 Poster: A snowHead
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I suspect that like a lot of people I hardly use cash anymore in the UK, much easier to use contactless card. So simple question really, what is the thinking on taking a small amount of cash on holiday and just using the card for most purchases? Obviously better from not having to carry lots of cash but better or worse from an exchange rate point of view?
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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 have a card that doesn't charge commission then there's very little difference - I get the standard Visa exchange rate with my Nationwide credit and debit cards and I can withdraw cash if I need it. I didn't take any cash to Canada last year and didn't need to take any out while we were there. I suspect we'll do the same this year.
Obviously if you're being charged £1.50 every time you use your card then cash is better!
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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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I use apple pay with my Starling account as there’s no foreign use charges - and I never carry cash in the PdS, other than a single €20 note that I keep in my phone case. Put there when me and a mate were out walking in the Cirque au Fer a Cheval, drank our coffee and coke and then spotted the “no cards” sign - ended up having to do a bank transfer for €13.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@japes1275, We took about €100 with us to France just before Christmas, mainly to give to the kids when they went off for hot chocolates etc. Think we came back with about €30 in small notes and shrapnel. Just used our Halifax Euro bank-rate cards all week otherwise for everything...
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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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While 99% of mountain restaurants now accept cards worth always having enough for lunch in your pocket for the 1% that either don't take cards or decided to use mobile SIM card machines despite being at the top of a mountain with no mobile signal (refurbished restaurant at the top of the Val Claret funicular).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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usually take a few euros.. for incidentals and tips etc. most purchases using a card.
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Belt and Braces for me -- Cash, at least two cards and Apple Pay !!
From previous experience : Medical centre in Selva would only take Cash on the day ; visited a cash machine, first card rejected, luckily second did...
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Tue 3-01-23 12:09; edited 1 time in total
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Always have both. Enough to at least be able to pay for lunch and a round of drinks at the end of the day.
Had some weird ones recently. A German contactless card that failed to work with a German contactless machine, and a UK card that fails to work with TFL machines in London, but does work with network rail ones.
And then lots of places saying "card payment only" interspersed with the odd place that says "cash payment only".
Least I don't need to worry about foreign exchange fees.
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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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Without wishing to kick off the usual debate I guess, to some degree, it may depend on where one goes.
There are still quite a few Austrian mountain huts/restaurants that won’t/don’t take cards. Much may depend on the ski resort, of course.
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One of the benefits of Covid, practically everywhere now takes cards. Always used to carry cash for coffee stops from huts in France, but all take cards now. However do always have 50e just in case
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We were in La Paika in Les Gets the week before Christmas, (lucky us as there was enough snow there then to be able to get there and out again) and we had a fairly modest lunch of onion soup, bit of strawberry tart between us, couple of glasses of wine and some coffee, and the card machine was not working so the euros came out.
Ok for us, but there was a table of 14 Brits next to us, who looked as if they were getting stuck in for the afternoon with the number of bottles arriving as well as a large food order, so it looked like the sort of bill that would be put on someone’s card. Or a bit of sorting out with all the emergency euros coming out of phone cases and pockets.
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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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Like others on this thread I've had oddities - my card sometimes wouldn't work in Ireland and my French credit card doesn't always work in France. I would always have a second card, and some cash, just in case. And I also have paper copies of key insurance documents - some places in the mountains have sketchy signals and phones can run out of batteries or drop out of pockets. But then I'm old fashioned!!
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Just got back from a 12 day trip to Les Arcs and paid zero by cash. Everything from breakfast croisants to new skis all came from the debit cards.
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You know it makes sense.
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I take Halifax, FairFX (to get cash out and as a second credit card) and some cash, to cover all eventualities.
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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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On a related note, seeing Les Gets mentioned above, in previous visits I've always had about 50 euros worth of CHF too for use when I'm over on the Swiss side of the PdS, and then make a decision how to pay based on the exchange rate.
