Foreign exchange

[Doc Holliday]

Well, Mrs H and I are off on our holi-bobs next week. Only nipping across to French France for a week's glanping in Brittany. Do folk still change up money like in days of old or is it all done on plastic these days? If the latter then we only have debit cards. Should really get a credit card but don't really believe in them, per se. They're handy in terms of protection but that's it.

Anyway, where does one get their euros from? Post office? They have zero commission but the exchange rate looks a bit naff. In real terms, to change up £500 it will be costing me the best part of £20.

Any other places to buy euros, except banks as we all know they like to give one a good shafting whenever they can. They don't even have the God damn common courtesy to give you a reach around!

[Newbie to this]

If you do go the credit card route (which I would), make sure that the card does not have any charges for using abroad. Some places let you choose which currency to pay with when paying by card, I believe most of the time local currency works out cheaper.

Just use it while abroad and pay it off fully when your statement arrives, thus incurring no interest.

[amateur]

You might just have time to set up (online) a Starling euro account.

Comes with a card. No charges to withdraw cash at an ATM and the initial conversion rate is good and can be easily topped up from your UK sterling account.

[Jaymo]

Santander ‘Zero’ credit card for me. No fees and never let me down. 
Can’t comment on ‘physical’ cash as never seem to use it. 

[steve_b_wales]

I order Euro's and $USD with Ramsden's, who have always given a better rate, albeit a small amount.  The Euro's are to pay for our hotel stay in Egypt and the dollars are to give out as tips to the hotel staff. 

[telbert]

44 minutes ago, amateur said:

You might just have time to set up (online) a Starling euro account.

Comes with a card. No charges to withdraw cash at an ATM and the initial conversion rate is good and can be easily topped up from your UK sterling account.

This^^^^

I went to spain  a few weeks ago and opened an account before I left. Also too a few quid in euros which I changed at M&S as they had the best rate

[Lloyd90]

Currently travelling around the USA, we have got Revolut accounts. 
 

You can instantly transfer money from our mobile banking to the Revolut account, use the card anywhere as normal. 
 

It’s very efficient, easy to use, any transaction shows on our mobile so we’d know instantly if anyone tried to clone the card etc (but had no issues). 
 

Think it’s free to use in most places / currencies. 
 

 

99% of places we go, even in the middle of no where in the US has accepted Apple Pay / contactless. 
 

 

[udderlyoffroad]

Be careful with Revolut/Starling- some merchants will deem it a pre-pay credit card & not a genuine credit card, and will refuse to accept it. Car hire firms and paying for “gas” in the US spring to mind. Though seemingly @Lloyd90 has had no issue.

I have the Halifax travel card (pronouns notwithstanding) for when I need a ‘proper’ credit card, and Revolut for everything else.

[amateur]

Starling is a debit card, tied to the Euro account, not a credit card.

[udderlyoffroad]

Some merchants will deem it a pre pay credit card. Which can cause issues.

Do try and keep up. 😆

[amateur]

4 hours ago, udderlyoffroad said:

Some merchants will deem it a pre pay credit card. Which can cause issues.

Do try and keep up. 😆

You have personal experience of this?

[udderlyoffroad]

Yes.

[amateur]

25 minutes ago, udderlyoffroad said:

Yes.

Oh well! Never a problem with mine in France. 

[Lloyd90]

9 hours ago, udderlyoffroad said:

Be careful with Revolut/Starling- some merchants will deem it a pre-pay credit card & not a genuine credit card, and will refuse to accept it. Car hire firms and paying for “gas” in the US spring to mind. Though seemingly @Lloyd90 has had no issue.

I have the Halifax travel card (pronouns notwithstanding) for when I need a ‘proper’ credit card, and Revolut for everything else.

Ye it’s not a credit card, it’s a debit card. If you don’t have cash transferred into the account at the time the transaction will decline. 
 

Only issue we’ve had is we can’t pre-pay for fuel on the fuel pumps out here, but we just walk inside and say “$30 on pump number #” and the cashier charges the card no issue and the fuel is pre-paid. 
 

All fuel out here is pre-paid, it’s not bad, not sure why the U.K. doesn’t do the same. Forecourt drive off’s would stop overnight. 

[udderlyoffroad]

1 hour ago, Lloyd90 said:

Only issue we’ve had is we can’t pre-pay for fuel on the fuel pumps out here, but we just walk inside and say “$30 on pump number #” and the cashier charges the card no issue and the fuel is pre-paid. 

This.  Albeit it's what we would think of as a debit card, to a lot of US retailers it's treated as a pre-paid credit card.  This seemingly means it's no good at gas pumps themselves, but as you say, go inside and stick 30 bucks on 'er.  Problem only comes with wanting to 'fill er up' before you give the hire car back....where you have to go inside and get refunded.

1 hour ago, Lloyd90 said:

All fuel out here is pre-paid, it’s not bad, not sure why the U.K. doesn’t do the same. Forecourt drive off’s would stop overnight.

Because presumably it would inconvenience the vast majority with little benefit.  Drive offs are comparatively rare, depending on where you are of course.

In any case, sort of already happens in the UK.  My local unattended Asda pre-authorises your card £99 and will not let you put more in.

 

[Lloyd90]

6 hours ago, udderlyoffroad said:

This.  Albeit it's what we would think of as a debit card, to a lot of US retailers it's treated as a pre-paid credit card.  This seemingly means it's no good at gas pumps themselves, but as you say, go inside and stick 30 bucks on 'er.  Problem only comes with wanting to 'fill er up' before you give the hire car back....where you have to go inside and get refunded.

 

 

No need to go inside to get refunded, you just fill up and if you don’t use the full amount you’ve pre-paid on the pump it automatically refunds to the card a day or two later. 
 

Pretty efficient 👍🏻