Hi all,

Just getting myself organised for our family jaunt. Where is the best place to buy my currency from? What’s a decent exchange rate? Is it ok to buy euros on credit card?

Ta very much!

Not sure the best place to buy, but if you use your cc to buy currency, you’ll pay an uplift fee – it’s the same as drawing money out from an ATM using your cc. It is quite competitive to use your cc to make purchases abroad though.

I’ve found M&S to be the best.

+1 for M&S

Thanks. I don’t really do the abroad thing much! We are going to Tenerife for a fortnight (good biking plus family stuff), would I be better off just taking a few hundred quid and using my card wherever possible instead?

Travelex for me this time, better rate than M&S, free delivery & 2% quidco cashback.

Do you have a town center full of travel agents nearby. They will compete with each other to give the best rates.
Our small town with only one travel agent wasn’t offering good rates when I last asked, when I pointed out that I’d seen the same agents branch in Blackburn offering much better rates they said “that’s right it’s cos of the competion there, we don’t have to compete”. OK I said “I’ll drive to Blackburn for my euros”. Before you say it, yes it was worth the trip, got an extra 20 euros for only a few quid in deisel.
And take cash if you can, even a debit card carries a fee, a cc an even bigger fee.

Having said all that, check with your bank as some don’t charge to use your card in cash machines abroad and you will get the best rate this way.

yes it was worth the trip, got an extra 20 euros for only a few quid in deisel.

Don’t value your time much, then?

Travelex, do it online, pick up at airport. Easily the best ER when we skied Jan & March.

i have only ever got mine from the Post Office, because there is nowhere else to go around here.

Check the online offerings from travelex and whoever else is at the airport your flying from but for me the money shop (home of dodgy pay day loans etc) have been best the last 3-4 times surprisingly.

I thought travelex was 0.5% on quidco?