I’m going to Amsterdam tomorrow. Where is the best place to get euros? Also is it going to be much more expensive just to use cash machines over there?

Am I not right in thinking that they recently imposed loads of rules to stop banks screwing us over?

I have a Natwest Visa current account. Would getting money from the bank before I go be a good idea?

Advice much appreciated.

Thanks

Wattsy

Check the best online rates you can get, post office online was quite good, then visit a local tour operator and see if they will match the price.

Thompsons did for me recently

We found that Marks & Spencer gave the best rates a while ago, depends on how much time you have to shop around. Cash point machines are fairly expensive as they do not always give you the best exchange rate and also charge you for a foreign currency transaction, what they charge depends on the bank though, we are with Santander and it is quite expensive.

Most of the girls in the red Light area will take a credit/debit card from what I’ve been told……

There’s only ever pennies/cents in the differences, so I tend to just use the Post Office.

Pre-order at travelex for pretty much the best rates – more than pence difference…

Assuming we’re talking hundreds, not thousands, of pounds, just use the most convenient place, which may well be the cash machine at Schipol airport. The differences in the rates between different exchange places amounts to peanuts in real terms. You may ‘save’ yourself a tenner in cash, but you’ll probably lose it’s relative value in palaver.

I used pre-order at travelex as you get a decent rate as a rule. Now I get paid in Euros it’s a bit easier 😉

Unless you’re changing thousands it’s not worth the time researching it, just go to either the post office or M&S or use a cash machine, whichever you’re passing first.

If you use a cashpoint, its a good idea to get as much as you need out in one go as there’s usually a charge per transaction.

I’ve always done this in Amsterdam and even with the transaction charge accounted for the rate is pretty good.

co-op travel usually have a better rate than the post office

Most of the girls in the red Light area will take a credit/debit card from what I’ve been told……

where do they swipe it??

where do they swipe it??

Depends on how much you are paying I assume 😉

The difference for me worked out to about 40 euro’s, so was worth doing.

It also meant I could just about buy single shot of a closed distillery Malt at my hotel!

😉

Thank you all.

I’m going fri to mon on a stag do so I figure about £500 should do it. I’ll just get it all out in one go from a cash machine if it’s going to be a difference of about £10-20. As I’m going tomorrow the only alternative is walking around Exeter later this evening finding an exchange place.

Most of the girls in the red Light area will take a credit/debit card from what I’ve been told……

Cheers, that may turn out to be information I wish I hadn’t been told. I’ve got all the best intentions but after watching a sex show on a stag do and 10 pints down…..

Thanks for all the advice.

Heh – what could go wrong with having five hundred quid in cash in your pocket, in Amsterdam, on your first night, on a Friday, on a stag weekend?

From the Natwest website for you:

Transactions abroad
Cash withdrawals – 2% (minimum £2, maximum £5)
Purchase of currency or travellers cheques using a Visa Debit card – 2% (minimum £2, maximum £5)

Point of sale transactions – £1.25 per transaction

Exchange Rate Transaction Fee
Any transaction in a foreign currency is converted into Sterling at our prevailing exchange rate and a transaction fee of 2.75% is subsequently applied for debit card transactions. This fee is known as
the Exchange Rate Transaction Fee (ERTF).

Wow, That’s excellent. Thanks very much.

So if I take out £500 from a cashpoint i am going to pay:
500*2%= £10
+£1.25= £11.25

Does the bit at the bottom apply to me? Is that a further 2.75%?

Or is the point of sales transaction just for buying things in a shop on card?

Try your branch if you can, you can usually get Euros over the counter direct from your current account and it will be a little cheaper than using cash points in country. I get sent around Europe on a day or so notice, and I’ve always been able to get enough pocket money over the counter .. never tried £500 though! You will be able to use a CC in most places anyway.

Don’t get them at the airport after checking the moneycorp website and finding that they were the best rates, it was all lies, I needed about 850 euro’s (paying for the holliday in cash) and I could have got 100euros more at the post office!

I read it as you’ll just pay 2% or £5 (whichever is less)

Point of Sale would be for transactions in a shop, as is the Ex Rate Trans Fee from what I understand.

thisisnotaspoon – the rates are always significantly less at the airport than they are online. Travelex and other vendors are exactly the same.