Holiday currency - best rates?

knip

knip

knip

Soldato
Joined
28 Jun 2006
Posts
11,102
Location
Somewhere in Bristol
Hi all, off to Tenerife in a few weeks.

I know since Brexit, the euro v pound rates have plummeted, so I wondered if people could recommend who has the best deals now for me to buy my euros before I go.

Any ideas would be helpful. I bank with Natwest, so guess they may offer something competitive, but thought I'd ask on here anyway

:)
 
On the high street, Ramsdens seems to always beat everyone.

Luckily for you, Dorado beer in an iced glass can be picked up for €1 on most places on the beach fronts :) Nicest holiday beer I've ever had.
 
bledd said:
On the high street, Ramsdens seems to always beat everyone.

Luckily for you, Dorado beer in an iced glass can be picked up for €1 on most places on the beach fronts :) Nicest holiday beer I've ever had.
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Nearest one of them to me is in Wales, I'd lose any savings I'd made, driving over the bridge! :D
 
Or a travel currency card- We used this when travelling around the globe. They work brilliantly and give excellent rates.
 
If you have a few weeks you could get a currency card instead.

Apply for the Revolut cards, and you'll get near perfect exchange rates.

Take a Supercard as backup, but only use it at point of sale and you're sorted.
 
Halifax Clarity card, offers more protection then any other option mentioned.
 
I'm an idiot when it comes to cards on holiday. Can someone give me an idiots guide to how it all works? Do I have to find a cash machine every time and it charges me a fee?
 
What I generally do is take a bit of cash and a Clarity card. I use the clarity card for as much as possible and the cash for small things. You can use the clarity card in a cash machine as well. You get the same excellent rate but you will get charged interest. This is still generally cheaper than going to an exchange. You can also just log into your account and pay it off straight away.

Edit: I should add not only do you get an excellent rate with the clarity card there is no extra charge or interest to use it to buy things (so you do not need to go to a cash machine everytime). This makes it a perfect card to take abroad; use it to pay for restaurants, hotels, hire cars, gifts, transport etc.. The rate is better than any exchange.
 
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knip said:
I'm an idiot when it comes to cards on holiday. Can someone give me an idiots guide to how it all works? Do I have to find a cash machine every time and it charges me a fee?
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Na. Just use the card like you normally would. Currency cards do not charge you using your normal banking card normally would. If you want to withdraw cash its down to the cash machine itself whether or not it charges.
 
englishpremier said:
If you have a few weeks you could get a currency card instead.

Apply for the Revolut cards, and you'll get near perfect exchange rates.

Take a Supercard as backup, but only use it at point of sale and you're sorted.
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Just applied for one of these cards.
Looks excellent, off to the Cayman Islands in 6 weeks and was dithering whether to preorder currency just now.
Think I will take $1000 cash and transfer $2000 into my card, the exchange rate is the best I have seen so far.
 
I recently ordered from TravelFX, came within two days and had a better rate than any on the highstreet (bought CZK).
 
Currency cards suck. I don't know why they still get recommended - they offer poor if non-existent fraud protection which is enough of a reason on its own to avoid them. The second is that they are simply not required - they do nothing that a decent travel card card doesn't do better in a more convenient way with more security.
 
MarkeR said:
Just applied for one of these cards.
Looks excellent, off to the Cayman Islands in 6 weeks and was dithering whether to preorder currency just now.
Think I will take $1000 cash and transfer $2000 into my card, the exchange rate is the best I have seen so far.
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Alternatively just take a good credit card and simply withdraw the cash you need, spend on the card as you need, and don't faff about transferring anything anywhere.
 
[TW]Fox;29950234 said:
Alternatively just take a good credit card and simply withdraw the cash you need, spend on the card as you need, and don't faff about transferring anything anywhere.
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The likes of Revoult and Supercard do still have a place as not everybody can obtain the decent travel credit cards like Clarity.

Have to admit though using my Clarity card in both Spain and Vegas this year made life so much easier, so definitely get one if you can.
 
Hate credit cards or finance, only thing I have on credit is my mortgage. Everyting else I pay cash or debit card. I know I should use a credit card for protection and pay it off!!!
 
Use this to find who is doing the best deal at the moment, buy online and have delivered or pick up at the airport. This nearly always gives you a better rate than getting it out on a card while you're there and many places have free delivery above a certain amount.

You can get more out on your debit card if you need it, avoid paying anything in GBP if it's offered for a card payment as they usually give worse rates than if you pay in local currency and let your bank convert.
 
Azza said:
Get one of these - http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity-card remember to pay via the card exchange rate.
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You can't beat the Clarity IMO. Been using mine for years now, lots of cash withdrawals while travelling & only ever got charged about 50p interest (they charge interest on cash withdrawals as soon as you withdraw, but if you pay it off within a few days then the charge is minimal or 0).

If you're withdrawing a lot of cash on the Clarity, it's definitely worth manually paying it off a few times a month.
 
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