Most Popular
1. It’s a New Macro, the Gold Market Knows It, But Dead Men Walking Do Not (yet)- Gary_Tanashian
2.Stock Market Presidential Election Cycle Seasonal Trend Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
3. Bitcoin S&P Pattern - Nadeem_Walayat
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
4.U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - Raymond_Matison
5. How to Profit from the Global Warming ClImate Change Mega Death Trend - Part1 - Nadeem_Walayat
7.Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - Nadeem_Walayat
9.It’s Easy to Scream Stocks Bubble! - Stephen_McBride
10.Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - Richard_Mills
Last 7 days
Why President Trump Has NO Real Power - Deep State Military Industrial Complex - 8th Nov 24
Social Grant Increases and Serge Belamant Amid South Africa's New Political Landscape - 8th Nov 24
Is Forex Worth It? - 8th Nov 24
Nvidia Numero Uno in Count Down to President Donald Pump Election Victory - 5th Nov 24
Trump or Harris - Who Wins US Presidential Election 2024 Forecast Prediction - 5th Nov 24
Stock Market Brief in Count Down to US Election Result 2024 - 3rd Nov 24
Gold Stocks’ Winter Rally 2024 - 3rd Nov 24
Why Countdown to U.S. Recession is Underway - 3rd Nov 24
Stock Market Trend Forecast to Jan 2025 - 2nd Nov 24
President Donald PUMP Forecast to Win US Presidential Election 2024 - 1st Nov 24
At These Levels, Buying Silver Is Like Getting It At $5 In 2003 - 28th Oct 24
Nvidia Numero Uno Selling Shovels in the AI Gold Rush - 28th Oct 24
The Future of Online Casinos - 28th Oct 24
Panic in the Air As Stock Market Correction Delivers Deep Opps in AI Tech Stocks - 27th Oct 24
Stocks, Bitcoin, Crypto's Counting Down to President Donald Pump! - 27th Oct 24
UK Budget 2024 - What to do Before 30th Oct - Pensions and ISA's - 27th Oct 24
7 Days of Crypto Opportunities Starts NOW - 27th Oct 24
The Power Law in Venture Capital: How Visionary Investors Like Yuri Milner Have Shaped the Future - 27th Oct 24
This Points To Significantly Higher Silver Prices - 27th Oct 24
US House Prices Trend Forecast 2024 to 2026 - 11th Oct 24
US Housing Market Analysis - Immigration Drives House Prices Higher - 30th Sep 24
Stock Market October Correction - 30th Sep 24
The Folly of Tariffs and Trade Wars - 30th Sep 24
Gold: 5 principles to help you stay ahead of price turns - 30th Sep 24
The Everything Rally will Spark multi year Bull Market - 30th Sep 24
US FIXED MORTGAGES LIMITING SUPPLY - 23rd Sep 24
US Housing Market Free Equity - 23rd Sep 24
US Rate Cut FOMO In Stock Market Correction Window - 22nd Sep 24
US State Demographics - 22nd Sep 24
Gold and Silver Shine as the Fed Cuts Rates: What’s Next? - 22nd Sep 24
Stock Market Sentiment Speaks:Nothing Can Topple This Market - 22nd Sep 24
US Population Growth Rate - 17th Sep 24
Are Stocks Overheating? - 17th Sep 24
Sentiment Speaks: Silver Is At A Major Turning Point - 17th Sep 24
If The Stock Market Turn Quickly, How Bad Can Things Get? - 17th Sep 24
IMMIGRATION DRIVES HOUSE PRICES HIGHER - 12th Sep 24
Global Debt Bubble - 12th Sep 24
Gold’s Outlook CPI Data - 12th Sep 24

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

Don’t Let Credit Debtit and Pre-Paid Card Charges Ruin Your Summer Holiday

Personal_Finance / Credit Cards & Scoring Jul 18, 2012 - 12:12 PM GMT

By: MoneyFacts

Personal_Finance

Best Financial Markets Analysis ArticleAfter weeks of rain many people will be looking forward to their summer holiday and travel to warmer climes.

While arranging your spending money may not be the highlight of any holiday, a small amount of time and effort could see you making significant cost savings.


Using your credit and debit cards abroad may be the easiest and most convenient way for many, but costs can soon mount up if you’re not careful.

Sylvia Waycot, spokesperson for Moneyfacts.co.uk, comments:

Travel Money
“Changing your currency at the airport may seem convenient, but you will be paying for the privilege through unfavourable exchange rates.

“Money can be exchanged once overseas, but lack of local knowledge may mean settling for uncompetitive rates of exchange. If your trip takes you off the beaten track, your options may be further restricted.

“Shopping around before you go will leave you more in control of getting the best rate.

“Commission free doesn’t necessarily mean the best deal. The commission fee is likely to have been loaded into the rate.”

Credit Cards - See Appendix 1
“Credit cards will levy a foreign usage charge of up to 2.99% for both purchases and cash transactions. Charges are applied each time the card is used and can soon add up.

“Taking money out on your credit card is never advisable even in the UK. Interest rates on cash withdrawals are charged at a higher rate than purchases and a cash handling fee, typically 3.00%, minimum £3, is applied.

“£100 cash withdrawn from an MBNA or Virgin Money credit card will see you paying £7.99 in charges alone.

“Credit cards from The Post Office, Saga, Metro Bank and selected products from Halifax and Sainsbury’s Bank make no additional charges for using you card overseas.

“It is worth taking a credit card in case of emergencies, or unexpected ‘surprises’.”

Debit Cards - See Appendix 2
“In the UK we are so used to free banking that many people assume things will be the same when they go overseas.

“This can be a costly mistake as cha

rges can apply to both withdrawing money out of a cash machine and for making purchases in store.

“Customers taking out cash need to be aware of minimum charges. If you withdraw lots of small amounts you will be hardest hit, so it may be worth planning a few days ahead for your financial requirements.

Prepaid Cards - See Appendix 3
“An alternative to credit and debit cards for overseas use is the popular prepaid travel cards, not to be confused with the prepaid everyday UK use cards.

These have been tailored to make overseas charges a minimum and have the added advantage that if they are lost or stolen, no one has access to your UK accounts.”

www.moneyfacts.co.uk - The Money Search Engine

Moneyfacts.co.uk is the UK's leading independent provider of personal finance information. For the last 20 years, Moneyfacts' information has been the key driver behind many personal finance decisions, from the Treasury to the high street.


© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in