Taking spending money abroad (Spain)......what's the best method ?

[Dave7]

As you may gather from the title, we haven't been abroad for a few years.
We used to take traveller's cheques.
On our last holiday abroad I used a Post Office credit card..............they don't charge you so long as you pay within the month.
I have heard of (don't know what they're called)..........money cards. I think you transfer money from your account and draw from it as required but don't know how they work.
Just wondering what your thoughts are.

 

[GlasgowFinn]

I use a combination of Revolut, Supercard, Halifax Clarity and good old fashioned cash.

 

[Drago]

Rob a Royal Mail train near Leighton Buzzard and spend the used notes in Spain. It's the British way.

 

[Brandane]

I have heard of (don't know what they're called)..........money cards.

Cash passport?
I have 2 - one for euros and one for US dollars, both cards are Sainsbury's bank.
Pro's.... Secure, not carrying large amounts of cash, convenience of cash withdrawals from ATM's., ease of topping up from your bank account.
Cons.... Mediocre exchange rates, fee for cash withdrawals, fee for cashing in any remaining money when you come home - or alternatively if you leave cash in the card account after 12 months of no usage they will start to help themselves to about £5 per month until it's empty! The solution - empty the account BEFORE you come home so that the card balance is as close to zero as you can get it.

Oh, and beware of the security settings!! I used my driving licence as ID when taking the card, and when you log in you must type the "method of photo ID used" which must exactly match what the card issuer typed in. Was it Driving licence, drivers licence, licence or license, or any abbreviations used?? It was a royal PITA and I ended up having to phone them and jump through hoops to get it changed to passport!! Didn't help that the bloke at Sainsburys had also spelt my name wrong when he typed it into the system .

 

[JohnHughes307]

If you're with a bank which is anything like reasonable, just draw money as you need it from an ATM using your debit card. I'm with Nationwide, which although it stopped it's free foreign currency withdrawals some time ago, is still better value for money than any bureau de change etc. There is a fixed fee per cash withdrawal, so I draw about €300 at a time rather than dribs & drabs (we go on long holidays and there are five of us!)
My Credit card (again Nationwide) doesn't charge extra for foreign transactions (it does for withdrawing cash though) so I use that for paying for almost everything above an ice-cream.
hth

 

[Salad Dodger]

We usually take a bit of cash to get us started, and use a Post Office pre-paid card (sorry - I am at work and don't have it with me, so I cant check the proper name of it) which can be used like a Switch card to pay for fuel, accommodation and shopping. And you can withdraw cash from most hole in the wall machines. It doesn't let you go "overdrawn": you can only spend up to the total value of money which you have pre-loaded onto it.

You can "charge it up" at home either on-line, or at your local Post Office, assuming there is one within a day's ride of your home!

We also take a credit card, in case of unforeseen expenses like big medical costs, campervan repairs and so on, but hopefully that card will remain untouched every holiday.

 

[Flying Dodo]

I've loaded Euros on a card from WeSwap, and got a rate about 8% better than elsewhere

 

[nickyboy]

I've loaded Euros on a card from WeSwap, and got a rate about 8% better than elsewhere

Never heard of them so I took a look. We use FairFX. A quick check shows for GBP500, FairFX gives EUR581, Weswap give EUR588 so seems the rate is slightly better.

To the OP: These rates are significantly better than you get when drawing cash from an overseas ATM with a debit card. We generally take some walking about money with us and then use the FairFX card for restaurants etc etc

 

[vickster]

Cash and a credit card. I use my Tesco CC to buy the cash at Tesco (order online to collect for better rate), no charge and decent rates

 

[JohnHughes307]

To the OP: These rates are significantly better than you get when drawing cash from an overseas ATM with a debit card. We generally take some walking about money with us and then use the FairFX card for restaurants etc etc

That doesn't ring true for my Nationwide debit card. I pay 2% on the Visa exchange rate on the day + £1 per withdrawal. Today I would expect to get around €582 for a £499 withdrawal (to factor in the 1£ fee) which makes it directly comparable with the FairFX / Weswap approach and a lot less hassle. Other banks may be more rapacious however.

 

[slowmotion]

I use a Caxton fx card. I load it up with credit from my current account by logging on to their website. You get the exchange rate that applies at the time you load it. ATM withdrawals attract no charges when abroad and you can use it as a debit card. It's really simple. I carry a few Euros in cash too.

 

[MichaelW2]

Wherever possible, when I withdraw money from a machine on holiday, I prefer to use an ATM in a bank. If it swallows your card you stand a good chance of getting it back within hours rather than posted back home. You always need a backup plan in case your carcgets chewed or swallowed.