit requirements, or funds credited to the account on a monthly basis.
    Some earlier investigation on the subject is relevant - as I initially got it wrong and it took months to get a straight answer.
    Simply put - only use ATMs at Banco Santander branches.
    Also - don't use the card to pay at bars etc. or buying at shops - a fee is incurred - only for withdrawing cash.



  • csw5780
    csw5780 Posts: 47 Forumite
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    edited 7 January at 12:06PM
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    NoodleDoodleMan said:
    Chase is good, a top choice.
    I would also have a "user friendly" credit card as backup - the Virgin Money Travel Card is ideal - but don't use it to withdraw cash, that apart, it's rated highly on MSE.
    If you are looking to withdraw cash - the best deal in Spain is a Santander UK debit card used at a Banco Santander fully branded ATM at/in a branch - no fees of any type. 
    If you are interested I can expand on what Santander UK account is best.

     




    Currensea card is good for withdrawing cash (free at Banca March) or paying in shops etc.  It links to any current account. 

  • greyteam1959
    greyteam1959 Posts: 4,576 Forumite
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    Voyager2002 said:
    The big problem in Spain is that DCC is ubiquitous. So paying by card always involves the risk of being overcharged in this way. I speak Spanish reasonably well and always make it clear that I want to pay in Euro, and yet I still sometimes ended up being charged in sterling (at a very unfavourable rate). The worst is when merchants change the currency after you have entered your PIN or touched your card.

    You might consider identifying a bank that does not charge for cash withdrawals, and then paying for everything in cash Euro.
    Yes totally agree with this.
    Spanish merchants are sods for snatching the terminal back fro you after entering you PIN then changing the currency.
    Even with contactless transactions you can get caught out.
    I have had lots of occasions where the merchant has tried to take the terminal back off me before the transaction has completed.
    A tight grip of the terminal usually works !!
  • Doshwaster
    Doshwaster Posts: 6,137 Forumite
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    Actually,I have noticed that since contactless came along, the attempts at doing a dodgy DCC transaction have greatly reduced. I was in Malaga over Christmas and only one waiter asked me which currency I wanted, everyone else just did Euro automatically. Try to make sure that the terminal screen is always visible to you so you can see what they are doing,

    It helps that I get instantaneous confirmations on my Starling app so I know if they have secretly pressed the GBP button.

    Cash is still useful in some of the more touristy bars but I found that almost everywhere took cards, many more than on my previous visit. I only had to use an ATM once. 

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