good euro rate

[GMJ]

the thing is with a lot of cards some people found the machine wouldn't've accept them but Halifax clarity card never been refused in over 15 years anywhere so why fix it when its not broke .cheyenne

Don't you get charged interest if you withdraw cash on a credit card though?

 

[Pauljenny]

Not with Halifax Clarity..
Withdraw today and pay the full balance off tomorrow morning..
No charges and a pretty good exchange rate

 

[GMJ]

I see, thanks.

If I have this right: if you withdraw cash you then need to go into your banking app/bank account and arrange a transfer of money pretty much straightaway to pay it off or you'll get charged?

Wouldn't it be easier/more straightforward to simply take cash from a bank account that doesn't penalise you for foreign currency transactions and also pays a near perfect exchange rate? Or indeed have a pre loaded card?

 

[Mobilvetta]

I have found that none of the cash points in France wanted to charge me a fee for using the cash machines, I have a Halifax clarity card and a nationwide flex plus account and credit card which gives me very good exchange rates, but when I try and use them in Spain the banks want to charge you a fee.

The lowest charge was at a Sabadell bank that charged €1.80, which isn't to bad if you draw out at least €300, others were wanting as much as €6.00, so if travelling through France it is better to Make withdrawals there.

 

[Carrerasax]

I’ve found sabadell bank good in the past and yes sone seem to charge much more.
Now I use a foreign currency card so don’t use much cash.
Garages seem to insist on credit cards though in my experience, including France if my memory serves me correctly.

 

[marchie]

I compiled a list in 2022 of Spanish Banks that didn't charge fees for ATM withdrawals, so it may be out of date now. I just purchased £250 in € notes from the High Street Loan Shop/Pawnbrokers and put everything else on the plastic ...

Unicaja
Bankinter
Ibercaja
Targobank
Kutxabank
La Caixa/Caixabank (Cash Zone Member?)
Liber Bank/Unicaja Banco

Steve

 

[GMJ]

I get our €€ from a High St pawnbroker place too. Ramsden's I think they are called. They were fully 4 cents in the € better than Tesco.

 

[marchie]

I get our €€ from a High St pawnbroker place too. Ramsden's I think they are called. They were fully 4 cents in the € better than Tesco.

Ramsdens were marginally better than H&T Pawnbrokers, Graham; first time in the last 4-5 years (branches are within 75m of each other so very quick to check, even though the Salesman had enough grease about him to service the motorhome and the bikes ...)

Steve

 

[Winks]

No charges if you withdraw from a Santander account at any of their own ATM sites in Europe. That thing about opting to fix the exchange rate is true but it isn’t a scam as such because it is made clear(ish) in their T’s and C’s.

Cheers

H

 

[tonybvi]

I have a Starling Euro account as well as a Sterling account (anybody with a Starling account can open a Euro account). I then keep an eye on the exchange rate from several months before travelling and whenever the rate seems ok I transfer immediately money from the Sterling account to the Euro one. Means that I slowly and relatively painlessly build up a nice amount of Euros. I then use my Sterling card for all my spending and getting cash out overseas as there are no exchange rates or other costs involved. Works for me.

 

[marchie]

I have a Starling Euro account as well as a Sterling account (anybody with a Starling account can open a Euro account). I then keep an eye on the exchange rate from several months before travelling and whenever the rate seems ok I transfer immediately money from the Sterling account to the Euro one. Means that I slowly and relatively painlessly build up a nice amount of Euros. I then use my Sterling card for all my spending and getting cash out overseas as there are no exchange rates or other costs involved. Works for me.

We do much the same using our French Bank Account, Tony, but transfer €2k or €3k and leave it in the account to cover property bills and/or holiday expenses. In fact, last Friday we had to use the French account to buy the new ebikes when there was a problem between the Bike Shop's Bank and Visa. The French debit card worked without a glitch then it was a currency transfer to reimburse the French Account ...

Steve

 

[tonybvi]

Of course I meant Starling (not Sterling) card in the last but one line of my post #30 above!