 Poster: A snowHead
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Hey all, I will be working in Austria this season and also my first!
I was wondering what the best bank account to use is, I have a Natwest account and with 9 years of experience, can garuntee they will shaft me sideways!
I was wondering if I should get an Austrian bank account, or better than yet, how to get an austrian bank account? I dont seem to be able to do it in advance.
Failing that, i found the "metro bank" which claims to charge zero fees and can be done entirely over the internet, unfortunately the bank ahs only been open for 1 year, and exists only in london... on th eplus side, its open til 8pm on a weekday!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| median wrote: |
Hey all, I will be working in Austria this season and also my first!
I was wondering what the best bank account to use is, I have a Natwest account and with 9 years of experience, can garuntee they will shaft me sideways!
I was wondering if I should get an Austrian bank account, or better than yet, how to get an austrian bank account? I dont seem to be able to do it in advance.
Failing that, i found the "metro bank" which claims to charge zero fees and can be done entirely over the internet, unfortunately the bank ahs only been open for 1 year, and exists only in london... on th eplus side, its open til 8pm on a weekday! |
Who are you getting paid by? If you're on an english contract from an english TO you'll be paid in ££ so what's the need for a Austrian Bank account? Just get one where you don't get powned for taking money out abroad. Metro is good, but you can achieve the same surely by having a pre-paid visa e.g. canton fx or similar and then just top it up from the gnatwest account...
oh and read this thread for other helpful ideas - http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=81392
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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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Wot they said. Caxton fx cards all the way
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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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median, I've got a metro bank account which I use just for holiday funds. They don't charge for withdrawals abroad and give the interbank rate. Unless things have changed since I opened mine last year you need to go into a branch to open the account.
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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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There's a couple of others that now do free usage abroad, Cumberland and Norwich&Peterborough IIRC. But yeah, if you're on a UK contract for a TO you don't need an Austrian account. If you're on a local contract it's different, but I do recall seeing posters up advertising a bank account if a seasonnaire when I was in Anton a season or two ago.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Some of my (UK) friends in the ski school in St Anton got Austrian accounts. They just walked into the branch...
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clarky999, you need to be registered in Austria in order to get an account, and most of them will have monthly fees. I know you need to be registered to work within Austria... but from first-hand experience, this can take many months to actually be properly sorted as you have to go to Landeck.
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I'm sure you could register somewhere in St Anton... I never actually got 'round to registering that season  , but I'm pretty sure the ski school said there was somewhere in St Anton you could do it. Although I did here stories where one season one of the TO's got screwed over somehow for no registering or something.
Either way, it's just one little form to fill in, pretty straightforward.
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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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How it was done with us was that the forms were submitted to the Gemeinde in St. Anton but we still had to go to Landeck for "interviews" which were just basically to confirm the registrations. That may be cause I was working for a TO though.. and as you say... is prob a lot easier as an individual.
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+1 for Caxton fx. Competitive rates, no withdrawal fees, no need to change your existing account. Also impossible for naughty people to rinse your account if they pinch the card.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Timmaah wrote: |
| How it was done with us was that the forms were submitted to the Gemeinde in St. Anton but we still had to go to Landeck for "interviews" which were just basically to confirm the registrations. That may be cause I was working for a TO though.. and as you say... is prob a lot easier as an individual. |
Nah, that's the same for everybody working in Austria, nit just a TO thing. Register with the Geminde in St Anton, then register with the regional dudes (Landeck), all the "interview" actually involves is you turning up in person with identity and your contract, which they check to make sure you're getting a reasonable deal. You can do it straight away on arrival, but the TO's don't as you have to pay when you register in Landeck (10 I think it was), so they only do it when they have to. They can, and do, fine you if you don't register/don't register properly.
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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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| Sitter wrote: |
Nah, that's the same for everybody working in Austria, |
including locals?
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Many local businesses & TO do not ask you to register immediately because they use this as a small probation period. i.e. if a ski bum turns up drunk for his job on the 2,3,4 or 5th day he is told not to come back & therefore no paperwork involved.
davidof,
including locals?
Yes this is normal in a lot of European countries. If you move to another Province or City Council you have to de-register & register at your new address.
They want to make sure there getting their local taxes !!!!
Failure does result in fines.
Governments in Austria,Germany,Switzerland are a lot more democratic & provincial (Federal) than they are in the UK.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Sitter wrote: |
| Timmaah wrote: |
| How it was done with us was that the forms were submitted to the Gemeinde in St. Anton but we still had to go to Landeck for "interviews" which were just basically to confirm the registrations. That may be cause I was working for a TO though.. and as you say... is prob a lot easier as an individual. |
Nah, that's the same for everybody working in Austria, nit just a TO thing. Register with the Geminde in St Anton, then register with the regional dudes (Landeck), all the "interview" actually involves is you turning up in person with identity and your contract, which they check to make sure you're getting a reasonable deal. You can do it straight away on arrival, but the TO's don't as you have to pay when you register in Landeck (10 I think it was), so they only do it when they have to. They can, and do, fine you if you don't register/don't register properly. |
OK, my mistake. Think it was 15 when I registered for work over the summer.
