Euro (€) Currency Thread

Elljay_2

DGJsaver wrote: »

hopefully the right thread !

should i buy euro travellers cheques (no commison) or sterling travellers cheques (commison) in the UK to change IN turkey ?

Or does it make no difference ?

Any advice welcome !

Dan

Have been told to take sterling to Turkey as they prefer it to Euros. If you really want to take T/C's I would take sterling ones. You may pay 1% comission but at least your money doesn't change if you don't spend them all. You will losebig time if you change your money to Euros - then to Turkish Lira - then back to sterling if you don't spend it all.
1% comission on sterling T/C's will probably work out cheaper than changing your money into Euros and then again into Lira anyway.

hammy_the_hammer

lolarentt wrote: »

Put it in the bank, then use Travelex online to order euros (pay online with your debit card) which you can pick up at the airport. If you do it this way there is NO commission charge - if you change at airport (Heathrow etc) there is a 1.5% or 2% commission, can't remember which ( even higher at Luton and others!)

http://www.travelex.co.uk/uk/

certain debit cards will charge you to do this.
if you turn up at the airport and change money on the day you will be severely ripped off ....allegedly

harryhound

budgetflyer wrote: »

Interbank rate is 1.25 Euro - £1. This is the rate you would get TODAY using a fees free debit card such as Nationwide's to draw out an ATM , (ignoring any offers for dynamic currency conversion)
The calculator below
http://corporate.visa.com/pd/consumer_services/consumer_ex_rates.jsp
can give you an effective rate for other cards if you know the loading % and fees your bank charges.
Compare that to
Travelex (1.216) and TEG (1.225) in order to use if neccessary, the Travelex best price guarantee, as detailed in MY GUIDE.
Also worth a look are your modern day pawn shops, ie Cash Convertors , Cheque Centre, Cash Generator etc etc.
Ive found their rates comparable to (& sometimes better than) Travelex online.
Most high streets have one, so there really is no excuse for being stung at the Post Office or travel agents these days.

I've brought this posting forward because it mentions most of the pitfalls and the places to look for comparative data.
Beware of dynamic currency conversion, this is a 3% or more rip off where the hotel, waiter or supermarket tries to get you to authorise a card transaction "conveniently" converted into sterling.
Nationwide can give you a card that politely says "no thank you" in local language.
To avoid nasty scenes, you might want to use your Nationwide debit card to get cash at the local ATM and pay in cash.
I took great delight in laboriously counting out the cash in a French supermarket petrol kiosk, when the lass on the till told me there was no alternative to paying the uplift. I think the rest of the Q behind me got the message.

TuftyMatt

Well I came back from Majorca last Friday and used the Caxtonfx card out there.

Payed the hotel bill with it and used it in the supermarkets (need to show your passport) and drew out cash (2 euro fee)

The card is pre loaded at a very good rate before you travel from your uk bank account and the application takes about two weeks. Once you have the card it last 2 years and then a new one will be issued. If you use it like I did and then make just one cash withdraw the fee is no problem considering the higher rate you get when you load it.

Well worth a 10 minute online application.:T

Biggles

TuftyMatt wrote: »

Payed the hotel bill with it and used it in the supermarkets (need to show your passport) and drew out cash (2 euro fee)

Why did the supermarkets want to see your passport? I've never been asked for that anywhere.

benjus

Biggles wrote: »

Why did the supermarkets want to see your passport? I've never been asked for that anywhere.

It's a few years since I was last in Majorca, but I assume it's the same as mainland Spain where most places will ask for ID if you pay by card. This applies equally to Spaniards and foreigners. Many places (including major supermarket chains) do not use Chip&PIN. I don't normally carry my passport with me but a photocard driving licence is fine.

Biggles

Must be a Spain thing, I've never been there but never had that problem in other countries.

Rockee

On BBC 1's The One Show tonight they featured the best placed to buy your currency (as of 2nd May 2008).

On the High Street it was M & S
whilst online it was http://www.crowncurrencyexchange.com

I have used M & S before but have never bought currency online. Has anyone used Crown Currency and are they good? Or can anyone recommend anyone better?

(we are going to Spain at the of end of July)

Cheers
Rockee

woohoo

Hi,

I am almost scared to ask for fear of being dim but here goes.

I have the Abbey zero card - Martin says:

The overall winner is the Abbey Zero card, which has no foreign exchange loading anywhere in the world, plus charges no fee for withdrawing cash from an ATM. The only slight downer is that the interest rate when you use an ATM is the highest out of all my picks, at 25.9% APR; yet the lack of a one off charge balances this out, especially if you use the hole-in-the-wall a lot.

European Load Fee: 0%. Worldwide Load Fee: 0%. ATM Fee: £0. Interest for withdrawing cash: 25.9%.


My question is, basically is it cheaper to use the card in Majorca or to change the nmoney into Euros at say Travelex - order online and collect at airport? I would repay the card as soon as I got the statement. I have a 0% balance transfer on there - would it affect that - by paying off the lowest rate balance first (ie not the money I withdrew when away?)

Many thanks. I don't understand the 25.9% thing.

harryhound

Nor do I, but on another credit card, I used to over pay it before going on holiday, and thus avoid interest on top of its modest currency conversion charges.
(I've got credit & debit Nationwide cards now).
If you have kept them, or perhaps there is a copy on the Abbey web site, the Terms & Conditions should explain how the 25% is calculated. Obviously it would be unwise to turn a foreign trip into a long term debt.