Exchange rate

[sws97sdg]

That will be me then, I will check it out and report

 

[Joanne]

I remember this time last year the pound dipping against the euro, about February time the rate started improving so hopefully the same thing will happen this time

 

[sws97sdg]

Hi, just looked on the halifax site. It is called a reward clarity card and is only available to current account holders.

Hi looked into this Lollipop, its a Clarity credit card, unfortunately not a debit card, but interest rate is only 12.9 % APV, details here Clarity Credit card

 

[sunny]

Santander do a Zero credit card with no fees, the have a zero current account but you have to have mortage or investments account to open.

 

[its cd]

You don't need a mortgage or an investment account. I have a zero card on the strength of the fact that I have a current account with them.They say it needs to be your prime current account but all that means is that it needs to meet some qualifications which the need to have at least £1000 pounds a month being paid in and at least one dd or standing order going out. The £1000 does not have to be a salary it can just be a transfer from another account, if can also be spent throughout the month or even transferred out and then in again the month after ...... ( there may be a small minimum balance required ) well that's what they told me when I opened mine anyway.

But be aware the lady in my branch also told me that I could use my ZERO credit card in a Santander Cash machine and get a free cash withdrawel that would incur no interest providing I cleared my balance once the bill came in .... or in my case via the DD I have set up. I didn;t believe her as this is free credit , she insisted it was the case ..... so I tried in with 100euros next time I was in PP and waited for my credit card statement to come through ............... of course it wasn't true it cost me 80cents interest. Lifes too short to even bother complaining and of course it was still cheaper than other methods but of course I won't use the card for cash anymore because my normal Santander debit card also qualifies for no cost withdrawals and they really are free.

 

[joey36]

Crown Currency

I changed some money in October.I got 1.20 with Crown Currency.I was very lucky i didnt lose the lot.I thought that somebody would have commented on their demise by now.

 

[pp ace]

Any update on this PP Ace?

Yes and No

When I went back they told me they would charge £60 to write me a cheque and while I was dithering the exchange rate went naff again and so I decided to leave the money where it is for the moment

BUT I have found an article on their web site that suggests they will only charge £10 or £20 to write the cheque so when I eventually try this I will argue for this charge and not the £60

ALso I did check with my spanish bank and they confirmed they would allow me to deposit a euro cheque for less than 50,000 euros with no charges

 

[whaleywanderer]

Update

Following our recent visit and using Santander Zero CC for our purchases and our Santander/Alliance & Leicester Debit cards to draw cash in Santander ATM's, I can confirm that we incurred no other charges (except for one day when I used the wrong card for a purchase and incurred charges of £1.25, my fault tho'). We got the interbank rate, which ranged from 0.84 to 0.86 which is around 1.18 to the pound.

I was happy with this and seem to have found my replacement for the Nationwide Flex account card, hopefully Santander will not change their T & C. I wonder how many customers Nationwide have lost, me for one.

 

[Chemical Dave]

Whaley

I am sticking with Nationwide. For me, the free travel insurance makes up for the transaction costs incurred.

Adios

Dave

 

[ray]

Isn't free travel insurance included in most reputable credit cards?

 

[fil6699]

Isn't free travel insurance included in most reputable credit cards?

Only if you use that card to pay for the Holliday thats usually the case

 

[El Gordo]

Alternative to Nationwide

Whaley

I am sticking with Nationwide. For me, the free travel insurance makes up for the transaction costs incurred.

Adios

Dave

Before the N/W charges were introduced, I opened an A/C with Santander (via A/L), taking there free £100 and cashback of about£50 via a cashback site.

I Knew I'd get free Holiday Insurance but the free Spanish withdrawals in Santander M/Cs in Mallorca was a bonus that I thought I'd try out.

When I was out in September, I withdrew money from both N/W and Santander at the same time to compare.

My statements confirm that I was charged the same exchange rate to the penny.

However, I did notice that the withdrawal date and the charge date differed by 2 or 3 days in both cases so you do not know in advance what the interbank rate is.

I know that Santander do not have a good customer service record in UK but my experience has been favourable.

 

[sws97sdg]

One thing to remember though is that it is a Credit and not a debit card isn't it? Some people don’t like to use Credit cards, and as my Nationwide card was on a separate account I used it as a savings account for holidays, you will have to worry about paying everything off on your return to avoid interest payments

 

[El Gordo]

One thing to remember though is that it is a Credit and not a debit card isn't it? Some people don’t like to use Credit cards, and as my Nationwide card was on a separate account I used it as a savings account for holidays, you will have to worry about paying everything off on your return to avoid interest payments

No SWS it isn't a credit card that I'm on about its a debit card withdrawing Euros (say no to the ATM offer of converting to £) from your current A/C.

The Credit card with Santander is the ZERO card with no foreign loading, I also think you can draw cash without charge as long as you repay in full? Anyone got experience of this?

Also the new Halifax CLARITY also has no loading.

 

[sws97sdg]

Ah ok Hola, but that has to be your main account to get a debit card doesn't it?

 

[El Gordo]

Ah ok Hola, but that has to be your main account to get a debit card doesn't it?

Yes its only "Qualifying" A/Cs that benefit. I did open the account using their Transfer service from th Halifax although I still have my accounts with them and the Nationwide.

You have to transfer Direct Debits and Have a regular deposit above £1000 per month.

However, it does not stop you moving £1000 around from account to account every month to keep people happy!! After all we are getting nowt for our savings at the moment.

 

[sws97sdg]

Picked up a few Euros yesterday from M&S ready for next month, only got 1.090 which was a bit of a shock, not much chance it will get much higher this year I suppose

 

[susiejb]

Ouch.....that sounds bad.....it was better than that last week so hopefully it will creep up again. Maybe it was the budget

 

[lollipop]

I think the market has the jitters about interest rates in the UK and when or if they will rise. Its bad news for those of us dependant on pensions transferring from the Uk.

 

[ryansclan]

Exchange rate in Pollensa

Anyone got an update on the rate for changing stirling out there in Pollensa at the moment? We can get only 1.11 here at the moment and wondered if it might be better changing cash out there when we come at the end of next week.