Off there again this summer, but I think my CHF supply is exhausted.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Boris wrote: |
| One of the benefits of Covid, practically everywhere now takes cards. Always used to carry cash for coffee stops from huts in France, but all take cards now. However do always have 50e just in case |
not a benefit if you are not prepared & get stung a few quid everytime you use your UK debit card & get stingy exchange rates.
I have a variety of travel cards just to get around the withdrawl limits without being charged. Chase account is my newest, so going to give that a go on my next trip.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| johnE wrote: |
| Just got back from a 12 day trip to Les Arcs and paid zero by cash. Everything from breakfast croisants to new skis all came from the debit cards. |
Hope you have a decent card.
This is my normal day to day bank T&Cs that I never use abroad
If you use your debit card to make a purchase in a currency other than pounds, the amount is converted to pounds on the day it is processed by Visa using the Visa Payment Scheme exchange rate. We will charge you a foreign currency transaction fee of 2.99% of the amount of the transaction, this is a fee for currency conversion. We will also charge you a foreign currency purchase fee of £0.50 for each payment, except for payments of Euro inside the EEA where you will not be charged a foreign currency purchase fee.
so an extra 2.99% + 50p for every transaction
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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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For me, 2 x cards (both fee free and FX mid point, Revolut and HSBC global money account), same 2 cards on Apple Pay, and €100 for tips/emergencies.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Gored, whilst you won’t pay a fee with Chase, you will be paying commission, by exchanging at the Mastercard FX rate. There are several cards that offer interbank exchange out there with either free, or minimal (like £5) set up. I don’t know why everyone that travels regularly doesn’t have several of these in their quiver!
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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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@Gored, then you’d be mad to use that card directly.
You could just filter it via Curve and get comm free spending.
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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 need to sort out another Euro prepaid card, have been using one for the past 10 years or more but the company behind it lost their licence a while back, so it will be 100% cash next week.
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@Gored, Always use credit rather than debit card, there is a small transaction charge but not enough to put me off the convenience of using cards
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@japes1275, depends where you are going.
Sweden vast majority of places had signs up saying no cash. One of The few that would take cash had to be exact change only.
In France, Austria, and Italy (and Geneva airport), predominantly use card (Halifax clarity and Revolut) and some cash (taken from ATM using Revolut card).
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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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Card is fine until it gets declined, as happened to me last year getting coffee on an autoroute - no doofer so how do I get off at next toll??
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| Timmycb5 wrote: |
| @Gored, whilst you won’t pay a fee with Chase, you will be paying commission, by exchanging at the Mastercard FX rate. There are several cards that offer interbank exchange out there with either free, or minimal (like £5) set up. I don’t know why everyone that travels regularly doesn’t have several of these in their quiver! |
Just saying, Mastercard and Visa exchange rates are very close to the interbank exchange rate, or at least any interbank rate that we are practically able to get access to as punters. For sure, if your card issuer pops another 2.99% fee on top then you aren't getting a decent rate, but there are several card accounts which don't charge that 2.99% fee.
MasterCard and Visa both settle so much in so many currencies each day, they are in largely market makers in their own right. They do have a buy/sell spread on which they make profit but the last time I looked the spread was quite narrow.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@tomj, It's about 30/35 basis points IIRC. On the face of it, it might not be worth the hassle if you only spend a couple of hundred quid per year, but if, like me, you book all of your accomodation, lift pass, ski hire plus expenditure when you're abroad, then it does make sense. I've already splashed out €2k this year alone for the ski trip, and I haven't booked ski hire or been abroad yet, and not to mention the 2 weeks we're spending in France in the summer. The biggest thing for me though is that it gives me certainty. I will exchange £ to € when the time suits me right and I think I'm getting the best deal. When you tap your mastercard, you're at the mercy of the market and whenever the provider settles.
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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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@Timmycb5,
Ahh, never knew that about chase.
I normally use Monzo & Revoult. Also have the Halifax CC
Think I used Chase to withdraw cash in Munich. Will have to check how it compared to Monzo. I know I used both on the trip at cashpoints.
