Help Travel Money Help

[Rubber Bullets]

There are plenty of well travelled types here so I'm after some advice.

We're off to Canada for 3 weeks in May and I'm looking for the best value/safest way to deal with holiday money.

Looking around the options seem to be:

Credit Card. - Post Office card - 0% charges on overseas transactions, but expensive to make local cash withdrawals.

Travellers Cheques - Old fashioned and possibly some local issues on exchanging.

Cash - Clearly we'll take some, but don't like taking large amounts and so would like to keep to a minimum. Only get tourist exchange rates, usually not as good as credit card rates.

Preloaded card - No experience of these, but look useful. No cash point charges which look good. Sadly don't come in Canadian Dollar version, not sure if this is important.

Some of our accommodation is prepaid, and a few of our other incidental costs. All the accommodation is booked, along with car hire, and so some of the total costs are known up front.

In addition to these costs we'll have around £3.5 - 4k available to cover food, petrol and day to day activities etc.

So any advice at all at how to get the best value out of this money would be very gratefully received, especially anyone who has experience of the prepaid cards.

I'm thinking at the moment of a small amount of cash ($200-$300 say) to tide us over a few days, prepaid card loaded with enough for our cash (ATM) needs and a credit card for all the larger purchases/ costs, does that sound like a good mix?

Thanks in advance.

RB

 

[dysfunction]

I would not go for travellers cheques. The exchange rates and charges used when cashing them in is horrendous!!

I would rather carry cash.

As for cards:
Cheap Travel Money: Top cards for spending abroad...

 

[Rubber Bullets]

Thanks Dys, useful link that, most helpful.

Certainly won't be going with Travellers Cheques then.

RB

 

[old.Tohtori]

I'd go with a basic combo of credit card and carry on money.

Bit of palnning on what kind of throw around money you need(like for example how many 1 dollar bills), but with a credit card along, you should be able to handle all situations.

Then if you need cash, there's still the CC to draw money with.

I'm not sure the pre-loaded card is needed, but ofcourse you could do the following;

- CC for main shopping.
- Carry on for other stuff.
- Prepaid loaded for emergency use(to avoid CC charges)(This csh is ofcourse something that you don't plan on using, but would have still).

Ofcourse it all depends on will this and that work there, what the rates are etc etc.

Then again, you could just buy a creditcard sized chunk on gold for backup, then sell it over seas if need be

Or bury a small diamond under your peepee skin.

 

[Huntingtons]

have you talked with your bank what they suggest or if they can give you some good deals on transactions, after all you are their costumer.

 

[Rubber Bullets]

Thanks Toht, I agree that the credit card should get me out of any situation, but it is difficult working out how much cash we'll need. If it's less than $1000 then I could carry that (I guess), but wouldn't want to carry much more. The cost of taking cash out of an ATM with a credit card is off-putting, and debit cads can be even worse.

Thanks Huntingtons, you're right I am their customer, but they will still be trying to make money out of me, and I don't trust them to steer me in the best direction. I'm with the Natwest, who I am basically quite happy with in most respects, but their Credit card is pricey to use abroad, and their debit card is on a list of DO NOT USE EVER cards!

RB

 

[old.Tohtori]

Yeah, three weeks is a b*tch to plan. I might start with looking at how many travel days expected(as in driving around etc), how many shopping days, how many drinky nights etc.

Then just make a big ass list of them all;

Day 1: 50 for the airport, 50 for some dins, 50 for possible drink at local, sleep at hotel.
Day 2: 50 for eats, 150 for shoes, 30x1s for when aformentioned shoes being bought.

And so on, with every sum put either on CC or cold cash.

You won't ofcourse get a complete preplanned list, but you get a general idea. Then the rest is either last day spending spree money, souvenier spending, boozehoarding, or if it turns upside down, you have a backup in CC(even with a charge) withdrawal.

Even by simple terms, 21 days, so you could divide cash over those days.

So let's say 1000, for 21 days comes to around 50/day. Is that enough on a regular vacation day?

NEver have to spend the 50/day, so other days ould have 75.

Also good to remember a bit of planning with cash, too easily you spend all at firsdt week, then have zero on the next two.

No such thing as over-planning when planning things, you can always fail them as it's your damn plan

Good example; i saved my wow subscription money(when money was tight), by eliminating one single bread from my mroning brekkie. With the calculated cheese, coldcut, butter save, it got me near the needed amount. Then i just started putting away one cig from each cigbox in hiding, then i used those at last week so got my goal. Changed nothing, gained EVERYTHING!

 

[Ch3tan]

I've always used cash + debit cards, and credit cards for backup. The cost of debit card withdrawals is usually low in my experience, between 1.5% and 2.5%, and the rate you get is much better than at any exchange.

 

[DaGaffer]

I've always used cash + debit cards, and credit cards for backup. The cost of debit card withdrawals is usually low in my experience, between 1.5% and 2.5%, and the rate you get is much better than at any exchange.

This.

I've only found two countries in the world where debit cards didn't work; trust me Canada isn't one of them. I have a HSBC account that doesn't charge me for foreign withdrawals (Nationwide used to do this for free but I don't know if they still do it), but even if you don't have that the ATM is certainly no worse than a bureau de change.

 

[Tom]

I just use my cards in local machines. I mean seriously, you're on holiday. Who wants to carry loads of cash around, or worry about cheques and things.

All I'd recommend is that you phone your card supplier before you go and tell them you're going. That way you don't get stupid international phone calls asking you if you're you.

 

[DaGaffer]

All I'd recommend is that you phone your card supplier before you go and tell them you're going. That way you don't get stupid international phone calls asking you if you're you.

Even if you do that, you still get the bloody calls. You do if you're with HSBC anyway.

 

[ford prefect]

I generally go with credit cards and a little cash, but as Tom says, contact the card company before you go. Canada can be quite expensive, it depends on where you go, so if you do need to make cash withdrawals, see if your normal cash card gives a better rate, I know mine does.

 

[Scouse]

Even if you do that, you still get the bloody calls. You do if you're with HSBC anyway.

This, the fucking c**ts.

Every single time I've been abroad with my Barclaycard in the past 5 years they've done something that's fucked me up.

 

[Rubber Bullets]

Thanks for all the advice guys, it all helps.

TBH when we spent a few nights in France a couple of years ago I tried to tell my bank that we were going and that my card would be used there, they didn't want to know, and wouldn't guarantee that it wouldn't be stopped.

I'm hoping that the Post Office card might be different, especially as it is aimed at tourist use.

I think food is quite expensive in Canada at the moment, so I hope I have enough!

RB

 

[Ch3tan]

Your banks sounds shit RB, I'm with Barclays and I can use online banking to set travel dates. No need to phone anyone.

 

[Rubber Bullets]

Well generally I'm happy with them, been a customer for 25 years, and have my mortgage with them. But on this issue, you're right, they're shit

RB

 

[Yaka]

I'm hoping that the Post Office card might be different, especially as it is aimed at tourist use.

RB

id take a cash in 50 quid notes to change over there, the PO cards are good if you lose them you can cancel them quickly and as its a common wealth country you could get a replacement pretty quick. and if you need topping up and are out of cash, a friend or relative here can top the card up for you.
down side is every time you use it there will be a £2 charge

one more thing to make note of is post offices also offer moneygram services again a firend or relative here pays 100 quid plus 4.99 fee and you can pick it up from any money gram agent in canada in 10 minutes. handy if you end up in a bind

 

[Rubber Bullets]

Thanks Yaka, some useful info there.

RB