Money abroad

[REC]

I have a Santander zero credit card for unmanned service stations or if haven't got round to topping up prepaid, usually as internet issues. Use either Caxton or Fairfax preloaded cards most of the time and for cash withdrawal. One hidden in van. Small as amount of cash also hidden but never used it. Several makes of prepaid cards ....the money saving expert site is good resource to decide.

 

[Nabsim]

When I thought we were going to France in February I was concerned that funds could be held for days using unmanned fuel pumps so had a look on Money Saving Expert for pre pay cards. At that time the one that looked best for what I wanted was Revolut so I ordered one online.

It has an app and you can transfer money to the card just before you use it if you want to. You can do anything I can think you may want including setting an exchange rate where you want it to automatically buy or sell euros, (I thought they had clamped down on that years ago).

Look on the MSE site if you want a pre pay card and see what suits your intended usage best.

 

[Wooie1958]

Something i forgot to mention :rolleyes2:

When using the auto / unmanned / 24-7 fuel stations they reserve the maximum amount of euros you can spend in one go on the credit card.

This differs from place to place and i`ve seen as little as 49 euros and as much as 160 euros per fill up reserved.

Once they collect the money ( which can be several days later ) only what you have actually spent on fuel comes off the card.

If you do several big fill ups on consecutive days when doing long distances this can add up to quite a large amount reserved against you card until they request it.

This has had an impact on us once when we had an emergency repair ( 1500 euros :scared: ) put on the card together with a few big fill ups.

It brought us perilously close to our limit so we had to ring up and pay a lump sum off so we could continue to use the card for fuel.

The credit card limit wasn`t that big as it was only for fuel but this almost caught is out so we increased our limit then there`s no chance of it happening again.

 

[DnK]

Something i forgot to mention :rolleyes2:

When using the auto / unmanned / 24-7 fuel stations they reserve the maximum amount of euros you can spend in one go on the credit card.

I try to avoid unmanned or auto or any service that takes more than the actual cost initially. I had one unmanned fuel station take a €150 initial fee then charged me €75 for the actual fuel cost so €225 initially for the fuel. It were 3 days before the €150 was credited.

 

[Herbenny]

WHAT !!!! .... well that news to me so thanks for the heads up.
I bet that catches a lot of people out

 

[jenks]

Last year I drove down to Corfu and back up again, took £200 euros and used cash for anywhere that wasn't a big name / hotel etc. Ran out very fast so found a big bank and used the ATM each time to top up. I made sure the bank had CCTV looking at the ATM.

Even in the uk I give the whole facia and the different parts of the ATM a good shuv pull and push. If anything seems loose / not right I walk away. Always cover your hand when entering your PIN.

When I travel with cash I try and split it across my daily wallet a backup wallet that stays in my bag / car - but well hidden and a muggers wallet with a small denomination of coins and one smallish value note - someone points a knife at me they get the smaller value wallet. In busy touristy areas try not to open your wallet and let the world see you have a lot of notes.

Most of all don't be scared don't over think it and use some good ole common sense and enjoy your travels

 

[Herbenny]

Last year I drove down to Corfu and back up again, took £200 euros and used cash for anywhere that wasn't a big name / hotel etc. Ran out very fast so found a big bank and used the ATM each time to top up. I made sure the bank had CCTV looking at the ATM.

Even in the uk I give the whole facia and the different parts of the ATM a good shuv pull and push. If anything seems loose / not right I walk away. Always cover your hand when entering your PIN.

When I travel with cash I try and split it across my daily wallet a backup wallet that stays in my bag / car - but well hidden and a muggers wallet with a small denomination of coins and one smallish value note - someone points a knife at me they get the smaller value wallet. In busy touristy areas try not to open your wallet and let the world see you have a lot of notes.

Most of all don't be scared don't over think it and use some good ole common sense and enjoy your travels

Thanks for that tip about having a separate (muggers) purse wallet.
I will never know to this day how I got pick pockets in Switzerland ... I had a bag strapped to my waist and I thought I was being extra vigilant, Came out of some toilets and the whole lot had gone money cards passports, completely ruined my trip. Same thing in Rome on the metro, a young mother with a baby in a sling looking innoncent enough until she deliberately bumped into me and before I knew it I saw her hand in my bag ... luckily I caught her time.
I like to think I'm hyper alert but obviously it takes just seconds.....

 

[Wooie1958]

We don`t carry much cash so, because the Caxton FX ATM withdrawals are free it`s not a problem to only take out 20 or 30 euros as and when needed.

Some individual ATM`s do make a charge so make sure you look properly at the screen in the first place.

Sometimes when making a purchase you also get the opportunity to pay in either GBP`s or euros, always choose euros.