As to the fines, at one point the police came round to the Schilehrerhaus to check if everyone had registered (lucky I was out!). One of my mates hadn't registered yet also. The fine was supposed to be 70-odd euros I think, but he didn't have any cash - so they just took his iPod!! Not quite right, really.
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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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Don't need to register to get an Austrian bank account though, at least not with the Raffeisenbank, just walk in. There's a free account, and on ewith a small monthly charge that means you get a card to use as well.
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Poster: A snowHead
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+1 for the Caxton FX card, I got one last year and it's saved me so much money over the past 3 seasons! If you're working for a UK TO you need a UK bank account.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hi all, thanks for all the help, I think i will go with the old Caxton FX card because next season I may go to a different country!
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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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Mine arrived in 4 days - great service.
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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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After having a little chat with Caxton, in order to have money paid into the caxton account that ISNT from my normal bank account, I must supply a letter of employment and a few other bits and bobs. might be worth considering this if you are doing a season : )
Also, when phoning caxton, you spend zero time talking to a robot, its just picked up b a person straight away! how good is that? : D
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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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Why not just transfer the money yourself and save all the paperwork? It would mean that you would have to do online banking.. but if you're taking an iphone/ipod/android phone/laptop that shouldn't be too much of an issue.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Or just open an account with one of the companies that offer free transactions/withdrawals abroad (Cumberland, Metro, Norwich & Peterborough, might be a few others too).
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Sitter, because a) you get a more competitive exchange rate with Caxton/Fair/etc; b) you can buy your euros when it suits you/when the rate is good; c) you don't have to move your existing account to an organisation whose other services might not suit your needs; and d) anyone pinching/cloning the card won't have access to your account and all your dosh.
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Surely D is a bit of a non point as the prepaid cards can get cloned as well...And anyone doing a season with a TO is unlikely to have more than a few hundred in their current account.
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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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Timmaah, obviously they can be cloned, but the cloner can only take what's on the card, not everything in your account. And if some fùcker pinches all the cash you own it doesn't make much difference if it's a couple of hundred or a million, does it?
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I get what you're saying Lizzard, but I am just going under the assumption that nobody keeps all their money in one single account. You might bank with only one bank, but I would imagine that it is the norm to have multiple accounts with that bank, savings, isa, etc. Getting a bit off-topic though!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I didn't mean move your existing account, just open a second one to use for the season, in which case there wouldn't be much in there for cloning/pinching purposes anyway! Depends on the job to some extent, if you're a chalet host and do a good enough job then you don't need to touch your bank account if your tips are good enough.
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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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Timmaah, old people with wads of cash do that sort of thing. Your average seasonnaire tends not to have anough wonga to fill a piggy bank, let alone half a dozen ISAs. 
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Lizzard, you'd be surprised... a substantial number of people I was on a season with last season all had multiple accounts, and saving accounts etc. Few actually had ISAs!
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You know it makes sense.
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Why the FUDGE would I want to go and set up a bank account and jump through the assorted hoops when I can just buy a card, get a better rate and top up as and when I need?
Timmaah, they are not the norm
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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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If you take out a First Direct Account then all the admin is done online (they are a subsiduary of HSBC).
If you sign up to thier first directory account (£13 per month) you get the following benefits:
Holiday Insurance (including winter cover)
Break down cover
Mobile Phone Insurance
Free Overseas cashpoint withdrawals
and a few other benefits, discounts etc.
Perfect for the traveller, everthing is organised via the phone or on-line, insurance and free withdrawls.....happy dayz!
I'm in the Military so travel a lot! I've been using this account and bank for the last 15+yrs without any hassle.
Mark
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Poster: A snowHead
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thepirate, for holidaymakers rather than seasonaires.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Nadenoodlee, an excellent question and one I contemplated asking but really couldn't be@rsed.
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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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thepirate, and why, exactly, would a seasonnaire on a chalet wage waste valuable cash on paying for a bank account? 
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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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Why does every thread on this forum result in a pissing contest?
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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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Nadenoodlee, I'm not sure of the limitations but worth checking out.
Lizzard,
1) because the benefits to the traveller would cost far more if they were paid for individually.
2) Who say's that everyone is on a chalet wage? this thread is just as applicable to someone who maybe earning a half decent living at it.
3) its just an option, you can either take it or leave it.......no need to wee wee on my bonfire;-)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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thepirate, read the small print.
- Minimum contract is 12 months (season is five)
- Travel Insurance protects you and your family for holidays or trips for leisure purposes (not for working abroad)
- Individual trips are insured for up to 30 days in duration (not for five months)
- You are covered for winter sports for 21 days within a 12 month period (leaving you about 70 days of uninsured skiing)
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£13 a month x 12 = £156 a year
Caxton Card =£10 refunded upon upload but lets play nice....
so by having said Caxton card and continuing to bank with my Halifax chums I am saving £146. My holiday insurance - annual (not usable for a season) is £36, my breakdown was £7 with a cashback deal and my mobile phone insurance is included with the contents so lets call it £60 so all in all I still save £100.
I wee wee HIGHEST 
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Quite an achievement given your bird-style urinary equipment.
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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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Lizzard, just stand on someone elses shoulders
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FAQ
