 Poster: A snowHead
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Know it's obvious for many, but for others they might be unaware, that you get a far better rate when using your credit card.
Pound is very strong at the moment, as we're out for the season and we have a French bank account we transferred a fair bit of money before we cane out from our UK account into our French acc and got a rate of around 1.13 (and that was a better rate than the tourist rate as we transferred a fair amount and are "clients" of TorFX).
Every day I get currency updates from TorFx and have seen the pound strengthen so a couple of weeks ago I started using my UK credit card, and just looking through the transactions I've been getting around 1.20 !!
Obviously can go either way!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Check what fees you will pay though.
I use a currency card from Kalixa.com. Gives top rates (currently 1.206 for Euros) and there are NO FEES (except on ATM withdrawals). Many Credit Cards charge you a percentage of the transaction as a fee, though there are a few that don't.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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sixspeed, good point, I'm with First Direct and no fees either
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I was getting 1.2 using my Halifax credit card over new year and there are no charges for overseas transactions.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Weathercam wrote: |
| sixspeed, good point, I'm with First Direct and no fees either |
were with FD and thought that until a couple of days ago when we noticed that they do charge a transaction fee.....
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Try this card - pre load, NO FEES at ATM, spare emmergency card provided and they buy back at the same rate. Loaded mine last week at 1.168
https://www.iceplc.com
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Kelskii, me too.
It is the HalifaX Clarity card for anyone interested.
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| Hells Bells wrote: |
Kelskii, me too.
It is the HalifaX Clarity card for anyone interested. |
+1
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| eddiethebus wrote: |
| Weathercam wrote: |
| sixspeed, good point, I'm with First Direct and no fees either |
were with FD and thought that until a couple of days ago when we noticed that they do charge a transaction fee..... |
No fees if you're on their First Directory thing.
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dunno what that is, i'll have a look. cheers.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Weathercam often creditcard currency loading and fees which are a separate charge and are hidden in exchange rate. You need to check the nitty gritty on your particular card exactly.
The Halifax clarity can not be beat worldwide as its the mastercard rate of exchange rate in comp with visa with no loading or fees on purchases.
Cash withdrawals will be charged at 12.9% through 21% odd ? depending on what % rate a applicant gets with no further fees but can be paid off online from a Halifax reward account so as not to accrue daily interest !
With both clarity card and reward account they give me a fiver a month off your bill so long as you run it by the terms of use so that's another £120 a year off the exchange rate..
At one time I ran 4 reward accounts that paid me more fivers than any interest about £240 a year after quite a few years I put my foot in it .
Look at Halifax for ocverseas spending it works well using it online and customer service regarding the clarity/reward account is good if they screw up they pay you comp or have twice with myself.
My cards and accounts cost the bank not myself which is small fry but better than paying for the bankers/shareholders ski trips.
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Mon 10-02-14 17:18; edited 1 time in total
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| feef wrote: |
| eddiethebus wrote: |
| Weathercam wrote: |
| sixspeed, good point, I'm with First Direct and no fees either |
were with FD and thought that until a couple of days ago when we noticed that they do charge a transaction fee..... |
No fees if you're on their First Directory thing. |
oh well, the £15 a month to subscribe to the first directory is more than we spend on a fee's every month anyway so probably not worth it for us.
thanks anyway 
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As a general guideline, loading/fees for using credit/debit cards are *far* less than getting cash from any UK exchange bureaux.
Compared to the interbank/commercial rate:
- a typical exchange bureau will charge you 5%-8%
- For cash, a typical credit card will charge you 2.5%-3.5%, maybe a fee on top and start charging interest immediately.
- For cash, the BEST credit card don't charge a percentage or a fee, but will still charge interest.
- For cash, a typical debit card will charge you 2.5%-3.5%, maybe with a fee on top
- For cash, the BEST debit cards don't charge a percentage, but very few (none?) don't charge a fee either.
- For purchases, same as cash but without the fee.
For cards which start charging interest, then pay off the card by internet banking that evening and you should only pay pennies in interest.
And ALWAYS pay in local currency (€ or whatever), not £, as you've no idea how awful the exchange rate is that the retailer is applying.
For the vast majority of holiday skiers, paying by card as much as possible and avoiding cash (from whatever source) is the most economic route.
But please, DO check your cards for what your bank actually charges...
For cash, I use a Santander Zero CC (0% load, zero fee, charges interest)
For purchases, I use a Post Office CC (0% load, zero fee, no interest), or a Nationwide Gold Visa CC (0% load, zero fee, no interest). Both these cards would charge interest/fee for a cash withdrawal.
The percentages involved might not seem much, but they can add up: I reckon to have saved about £150 so far this season by use of the above cards compared to typical cards.
Also do note that different peoples cards from the same bank can have different rules/rate, depending on when they (first) got the card.
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You know it makes sense.
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More detail and helpful advice here:
http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/
I use the Halifax Clarity card for purchases and cash. I got 1.21 Euro to GBP over Christmas and no fees which is what banks charge each other for fx deals at, i.e. you won't get a better rate. I usually withdraw cash in the country on same card but if I need some in advance I usually use ICE or ACE FX
Because of an emergency that arose I neded more than I could withdraw in one day on the Halifax card so I had to use my Natwest card and I got clobbered with a crap exchange rate and also fees. I'd forgotten how much they rip you off.
