[Closed] travelling to Europe, spending/cash whatever ?

Why not a credit card?
I got a Post Office one for use abroad as no fees, just whatever exchange rate Mastercard use. They were taken over by Jaja a couple of years ago but they've kept the no fees thing, quite useful.

Some sort of fee-free card. There's a few banks that do it.

Or just use whatever you have now with a Curve card.

Set up a Revolut account? Can be done in 5 mins using your phone (download app, take photo of yourself and your passport).
Transfer cash in from your bank.
Exchange to currency of your choice with no charges.
Add virtual card to google pay/whatever.
Good to go.

Set up a Revolut account? Can be done in 5 mins using your phone (download app, take photo of yourself and your passport).
Transfer cash in from your bank.
Exchange to currency of your choice with no charges.
Add virtual card to google pay/whatever.
Good to go.

I was going to post pretty much this exact same thing, only replacing 'Revolut' with 'Monzo'

Careful with curve (free tier). There's a spending ceiling abroad, after which extra fees kick in on every transaction.

Set up a Revolut account?

Pretty much this. Also iirc they were running a referral deal for £50 credit or the like if you could find a forumite able to help. (Though if have to check it's not an expired deal)

Credit card that doesn't charge overseas transaction fees (e.g. Nationwide). For extra convenience link to apple pay... job done, no need for cash most places now.

Nationwide CC, and Starling debit account for cash. No fee's.

I don't want a new CC. Plenty of reasons why, but lets just remove a CC from the discussion 🙂

starling debit card as mentioned

CC with no overseas fees has always worked for us with a small amount of cash for beer and ice cream.

We had to sort one out for daughters travels and racing as she couldn't get a CC as a Uni student and most places in the US wouldn't accept payment on her Debit Card.

I don’t want a new CC. Plenty of reasons why, but lets just remove a CC from the discussion 🙂

You do know you've posted on STW and that is never gonna happen don't you?

Santander charge 3% fee on top of the Mastercard exchange rates. Revolut etc have no fee on top of the Mastercard exchange rates. Work out how much you're likely to spend, multiply that by 3%, then see if it's worth it for you. E.g. you'd spend £30 extra on £1000 with Santander.

Also Revolut. Used it faultlessly all over the world for years.

I can give you a referral link if you pm me

Another vote for Revolut, so easy to use. I always withdraw some cash too when abroad as not everywhere takes cards as easily as here in the UK

revolute or similar. Simple and keeps you main account one degree of separation different.

We’re using a Post Office pre-paid card at the moment on Tenerife. Really simple to use & you can keep as much on it as you like. Minimum of £50 top up but if you don’t link a payment card to it & you lose the PO card (or it gets nicked) you’d only lose what’s on it. You can freeze & unfreeze it via the app on your phone.

Monzo or Wise or Starling

Someone mentioned a "Wise" (Previously Travelwise apparently) account to me over the weekend. It comes with an DR card and can be used all over the place.

I don’t want a new CC. Plenty of reasons why, but lets just remove a CC from the discussion 🙂

FWIW revolut isn't, it's to all intents and purposes a prepay debit card, so load up and spend, can't spend what you didn't load and so on.

Easy to load and setup, very good exchange rates very low fees.

I set one up whilst away over Christmas after an issue with my other card provider. Setup cash loaded and spending within less time than it took me to get too embarrassed at the bar.

The difference between Wise and Monzo/Revolut/Starling/Chase is that you maintain different balances of different currencies. You exchange between currencies when you choose, not when you spend. You need to be more organised with it too, as instant exchanges cost more than ones that take 2 to 3 days.
I'm going to be using my Monzo card in preference to my Wise card on my next jaunt.

Santander charge 3% fee on top of the Mastercard exchange rates. Revolut etc have no fee on top of the Mastercard exchange rates. Work out how much you’re likely to spend, multiply that by 3%, then see if it’s worth it for you. E.g. you’d spend £30 extra on £1000 with Santander.

Meh, for £30 it's not really a concern. Is that just on their CC though or £1000 of debit card transactions?

You need to be more organised with it too, as instant exchanges cost more than ones that take 2 to 3 days.

Not true for revolut at least though my other card (with which I had issue) works exactly like that.

Only a fool IMO carries a boatload of cash, anywhere - just not worth the risk.

I just use a Credit Card, as I do in the UK - never use my Debit Card, again, not worth the risk of having my account blocked/emptied etc.

Another recommendation for Revolut here. It's great, just works and makes ease of what can otherwise be a total ballache.

Best example was my long trip home from Queenstown a few years ago. Used one card to buy a pint at QT airport in NZD, dinner in Sydney airport in AUD, snacks and a beer at Changi airport Singapore Dollars) then a Gregg's pasty in Manchester airport all within about 30 hours of each other.

Is that just on their CC though or £1000 of debit card transactions?

