European holiday money

[Emo21]

i will be heading over to europe in a few weeks for a family holiday and am trying to fiqure out which is the best way to bring the funds over for the trip.

so i am looking at either

cash - not keen for security reasons and its got the fees for the exchange

my credit card - secure but fees are charged every time i used it and can be expensive

pre loaded credit card - can load up the euro on it unsure of which one is the best

has any one used the pre loaded credit card that's the one i am swaying too but am not sure on the fees and which one to get

 

[Aaron Sice]

we had a mix of travellers cheques and pre-loaded CC.

the CC was used for every day stuff like lunch/cash, and the cheques were for hotels, travels etc.

 

[wylie]

Get yourself a 28 Degrees credit card. No fees.

We've taken it away twice and loaded it into credit both times so that we don't get such a hefty bill at the end.

 

[jaycee]

I just withdrew cash from ATM's I do when I go to Sydney or Melbourne.... charges were small enough to make me think I'll keep it simple and just do it this way, I've never had a problem, everyone accepted the cash I presented them

 

[Aaron_C]

I say put everything on the AMEX. Why? Low fees, (2% int fees, way less than equivalent cash commissions at any FX desk), plus security against fraud, since any fraud on a credit card is the bank's responsibility, not yours. That's the problem with prepaid cards - if you get defrauded, then go bye-bye money.

Bring a bit of cash as well for spending on the street but put everything else on the Amex.

 

[Aaron_C]

Oh and I forgot to add - on the credit card they charge you the SPOT rate - not the loaded-up-rip-off rate, upon which they charge the 2% commission. A very good price.

 

[chrispy]

I have a seperate savings account with Westpac that I put some cash into prior to departure. I use it at ATM's as I find its the cheapest and easiest way to get foreign currency no matter where I am.

I actually do the same thing when travelling in Australia.

When that cash runs out, I get online and swap money over from my normal CBA savings account.

I figure that if anyone hacks into my Westpac account there is never much in there

Chris

 

[wylie]

Get yourself a 28 Degrees credit card. No fees.

We've taken it away twice and loaded it into credit both times so that we don't get such a hefty bill at the end.

Should have been clearer in my post.

No fees for withdrawing from an ATM. No conversion of currency fees. In fact, no fees at all for use overseas. It is not a prepaid type of card, but we put a couple of thousand in credit before we left.

I think it is the one best recommend in something I read recently (Money magazine?).

 

[jaycee]

I have a seperate savings account with Westpac that I put some cash into prior to departure. I use it at ATM's as I find its the cheapest and easiest way to get foreign currency no matter where I am.

I actually do the same thing when travelling in Australia.

When that cash runs out, I get online and swap money over from my normal CBA savings account.

I figure that if anyone hacks into my Westpac account there is never much in there

Chris

I just use my normal every day CBA savings account keycard & withdraw cash from ATM's...of course I can swipe a VISA card like here too...

Simple & does the job for me too

 

[jingo]

I used an ANZ travel card when I travelled to Europe and the UK over January. The beauty of the card is that you can load multiple currencies. I had Euro's and Pounds.

Worked well. No fees for purchases using the card. I also took cash - Anz offer cash packs of varying amounts.

I had my Westpac credit card as a back up - but didn't use it.

 

[jaycee]

I used an ANZ travel card when I travelled to Europe and the UK over January. The beauty of the card is that you can load multiple currencies. I had Euro's and Pounds.

Worked well. No fees for purchases using the card. I also took cash - Anz offer cash packs of varying amounts.

I had my Westpac credit card as a back up - but didn't use it.

How is that easier than using your normal keycard you use here & withdrawing local currency as you need it ?

No "cash packs", no separate accounts, no nothing....

I'm a bit lost as to why people seem to jump through all these hoops ?

 

[mr-ed]

Open a NAB visa debit card. Load it up with cash before leaving.

There is no withdrwal fees. I think that there is a $10 per month fee??

Just cloose it when you return. You will have to research this further...

 

[Jamie M]

I just use ATMs. The exchange/fees are generally pretty good. I usually take out a fair bit each time so I'm not continually hit with expensive o/s ATM charges.

A VISA debit card should offer the best of both worlds - ATM access and credit card.

Make sure you take at least two cards. We had a machine suck in our card at an ATM in Malaysia on our first night.....very frustrating.

Cheers

Jamie

 

[jaycee]

I just use ATMs. The exchange/fees are generally pretty good. I usually take out a fair bit each time so I'm not continually hit with expensive o/s ATM charges.

A VISA debit card should offer the best of both worlds - ATM access and credit card.

Make sure you take at least two cards. We had a machine suck in our card at an ATM in Malaysia on our first night.....very frustrating.

Cheers

Jamie

Hallelujah, I thought I was going mad(der)

 

[Lil Skater]

We used a NAB travel card which was great while we were over there, as we figured out the hard way the Amex didn't work!

We got two cards, one for James and one for me and split the cash between ourselves too just in case we were robbed/lost our wallets.

However, when we got back we realised NAB is useless and sent us to TravelEx and they tried to send us back to NAB, we figured out we have to fill out a form and send it in to be refunded. No problem, but we both haven't had a chance to send off the forms.

 

[Ergophobia]

I just use our regular Visa or MasterCard debit cards, works in most ATMs across the world, Europe won't be a problem.

+1,000,000 on taking spares... I take 3 or 4 after losing cards while traveling

Always keep some emergency cash too

 

[baby blue eyes]

28 degrees formerly wizard

With Wylie,

Have used 28 degrees in Europe Asia and America for the last few years - no fees, load with my money, use ATMs to withdraw, exchange rate is at bank rate. If you use to purchase no MasterCard currency conversion.

Sits in my wallet in between trips and again no fees not even an annual one.

I bpay my money in and use it by cash withdrawals at atms just like a debit card except press credit to withdraw. No interest if withdrawing my funds, and at the end of our trip when our cash dries up I swipe expenses like a credit card and take advantage of the interest free period to pay off the balance on the card.

Best card out for international travel and written up often in the financial papers and frequent flyer forums

Vicki

 

[Emo21]

How is that easier than using your normal keycard you use here & withdrawing local currency as you need it ?

No "cash packs", no separate accounts, no nothing....

I'm a bit lost as to why people seem to jump through all these hoops ?

thanks guys some good ideas to start on, i think jaycee its the fees for using the atm overseas that nobody wants to pay thats why they jump through all the hoops. i know when my wife was oversea last year in ireland she was charged $4 for every cash withdrawal and a international transaction fee on each purchase nearly $200 for a 2 week trip and that was using CBA mastercard

 

[Aaron_C]

jaycee is right. If you want to avoid paying ATM fees, then use cash/credit card. Especially in Europe, credit cards are ubiquitous. It's not like you're going to Burma where it is cash-only...

 

[Jamie M]

Hallelujah, I thought I was going mad(der)

Haha - I'm not going to dispute that!

Seriously though - ATM cards are the way to go. I've never had an issue taking out cash - even after a stint backpacking around Africa we still managed to find machines that would accept the good old maestro cirrus or whatever it's called.

I still remember an awkward moment when some German friends that we had visit us in Canberra tried to pay for their veggies at the local woolies with a travelers cheque. There was a lot of confusion and a few German swear words.

Cheers

Jamie