 

[Canalsman]

I try to avoid unmanned or auto or any service that takes more than the actual cost initially. I had one unmanned fuel station take a €150 initial fee then charged me €75 for the actual fuel cost so €225 initially for the fuel. It were 3 days before the €150 was credited.

I have never had this happen in many extended over Winter trips to France, Spain and Portugal.

And I almost exclusively use unmanned pumps.

I use a Halifax Clarity card, MasterCard, and I wonder if this applies to other cards e.g. Visa.

 

[Canalsman]

WHAT !!!! .... well that news to me so thanks for the heads up.
I bet that catches a lot of people out

Not convinced this happens very often ...

Maybe it no longer does.

 

[jann]

This does happen,

 

[jann]

I use a CaxtonFX card and it does work at unmanned petrol stations, using the app I can check the balance and top up ready to spend, exchange rate is good as well

Thanks for that information, didn't happen in past,I checked on their website,it says a higher amount can be held for 20 days so not practical for everyday use but fine for emergency

 

[Tezza33]

It happens in the UK as well, usually within 5 days it is cleared but it can be up to 10 business days

Generally it takes about 3 to 5 business days to process a transaction, although it can take up to 10 business days or longer. During the time a transaction is pending the transaction amount is deducted from your 'available funds,' but your 'account balance' is not affected.

on my recent trip to France it was only about two days on average so no problem

 

[Canalsman]

I may not have noticed this happening. I don't check the card balance except on the statements.

 

[r4dent]

... and a muggers wallet with a small denomination of coins and one smallish value note - someone points a knife at me they get the smaller value wallet.

My muggers wallet also contains a couple of store discount cards and some out of date Credit /Debit cards. (at least 2 months OOD because most companies honor them for a month after the expiry date. )

The muggers wallet is also left out on a work surface when we are in the MoHo.

Unfortunately, the one time we were robbed was on our first night in EU and they got the real thing. I hadn't set up the muggers wallet. Now it is set up permanently and left in the MoHo.

 

[RoaminRog]

My muggers wallet also contains a couple of store discount cards and some out of date Credit /Debit cards. (at least 2 months OOD because most companies honor them for a month after the expiry date. )

The muggers wallet is also left out on a work surface when we are in the MoHo.

Unfortunately, the one time we were robbed was on our first night in EU and they got the real thing. I hadn't set up the muggers wallet. Now it is set up permanently and left in the MoHo.

Bl**dy good thinking Pete, I’m going to get that organised.

 

[RoaminRog]

I have ordered a CaxtonFX card, after reading the favourable comments on here, but can anyone tell me, in plain English, when I load the card, do I load £s and request the card to be loaded in euros?

 

[Biggarmac]

I have ordered a CaxtonFX card, after reading the favourable comments on here, but can anyone tell me, in plain English, when I load the card, do I load £s and request the card to be loaded in euros?

You load the Caxton FX card in the currency you are going to be using. When you are loading the card you see the exchange rate you are getting.
I recently paid for something with my Halifax card and had the choice of whiter to pay in euros or pounds. If I had paid in pounds it would have cost £59.60. I paid in euros. The amount on my Halifax statement was £56.80. Always pay in the local currency and get your card to do the exchange. Don't take the pay in gbp option.

 

[Wooie1958]

I have ordered a CaxtonFX card, after reading the favourable comments on here, but can anyone tell me, in plain English, when I load the card, do I load £s and request the card to be loaded in euros?

When you load the card you choose the currency you want and it almost instantly shows as a balance on the card, once or twice it`s taken a minute or so to show.

You can have 15 separate currencies at any one time loaded and available to use on it.

This is mine now it shows the available balance which is left over from last year.

Each separate currency is shown in a separate box.

Last year i also had some USD on it for a purchase from the America i made which wouldn`t accept a UK credit card :mad2:

I converted some of last years left over euros into USD and the American website accepted the Caxton FX card no problem.

I ended up with 33 cents left on the card which they converted back to euros for me after i phoned them no problem.

 

[Herbenny]

When you load the card you choose the currency you want and it almost instantly shows as a balance on the card, once or twice it`s taken a minute or so to show.

You can have 15 separate currencies at any one time loaded and available to use on it.

This is mine now View attachment 70742 it shows the available balance which is left over from last year.

Each separate currency is shown in a separate box.

Last year i also had some USD on it for a purchase from the America i made which wouldn`t accept a UK credit card :mad2:

I converted some of last years left over euros into USD and the American website accepted the Caxton FX card no problem.

I ended up with 33 cents left on the card which they converted back to euros for me after i phoned them no problem.

It definitely seems like the better one to me and was easy and straight forward to apply for it.
The only downside is the minimum top up is £50 ... I move money around accounts all the time and sometimes I have a spare £20 would of liked to have just topped up as and when, especially when I get tips from work, it would stop it being spent on rubbish.
I just signed up with "save the change" with my Lloyds account so any extras will be topped up in this card also. It all helps