Both.

https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/support/credit-cards/travelling/currency-calculator

(URL says credit cards but page is for debit cards too)

Have a look at a Caxton card. You load it with cash from your current account, and select that you want it to sit on your caxton account as Euros. You then use it throughout Europe without any transaction fees. Works a treat.
DOn't think it qualifies as a credit card as you can only spend what's preloaded on the card. Easy to topup with an app or over the web.

(caveat - haven't used mine in a couple of years, so not sure if any changes due to Brexit)

+1 For Revolut, I pay the €8 euros a month and get the interbank exchange rate it’s stonkingly good value.

Just makes money shuffling and paying in multiple currencies dead simples and your not getting rinsed on exchange rates.

Revolut also allows you to create disposable virtual cards for individual purchases.

as a regular traveller to greece im interested in possibly making things easier and starting to use my revolut account.

opened an account around 5 years ago and ive only made a couple of local purchases to make sure it worked. i currently have about £20 in it but have to say as a financial doofus i dont really understand how to use it properly and what benefits it gives.

we currently send off for maybe £1000 worth of euros before each holiday from places like TravelFX and then generally walk around with all our euros in our beachbags if we dont have a decent safe in the apartment. we're happy enough doing this as the islands always seem so friendly and crime-free but realise thats mebbes a bit naive and weve been lucky so far.

so..... a few questions please.
we also have a halifax clarity card, so does revolut have any advantage over this?

i wasnt aware that you could withdraw cash from a hole in the wall with revolut, so again, any advantage doing this with revolut over the clarity card?

my original card expired and i cant see any way on the website of getting them to send me another. is it just purely online/app based now so you use your phone? and if so that obviously means i couldnt withdraw from a hole in the wall.

once issued with a new card (if thats possible now) is it viable to just withdraw a daily amount from a hole in the wall daily over there, or are there transaction/withdrawal fees charged?

we'd still prefer to use cash in greece when we eat out, so just wondering which the best way of doing that is without carrying loads of cash around with us.

+1 For Revolut, I pay the €8 euros a month and get the interbank exchange rate it’s stonkingly good value.

so when does paying a monthly fee make better sense than just using the bog standard version?

thanks

I always use travellers cheques.

Have a look at a Caxton card. You load it with cash from your current account, and select that you want it to sit on your caxton account as Euros. You then use it throughout Europe without any transaction fees. Works a treat.
DOn’t think it qualifies as a credit card as you can only spend what’s preloaded on the card. Easy to top up with an app or over the web.

Like the one I mentioned from the Post Office?

Used ours last week on Tenerife for the 1st time. Top up from any any of your accounts, no fees, no problems.

I always use travellers cheques.

Blankets, beads, and Martini-Henry's here.

so when does paying a monthly fee make better sense than just using the bog standard version?

They start charging fees for the money exchanges on the free tier one once you go over a certain limit.

I get paid in £ and live in a € area so it works out cheaper for me to pay a monthly fee, for holiday purposes unless you want to take advantage of the other features they bundle probably not.

Moving wages and buying cars then it makes sense 🙂

I always use travellers cheques.

Good grief Charlie Brown are they still a thing ?

we’d still prefer to use cash in greece when we eat out, so just wondering which the best way of doing that is without carrying loads of cash around with us.

I would still use a revolute card and get cash out when you need.
For me the advantage of a revolute car are
1. Top up when you want. Auto top up possible if you want. Transfer balances to any currency with good rates
2. Cheaper cash withdrawal than with my debit card at better rates. If you already have a balance in Euros on the card the money co es off the euro balence. The ATM machine think it's dealing with a euro account.
3. Separation between bank account and card I hand over places. If it is stolen I only risk to loose the balence on the card in the currency I am in. I can lock the card. I might still have £100 GBP on the card but if I only have 50euro someone needs to go to a GBP merchant to spend the GBP and need the app to transfer to euro so I only have 50at risk.
4. Splitting bills. When I was traveling a lot one person would pay and then every one would transfer money as we all had revolute. 5. Instant phone notification of every transaction.

I would still use a revolute card and get cash out when you need.
For me the advantage of a revolute car are
1. Top up when you want. Auto top up possible if you want. Transfer balances to any currency with good rates

so i can easily top up the card from my HSBC card whenever i like, and into either £'s, dollars or euros yep? so in effect a prepaid card. and i could have say 100 of each currency on there and transfer some of the £'s to euros or vice versa for no penalty?

2. Cheaper cash withdrawal than with my debit card at better rates. If you already have a balance in Euros on the card the money co es off the euro balence. The ATM machine think it’s dealing with a euro account.

so take my example above where ive got 100 of each currency on there, if i stick it in a hole in the wall, it defaults to the location? use it in uk i withdraw pound notes, hole in the wall in greece it gives me euros, i dont need to faff with settings....

3. Separation between bank account and card I hand over places. If it is stolen I only risk to loose the balence on the card in the currency I am in. I can lock the card. I might still have £100 GBP on the card but if I only have 50euro someone needs to go to a GBP merchant to spend the GBP and need the app to transfer to euro so I only have 50at risk.

if its stolen, how do you lose any money at all if the baddie doesnt know your pin? or is it also a contactless jobbie?