Also just be aware that you have to be careful how you pay for fx in the UK as some cards, even debit cards, (i.e. good old Natwest again) treat it as an FX deal so you might need to withdraw the GBP first and then pay in cash for your FX
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Mon 10-02-14 13:34; edited 1 time in total
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| eddiethebus wrote: |
| feef wrote: |
| eddiethebus wrote: |
| Weathercam wrote: |
| sixspeed, good point, I'm with First Direct and no fees either |
were with FD and thought that until a couple of days ago when we noticed that they do charge a transaction fee..... |
No fees if you're on their First Directory thing. |
oh well, the £15 a month to subscribe to the first directory is more than we spend on a fee's every month anyway so probably not worth it for us.
thanks anyway |
I use it for the included travel insurance and mobile phone insurance too.
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Poster: A snowHead
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If you are in London, these guys do a great rate for cash. You should book your cash online though as the over the counter rate is usually not quite as good.
http://www.thomasexchangeglobal.co.uk/
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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If you are in London, these guys do a great rate for cash. You should book your cash online though as the over the counter rate is usually not quite as good.
http://www.thomasexchangeglobal.co.uk/
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| dsoutar wrote: |
More detail and helpful advice here:
http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/
I use the Halifax Clarity card for purchases and cash. I got 1.21 Euro to GBP over Christmas and no fees which is what banks charge each other for fx deals at, i.e. you won't get a better rate. I usually withdraw cash in the country on same card but if I need some in advance I usually use ICE or ACE FX
Because of an emergency that arose I neded more than I could withdraw in one day on the Halifax card so I had to use my Natwest card and I got clobbered with a crap exchange rate and also fees. I'd forgotten how much they rip you off.
Also just be aware that you have to be careful how you pay for fx in the UK as some cards, even debit cards, (i.e. good old Natwest again) treat it as an FX deal so you might need to withdraw the GBP first and then pay in cash for your FX |
It's worth noting that whilst there are no fees, you get charged interest on cash withdrawals, even if you pay it back as soon as you get a statement. Still works out a good option though.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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With the Clarity card you don't have to wait for a statement to make a payment. Whenever we draw cash we make an online payment the next day, and our interest is usually only a few pence on a withdrawal of about €200. In theory, you cannot make a payment in advance to avoid it entirely as they reserve the right to decline the payment, but we once accidentally overpaid and they didn't return it.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I checked with First Direct last week as transaction charges suddenly started appearing on my statements for withdrawals from my current account (I pay the monthly charge for first directory).
I was told that the transaction charge has always been there but used to be included as part of the rate. They have now separated the txn charge from the FX deal itself.
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Like i say, the Kalixa card is a good option. No credit checks required, no fees on card transactions, and near enough the bank FX rate. It does require pre-loading though, so no credit facilities.
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Amex charge a small fee but you get bank rate.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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blahblahblah, Given the amount amex charge retailers amex should be paying you! I used to have an amex card: waste of space, very few places accepted it due to the charges.
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feef, same here we have first directory so no fees.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| RobW wrote: |
| blahblahblah, Given the amount amex charge retailers amex should be paying you! I used to have an amex card: waste of space, very few places accepted it due to the charges. |
The lift pass office was the only place that did not take it. It is the settlement time more than the cost that irks the retailers.
I paid a deposit on an apartment using direct transfer, and the balance on AMEX, the bank gave me a worse rate and charged more.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| blahblahblah wrote: |
| The lift pass office was the only place that did not take it. |
Where did you succeed in using it? I use credit cards for just about *everything* when travelling, and amex was refused so often (all over the world) that I gave up even trying to use it.
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| feefee wrote: |
| feef, same here we have first directory so no fees. |
I had a look and there are some fees, but there's a "transaction" fee which is waived for first directory members, so not quite as wonderful as I remember it but still better than most.
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You know it makes sense.
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Post Office credit card for me, no commission charges when making transactions (except cash withdrawals of course).
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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with the first directory subscription its waivered apparently....
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Poster: A snowHead
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| RobW wrote: |
| blahblahblah wrote: |
| The lift pass office was the only place that did not take it. |
Where did you succeed in using it? I use credit cards for just about *everything* when travelling, and amex was refused so often (all over the world) that I gave up even trying to use it. |
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Every fuel stop, toll, restaurant, hotel, super market, ski hire, restaurant in resort, balance of apartment, sherpa in village. The only place I could not was the lift pass.
I use cash for drinks and snacks on the mountain.
I have other cards as well, but prefer the AMEX.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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As far as I remember it's the debit card that has no fees at all with first direct? Will have to look at it!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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blahblahblah, France then? They must have done a good selling job there then since I had mine (over 5 years ago now..., but put off for life).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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RobW, France indeed. As you say cannot entirely rely on it so always have to have another card.
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Feef it's not as I thought then.?
Commission free travel money and no ATM transaction charges for cash withdrawals abroad
Although online travel money orders are already commission free for all customers, we'll waive the 2% (minimum £3) fee for telephone orders as well.
First Directory members also enjoy cash withdrawals from machines abroad free of first direct ATM transaction fees, usually 2%, minimum £1.75, maximum £5.00 (on the account the First Directory fee debits from). However, some ATM operators may charge you for making withdrawals from their machines, and this will be advised on screen at the time of withdrawal.
A non-Sterling transaction fee of 2.75% will still apply to any transaction you make abroad. This fee will show separately on your statement as a 'non-Sterling transaction fee'.
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| ringingmaster wrote: |
If you are in London, these guys do a great rate for cash. You should book your cash online though as the over the counter rate is usually not quite as good.
http://www.thomasexchangeglobal.co.uk/ |
Second that. Got just over 1,20 in January before going to La Plagne. Order online and pick up straight away.
I took the majority in cash this year and we just top up the FairFX MasterCard for bigger purchases.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Thoma Sex Change Global? 
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FairFX are currently offering 1.185 - no charges.
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FAQ