I always need a few cards, as the monthly withdrawal limit does not stretch to a week!
I used to use Curve for manufactured spending. I could top up using a credit card & it would not appear as cash. So top up £200, withdraw £200, walk into bank & payin £200. Collect credit card loyalty points.
Then Curve wised up to what everyone was doing!
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Tue 3-01-23 14:19; edited 1 time in total
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| narbs wrote: |
@Gored, then you’d be mad to use that card directly.
You could just filter it via Curve and get comm free spending. |
I know, which is why I was highlighting it for others to check!
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You know it makes sense.
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Haven't changed up money for years.
Got a starling account. If I need cash, I'll find a cash machine at my destination and withdraw from there. Often a better rate than at home. But the only time I have needed cash in the last 2 trips was to pay a taxi. Everything else was on the card. Always pay in local currency (or withdraw in local currency) and not let the machine let you pay/withdraw in pounds....
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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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@albob, When I was there with broken collar bone their card machine was "broken" and I was held hostage until my partner and friend returned with loads of cash and my passport! As it was end of week we didn't have much cash left and with limits on amounts that can be withdrawn they needed several cards to get enough out 
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Fridge03, I have a Starling € account as well (which I only got because it was the first UK bank to allow you pay on your Garmin watch), which means we now do our lads’ trip kitty in euros - we just stick (say) €1000 in the kitty and I bill everyone in £ so we don’t have to mess about working out what the exchange rate is on any given day - I just move the money into € and split whatever it costs me in £. The downside is I always have to go to the bar - working on that one!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I was in Paris with my daughter the week before Christmas, and she wanted to visit several xmas markets, there were a lot of stalls there that were cash only, or minimum card spend (usually around 15euros) as i assume their fees were quite high.
it was a bit of a pain the first market we went to, as i hadn't taken much cash out with me and no cashpoint close by, we needed to make sure the card purchase was worthwhile, i.e. both eating or drinking from the same vendor.
I made sure I had sufficient cash with me after that.
if i can use a card, i just use my starling account.
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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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| Gored wrote: |
| narbs wrote: |
@Gored, then you’d be mad to use that card directly.
You could just filter it via Curve and get comm free spending. |
I know, which is why I was highlighting it for others to check! |
Ah, good stuff
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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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| Cacciatore wrote: |
Without wishing to kick off the usual debate I guess, to some degree, it may depend on where one goes.
There are still quite a few Austrian mountain huts/restaurants that won’t/don’t take cards. Much may depend on the ski resort, of course. |
Is it the €5 debate, or the €10 debate ? 
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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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@Gored, if you bank with HSBC, get the Global Money Account. Same deal as revolute regarding interbank rate, but the limit for cash is £300 per day 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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We’ve been in Les Arcs and card or Apple Pay worked flawlessly 99% of the time. The 1% was Christmas morning when for some reason the bakery’s card machine was down so the few Euros of cash I had came in handy.
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| Quote: |
The downside is I always have to go to the bar - working on that one!
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One of our ski group has a Virgin no fee card. We use that for all expenditure and split it 4 ways. When it's time to go to the bar we each know the pin number 
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I always take some cash, but I try not to use it. Just take it on the next trip.
Kids also carry a bit for emergencies/hot chocolate.
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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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| Timmycb5 wrote: |
| @Gored, if you bank with HSBC, get the Global Money Account. Same deal as revolute regarding interbank rate, but the limit for cash is £300 per day |
I dont, but I also like to keep my spending abroad separate from UK account. I found 100 euro in my starling EU account when in Munich. Was like having free beer!
My main accounts are with Lloyds (who charge the 2.99% + 50p) & Nationwide with the free travel insurance.
Chase do a decent savings rate account with easy access (2.7%), but I usually need a variety of accounts abroad when spending because of the hole in the wall limits.
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I always carry a backup e20, and it tends to get used every other trip for some random reason or other. I once had to give it to a pisteur on a snowmobile to return me to the correct side of the hill after all the lifts had closed... oops.
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FAQ
