Currency exchange rip off

Guest2 said:
For example I withdrew €200 by mistake when in Hungary and it cost me £167.30 (1.195 rate) transferring back to pounds over here i would see £145 - £155 :eek:
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How did you manage to do that by mistake? Most(if not all AFAIK) cash machines in Hungary dispense HUF not EUR.
 
dowie said:
How did you manage to do that by mistake? Most(if not all) cash machines in Hungary dispense HUF not EUR.
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You can withdraw both from most if not all cach machine over there. You can pay in euros however they royally rape you if you do - i.e a beer in forint was 250 in one bar we went in (63p!!) In euros €4

My mate handed over a €50 note in a bar for a double and worked out when he got change they charged about £8 for changing the currency. After that I decided it was a bad idea to spend euros so kept them and got forints
 
I actually use a Halifax Clarity Card Abroad and have had a great experience, but you start getting charged interest straight away which sucked... Even when I paid it off in full I seemed to occur interest for the next statement.

I have just come across this though https://www.imaginecurve.com which links all your cards into one, using your phone to keep track of it. The AMAZING thing about it is that it used the same exchange rate as the Halifax Clarity, but charges no interest.

Oh and it also lets me use my AMEX card anywhere so I can get my cashback from all purchases and even withdraw cash without a charge. Its only on IOS at the moment, but they said they are developing Android and it should be out by summer. Already ordered mine with a free Tumi wallet.

I got given a code to give you and I £10 for every signup so use it at the checkout or click the link below.

https://www.imaginecurve.com/
Code: bydNA

Mods can remove the affiliate link if needs be.
 
typk said:
I actually use a Halifax Clarity Card Abroad and have had a great experience, but you start getting charged interest straight away which sucked... Even when I paid it off in full I seemed to occur interest for the next statement.
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CCs always charge interest straight away on cash withdrawals. Otherwise you could keep a whole bunch of CCs in a circle, withdrawing cash on one, banking it and then paying off the next etc.

The best combo is a fees and load free credit card, e.g. Clarity and a fees and load free debit card (I think Metro do one that's EU only, and Peterborough BS possible).

Of course, if you can get to a good bureau de change (e.g. Thomas Exchange on Bishopsgate) that helps as well.
 
Can you not keep it for your next trip to Europe?

I think the buy rate i saw in Sainsburys two days ago was sat around 1.22, so not much better.

Would have thought it would make more sense to keep it rather than swap it back and potentially lose out more.
 
Guest2 said:
You can withdraw both from most if not all cach machine over there. You can pay in euros however they royally rape you if you do - i.e a beer in forint was 250 in one bar we went in (63p!!) In euros €4

My mate handed over a €50 note in a bar for a double and worked out when he got change they charged about £8 for changing the currency. After that I decided it was a bad idea to spend euros so kept them and got forints
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I'm not sure why you'd think it was a good idea to begin with, I've been there a few times and never even thought to try and use euros

I'd just keep the Euros and use them on another trip, there isn't much of an incentive for companies to offer competitive rates for, often, trivial amounts of holiday cash people bring back with them - you might get good rates from places in instances where you did the initial transaction with them and they guarantee to buy back at the same rate (but then that initial rate is probably going to be sub optimal).
 
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