Cash for European Hols

Tbear

Tbear

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Hi All
This Thread ran last year but a lot has changed since then so I thought I would give it another go.
Off to France so I rang the bank asked how much to get cash on my card in France. 2% she said, but seemed unsure about it so looked on the net which seemed to say 2% + another 2.75% ERA. Rang them back and this time it was 2.75%. :confused:
Decided to do a bit of research and came up with the Post Office prepaid card, seemed perfect. If you cannot trust the lady behind a British Post Office counter, then you can't trust anybody.
They have withdrawn the card:mad: Seems it was run by the Bank of Ireland
Did think about an FX card but as they compare their rate with the post office card which no longer exists, put me off a bit. Thinking about the C & CC prepaid card but I am fed up of reading small print for a while.
Who are you good people being ripped off errr assisted by this year.

Richard
 
Hi

Have checked the C&CC pre-paid card and the exchange rate they offer is lower than the Nationwide Debit Card even after charges. Others have used the Caxton pre-paid card and it appears to have a very good rate. But as you have suggested, what is good now won't necessarily be good tomorrow!
 
John H said:
Hi

Have checked the C&CC pre-paid card and the exchange rate they offer is lower than the Nationwide Debit Card even after charges. Others have used the Caxton pre-paid card and it appears to have a very good rate. But as you have suggested, what is good now won't necessarily be good tomorrow!
Click to expand...

Hi John,

Just had a look at the Caxton Card and if I am reading it right then if I only use it to take out Euros from an ATM in France then there is no change until I get the balance back for a charge of 2 Euros???

Sounds a bit too good. What am I missing:confused:

Richard
 
Tbear said:
Hi John,

Just had a look at the Caxton Card and if I am reading it right then if I only use it to take out Euros from an ATM in France then there is no change until I get the balance back for a charge of 2 Euros???

Sounds a bit too good. What am I missing:confused:

Richard
Click to expand...

The catch is that if you load it today, they will give you 1.16 euros to £1 but the interbank rate is 1.185, which means they are charging just over 2%. NW Debit card charges 2%. The way to make a pre-paid card work for you is to pre-load it when the rate is high and spend it when the rate goes down, The problem with this is, of course, that you only know the correct time to load it once that time has passed! Whatever you do, unless you are George Soros or very lucky, you will probably end up paying around 2% in the long term. Life is too short!
 
Hello
I have a FairFX card.The rates usaully seem very good. Usually 2cents less than the interbank rate.This is hard to beat.It is also very easy to top up when you think the exchange rate is good. You get charged 1.50 euros for each withdrawal so I usually withdraw about 300 euros out at a time.
As somebody pointed out recently its worth remembering that although the charges for withdrawing cash abroad with your normal bank debit card seem high you get the interbank rate of exchange.
I go to Europe a lot so if I keep putting some Euro's on my FairFX card it's like saving up for my holidays.
You pays your money and you takes your choice.
Blue Skies
 
Still the same as I posted last time :rolleyes: Halifax Clarity credit card. You get the interbank rate but no other loading charge.They do charge interest from the time you draw money out until the balance is paid at the rate of 12.9% APR so just over 1% per whole month. The plan is to pay the balance online as soon as possible after getting the cash (probably a few days) BUT they give you a fiver if you have more than 300 pounds usage on the card which the cash withdrawls also count.
 
I am sorry to hear about the Post Office card being withdrawn. The thing that I liked about it was that you could always go into a Post Office and put more money onto it.

Am I right in assuming that the FairFX card, the pre-paid Mastercard and others can only be topped up by using a Debit and/or Credit Card over the telephone?
 
Hello
I have a FairFx card and top it up/check balance online.
It's very easy and very convenient and the cash is on your card within a few hours.

Blue Skies
 
I have a Caxton FX card. Linked to my debit card and top up online, by phone or text. Can also get a balance by text.
 
The best thing about the Post Office card was that if you had a bit of spare cash you could just walk into a Post Office and top up your card... a good way of dealing with "los poundus notus" as they used to say in Ancient Rome - alledgedly :)
 
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