currency abroad (1 Viewer)

[gus-lopez]

I gave up years ago spending hours /days trying to see what was best.All I use is my spanish debit cards in the Eu & cash .In the UK I use UK cards.Cash I protect with the old stall holders trick of giant bulldog clip on end of euros( 50's & above) & same on pounds .I add my own nylon line to each clip & other end attached to alarm.Everything else in my wallet.

 

[gus-lopez]

carte non accepte both times

possibly due to chip and pin we have been told since, particularly petrol where they preauthorise and might ask for more than we had on card

yes they always go for 120€ , which is the limit.

From what I can recall, I believe it is not a good idea to use a prepayment card for things like fuel and aires as they can take more money off the card than you will actually 'spend' and it can take some time to be put back on the card ... a few days in some instances, so you could find out that you don't have any 'usable' cash on the card in the meantime. Much better to use a credit card.

Don't know about ccards but debit cards, non-french, get hit with the 120€ maximum deduction then returned days later. Not illegal in France apparently according to my bank manager but is illegal here & other eu states.

They won't work never mind how much you have got in them, same at motorway tolls.

Nor will some debit & credit cards,

 

[Tootles]

Have you a link for this card ?

Here you go.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...4_750001_750051_757767_-1_757751_757751_image

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[Deleted34567]

Here you go.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...4_750001_750051_757767_-1_757751_757751_image

That's the business !
And no charges, always in credit !.... LOL

 

[MitchandJenny]

Some one has already said it, but Santander ZERO account has no charges. ((as well as N and P gold classic)) So we have both with us when abroad.. Enjoy your travels..
Mitch.

 

[Emmit]

With the exception of the 'anomaly' of the machine you used in the Spar shop, if you draw out cash at an ATM with your credit card you would be charged interest from the day you take out the money .... so there is a charge.

How much will I be charged for withdrawing cash abroad?​

You will not be charged a fee by us for withdrawing cash from an ATM (cashpoint) anywhere in the world. Some ATM providers charge a fee, but this should be made clear to you at the time of withdrawal and is unfortunately outside of our control. You will still be charged interest from the date that the withdrawal is made, but unlike some credit cards which charge a higher rate of cash, you will be charged the same competitive rate as if you had made a purchase.


​

http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity-card/#foreign_exchange

Minx,

Can I point out to you that the Halifax will charge Interest on a withdrawal but, if one is in credit (as I was) on the Credit Card it cannot charge interest because you have not 'withdrawn' any of THEIR money. The status of my account didn't change from the start of the holiday to the end. I was always in credit on my card. Therefore they couldn't charge me interest on any 'withdrawals' because it was my money I was withdrawing.

In any case the proof is in the detail. I was not, nor have not been charged one sou for any transaction conducted, during or since my holiday

I am not asking you to believe me but you can be assured that this Tyke would not be happy if the bank charged me interest to withdraw my own money.

I will go further. On Day 1 of our holiday I withdrew €140 from the ATM. The Bank took £109.08 from the cash that I had put into the Card. This equates to a rate of €1.2834 which, compared to the interbank rate of the day which was €1.2735. In other words I received 0.99 of a cent BETTER than the rate. Not just perfect but BETTER than perfect.

Could I further point out that this may be an anomoly but one which is more common than we could think. Please consider this. We are in an age where it is not uncommon to be in credit on a credit card. Example. Mrs Emmit goes to M & S buys clothes and puts it on her CC.
The monthly bill is paid for and later, Mrs Emmit takes the clothes back. They credit the card that was used for the original purchase. I would suggest that there would be nothing wrong with reclaiming the cost of the original purchase by going to an ATM and withdrawing the money. Would M&S charge me for doing this. I don't think so.

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[chaser]

Does this apply to all credit cards because if so it's certainly something to be looked at that hasn't been mentioned before

 

[Emmit]

Apparently some CC Companies don't allow the depositing of funds into their CC Accounts, (After reading my post above I wonder why (giggle)
However, I've looked at the Clarity t and c and I can't find anything to stop me, so I did!!!

 

[chaser]

Minx! Where are you, this seems to be the winner of the day, does tesco credit card do this as well , more points for the ferry to boot!!!

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[gus-lopez]

Does this apply to all credit cards because if so it's certainly something to be looked at that hasn't been mentioned before

Can't see why not as you are effectively giving them money on which to earn interest & on which they have to pay nothing out. Since I've lived here my 2 UK ccards regularly have credit on them as I always pay them after using on line & can never remember totals , so overpay.
I never get them contacting me complaining ?

 

[Emmit]

Chaser,

The Halifax Clarity CC doesn't charge anything for buying goods when abroad. It is one of the only ones where this is the case.

I wouldn't want everyone on here thinking that they could load their cards before going abroad and get away with not being charged a 'Transaction Fee' which is totally different to being charged Interest.

The only cards that MAY allow you to get away with what I did are the ones that don't charge a transaction fee or any other kind of charge (as opposed to Interest) for either buying goods or obtaining cash.