4. Splitting bills. When I was traveling a lot one person would pay and then every one would transfer money as we all had revolute. 5. Instant phone notification of every transaction.

im guessing this would just be the same as everyone bank transferring money to your mates anyway, so no real advantage over a normal bank card? (but still good that you can do it anyway i suppose)

just trying to convince my wife that this may be the way forward in future as we DO still want to pay euro notes to the greek taverna owners rather than a swipe of a card.
so let me (hopefully) get this right.....ignoring the exchange rate fluctuations, theres no financial advantage in ordering our cash from TravelFX in advance and carrying it about with us. we may as well have £1000 loaded in euros on the card and withdraw as and when. theres no separate withdrawal fees for each transaction.....

thanks for your help

Another vote for Revolut 🙂 Mainly for security - basically you top up your card from your main account, but only as much as you want. So for example you transfer 100€ into your Revolut account, and then have a debit card with 100€ available. If someone clones your card the most they can steal is that 100€.

I've no idea whether it's got better exchange rates or charges, but TBH I'm not spending enough to be worried about an extra 3% on top. Having my account wiped out, that is a more serious concern.

so i can easily top up the card from my HSBC card whenever i like, and into either £’s, dollars or euros yep? so in effect a prepaid card. and i could have say 100 of each currency on there and transfer some of the £’s to euros or vice versa for no penalty?

Yep that it. You have your linked account in your case HSBC, transfer in that accounts currency, then exchange back and forth between different currencies. When I was traveling a lot I had money in zloty, euro, CHF and swapped as need.

so take my example above where ive got 100 of each currency on there, if i stick it in a hole in the wall, it defaults to the location? use it in uk i withdraw pound notes, hole in the wall in greece it gives me euros, i dont need to faff with settings

Exactly as long as you have balence on that currency it works and if the ATM is free for locals it's free for you. (Last time I was in Spain the most local atm had horrible fees for non euro cards)

im guessing this would just be the same as everyone bank transferring money to your mates anyway, so no real advantage over a normal bank card? (but still good that you can do it anyway i suppose)

For us it was easier as if the bill was 100 euro we didn't have to convert to GBP then divide by 3/4/5 people then transfer, then some would have euro back account then bla bla bla.we just transferred in the currency we were operating in at the time. Also for me personally I don't use my phone for banking other than revolute so bank transfer is a bit of a pain, I only do my banking sat down on big screen, but that's just me.

Exchange rate was pretty good IME, I am sure you could hunt and find something better somewhere but usually as good or better than most FX places that had a physical branch and better than my bank.

ignoring the exchange rate fluctuations, theres no financial advantage in ordering our cash from TravelFX in advance and carrying it about with us. we may as well have £1000 loaded in euros on the card and withdraw as and when. theres no separate withdrawal fees for each transaction…..

Exactly I even had a separate travel wallet, with just the revolute card, some Id, and a little local currency (and one million receipts). It's pretty easy to set up, I seem to remember you do have to send some pictures of id (via th app during setup) and then it takes a few days as they varify (which is reassuring for me) but then the card arrives and you are good to go

Exactly I even had a separate travel wallet,

haha, i have one of those already, clarity card, EHIC cards, euros etc...

looks like the phone app has more options than the website, ive ordered a new card and will have a play with it when it gets here.
as we've already got our euros out for june i think we'll go business as usual with that one, but every now and then just take out a 10e note to prove it all works, then go live with it in september.

thanks for the advice.

Exactly as long as you have balence on that currency it works and if the ATM is free for locals it’s free for you. (Last time I was in Spain the most local atm had horrible fees for non euro cards)

just been looking for hopeful summer travel to Europe - Aus' bank cancelled / ceased offering multicurrency travelcard 6months or so into covid (I got an automatic refund on balances but I still have the kids cards to sort as they didn't get any correspondence or credit)

with Revolut my understanding is that if you withdraw more than GBP200 equivalent in a month from cash machines with a basic card then you get a 2% service charge....personally think this a pretty good deal compared to paying a sometimes unknown hefty fee

again for me the attraction is security as well as value...if I've used my debit or credit card to park at the airport I need that card to get out when I get back plus any loss if cloned is limited

as to credit cards versus debit many car hire co's and some hotel chains can be pretty awkward to impossible

with Revolut my understanding is that if you withdraw more than GBP200 equivalent in a month from cash machines with a basic card then you get a 2% service charge….personally think this a pretty good deal compared to paying a sometimes unknown hefty fee

that right? so in my example (withdrawing our £1000 spending money on holiday) itd cost us £16? doesnt seem such a good deal to me, i may just be naive tho.
anyone know what the cost of withdrawing those euros with a clarity card would cost?

as to credit cards versus debit many car hire co’s and some hotel chains can be pretty awkward to impossible

Which would you prefer to have onerous charges attached and/or frauded? Not your Bank Account is the answer. Use a CC.