banks charging for euro transaction fees...

thank you all .... if i get the saga credit card i will use that next time for payments for fuel and as i did this summer, take cash with me for daily use - but the preloaded card is an interesting idea i have not come across before so i may investigate that also.

i dont/wont do wifi or internet when i am away (since i have been doing long trips i recognise what a flaming tyrant the www is and i hate it now!!)

thanks for all the useful ideas from everyone here...
 
Halifax Clarity for us for reasons already mentioned. Martin Lewis said it's the first choice followed by the Nationwwide version.
 
Another vote for Halifax Clarity. We are just back from a six week trip, our worst rate for Aug/Sept was 1.089, the best 1.1322 and no transaction charges. Certainly one of the best cards for good exchange rates in our experience.
Dave
 
Chance

If you are wanting the best value for money then nobody is on the ball more than Martin Lewis over at MoneySavingExpert.com.
Last time I checked Halifax Clarity was the best to use credit card for foreign transactions.

Travel credit cards: the best credit cards to use abroad - MSE

However, if you leave the exchange rate conversion to be done on the transaction date you are at the mercy of the £ to € at that point in time.
To be getting the most Euro's for your pounds you need to be converting your currency at a rate you know is good.
That can be done through Revolut which is a 'phone app. It will allow you to load money on to it in pounds then convert it to Euro's at any point in time that you see the pound become stronger against Euro.
When you purchase something you are then doing the transaction directly in Euro's.

If the pound gets stronger against the Euro whilst you are on your travels you can either exchange more then sell the original lot when the pound weakens again or just spend on the credit card.
 
For over 10 years now we have use FairFX preloaded cards, very easy to top up online and gives reasonable rates, up with the best. No charges for purchases as your card is in Euros, no card charge for ATM use though you have to pay local machine operators charges which n Portugal are 2.50 for cash presumably to pay for the wonderful range of services available at a Multibanco machine, including bill payment, set up and control standing orders, pay taxes. Makes our machines look stone age. Never had any serious problems and their customer service is good.
 
If you are in the south, you can open a Metro Bank account. ... also free to use abroad. Walk in and come out with your debit card and internet banking all set up.
 
I applied for a Saga card and now ages n ages later they sent me a letter saying they can find no record of me ... rubbish ..... and want me to provide a bucket full of documents to comply with money laundering...... i wont bother......
 
delicagirl said:
I applied for a Saga card and now ages n ages later they sent me a letter saying they can find no record of me ... rubbish ..... and want me to provide a bucket full of documents to comply with money laundering...... i wont bother......
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I told you too young👍
 
iampatman said:
We use the Halifax Clarity card also and we’ve never been charged a fee for cash withdrawals from an ATM anywhere in Europe. We repay any withdrawals within 48hrs and pay no interest charges.

Pat
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Exactly my experience with Halifax Clarity.
Korky.
 
no , clear when transferring funds to clear cash withdrawals or at end of month before they incur interest charges
 
No you don’t pay commission on Halifax Clarity card. Another useful thing is you can overpay it and put it into credit - useful if you think you will want to withdraw cash and going to be offline for a few days.

When my granddaughter changed bank to Halifax last year sometime she was extremely happy as she got £120 for switching - don’t know if they are still offering that deal.

I thought Santander 123 - (you get interest on credit balance up to £20 grand and a small amount for selected bills paid by direct debit there is a monthly £5 fee though) - was going to be good in Spain but I got charged commission on a transaction a couple of years back. It is handy for withdraw cash at their ATMs as that is commission free but you have to make sure you press the correct button to get best rate - instructions were in Spanish and I had to guess the meaning. Santander ATMs don’t seem to be so thick on the ground and if the ATM doesn’t work you are stuffed (as I found out when I needed cash) you can’t go into the bank and withdraw money at the till even though it’s a debit account card at home.

This post has just reminded me to check if I am still in credit with Halifax card as I overloaded it before we left home last week.
 
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jacquigem said:
yes you can do both buy goods or get cash
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so you have to do internet banking whilst abroad to pay off this credit card at the end of each month or you incur interest charges ? - or can you set up a standing order to pay it off automatically ?
 
Yes you can set up dd to pay off balance each month or or you can pay off more than the balance sooner than it’s due so your credit card is in credit. I don’t know of any other credit card that allows you to do this.

Only If you withdraw cash you need to make sure you transfer money within 48 hrs otherwise you will incur charges on the cash withdrawn.



#35
 
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i finally got round to doing this today and had an interview with a Halifax rep. i have had account with them for a while but still needed an in depth interview... but i got the card!! YEA !! and he set up an automatic payment for me ..... the Halifax man said it is cheaper to get cash on this credit card when in europe than using a debit card !!!


so best wishes and thanks everyone..... :dance:
 
Nationwide credit card for purchases.
Also have a prepaid Caxton FX card for cash.
 
loulou said:
Hi delicagirl, we use a Nationwide credit card for all purchases, they have NO charges for using it abroad, they always give the best exchange rate from foreign currency to sterling, almost 100% of that days exchange rate, when paying we always pay in the currency of the country we are in. We take only a small amount of cash which we use for small incidentals such as bread, or purchases from markets.

:nicethread::camper::goodluck::drive:
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We use a Nationwide credit card also and if needed cash using a Nationwide bank card as it doesn’t have transaction charges. However some banks eg In Spain do make a small charge for using their facilities. Nationwide offer both travel and breakdown cover as well if you have a subscription account
 
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