As Minx pointed out in an earlier post, even the Nationwide charges some of these.
You have been warned!

 

[Allan & Loren]

We've banked with nationwide for years and always take our debit card on holiday as we don't like to carry large sums of cash. Transactions used to be free but that changed a year or so ago as lots of people opened an account just to use when on holiday. As this is our main account as a trade for removing the free transactions we get really good holiday insurance free. I'd rather pay a small transaction fee than have a load of cash stolen.

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[The Wino]

Chaser,

The Halifax Clarity CC doesn't charge anything for buying goods when abroad. It is one of the only ones where this is the case.

I wouldn't want everyone on here thinking that they could load their cards before going abroad and get away with not being charged a 'Transaction Fee' which is totally different to being charged Interest.

The only cards that MAY allow you to get away with what I did are the ones that don't charge a transaction fee or any other kind of charge (as opposed to Interest) for either buying goods or obtaining cash.

As Minx pointed out in an earlier post, even the Nationwide charges some of these.
You have been warned!

We find the Halifax card the best for purchasing goods (haven't tried keeping it in credit) really good rate no fees and use the caxton card for cash withdrawls. The best way to use the caxton is go online whilst away and keep topping it up so you don't have a large balance sitting there when you get home and if lost less panic!!. We split our cards so if one of us gets their purse/wallet stolen we can cancel those and still have a back up. We sometimes use our Nationwide Debit card for cash but never get cash on a credit card because of the charges (but again not tried keeping it in credit). I wonder if the account is in credit do you till get the consumer protection if miss-sold or the seller goes bust as it is only due to consumer credit legislation?

 

[Minxy]

Minx,

You said,"With the exception of the 'anomaly' of the machine you used in the Spar shop, if you draw out cash at an ATM with your credit card you would be charged interest from the day you take out the money .... so there is a charge."

Could Irespectfully point out something I had already said, viz,

"We drew money out on it so that even after we'ed done it we were still in credit and continued that way until we got back, making sure that we were in credit, feeding it from the Current Account online. (not much)LOL."

Can I respectfully point out that the Card Company could not impose charges on our withdrawal of monies because WE WERE IN CREDIT.

I repeat. We were not charged, at the time, or subsequently for any transaction made whilst on holiday

Now I see what you are on about

You keep the BALANCE on your credit card account not just in credit (ie £0 so no debt on it) but well ABOVE the amount you are actually DEBITING against it therefore there is always a CREDIT on it which means that you are in fact not 'loaning' any money from them, you are just using what you have already in effect 'prepaid' into it ... THAT is what I didn't grasp from your previous postings!

You are, therefore, in effect using your credit card as if it were a 'pre-payment' card not as a 'credit' card in the normal sense ... no wonder I didn't realise as I was unaware, as others it seems too didn't know, that this could be done!

I shall now do a bit of 'investigating' the various T&Cs for the credit cards we have and see it this is permitted ...

 

[Minxy]

Some one has already said it, but Santander ZERO account has no charges. ((as well as N and P gold classic)) So we have both with us when abroad.. Enjoy your travels..
Mitch.

The problem is that the Santander Zero account is no longer available (withdrawn in 2012 I think) so isn't any good for anyone looking for a 'new' way to do this now.

Same with credit cards - we have a Nationwide Gold credit card which doesn't charge a fee for purchases and we get 56 days interest free too but that became unavailable 4 years ago. Some of the other accounts etc metioned don't exist now either.

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[Minxy]

Minx! Where are you, this seems to be the winner of the day, does tesco credit card do this as well , more points for the ferry to boot!!!

I've just hast a look and unfortunately they charge a transaction fee so a non-starter:

Question:
How much do I pay for cash advances on a Tesco Bank Credit Card?

Answer:
If you obtain cash or a cash substitute using your Tesco Bank Credit Card or your card number, that is called a cash advance. Examples include withdrawal from an ATM, over the counter, purchase of non-sterling currency or travellers’ cheques, gambling and electronic transfers (other than a balance transfer or money transfer).

There is a 3% fee on the cash amount you withdraw (minimum charge of £3.00). For more information on our APR and interest rates please refer to the Summary Box which can be found on the back of your credit card monthly statement or the Terms and Conditions that you received with your Tesco Bank Credit Card.​

 

[Minxy]

Ref using existing debit/credit cards abroad, the below site gives more info:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/overseas-card-charges​

This is a link for the Metrobank 'fee free' current account and 'fee free' debit card when used abroad:

Broken Link Removed​

This is for the N&P 'conditional' current account and 'fee free' debit card:

Link Removed​

This is for the Halifax Clarifty credit card:

http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity-card/​

 

[The Wino]

Looked at the halifax one no transaction fee but interest payable stright away ......presumably not if you are in credit.

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[Emmit]

SSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! (Hee Hee)

 

[Minxy]

Looked at the halifax one no transaction fee but interest payable stright away ......presumably not if you are in credit.

... we applied for one the other day when this became 'apparent' ....

 

[Emmit]

Good for you.

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