How should I carry money when abroad?
- Thread starter johnl68
- Start date
Have you a VISA card or similar. You could preload this or get soemone to send regular payments in while you're abroad. Only problem is that if your card is stolen and used while in credit I think you may be liable for any loss incurred. How about loading your ordinary bank card as long as it has Cirrus feature on it you could just take money out as required.
There are lots of threads on this topic already. For what it's worth I've always found it useful to transfer money to my credit card and make cash withdrawals (not advances) which are subject to the credit card forex margin (1.75% on my card) and no other charges, thus making it a relatively competitive way to access cash abroad. These days I transfer enough money for a few days and then top the balance up via online banking while I go. I don't tend to use the card too much for other transactions but these should also be taken into account when calculating how much cash to transfer and when to do it (e.g. to allow for movement from current account to credit card account).
I used my AIB visa in a similar way to Clubman while in Oz a couple of years ago. AFAIK AIB is the only bank that does not charge a forex charge while outside the eurozone. Ulster Bank charge my girlfriend 2% of what she spends! i have found that I get a better forex rate on my card than when i change money in the bank. Get online banking and transfer money from current account as you go. Worked a treat for me. Good Luck!
This key post might be helpful IFSRA on how to access money when travelling
This previous thread might help Best way to handle money abroad
This previous thread might help Best way to handle money abroad
Are you (a) sure about that and (b) don't mean something other than the forex margin? After all the best buys list states that the AIB Platinum card charges 1.75% forex margin on foreign currency transactions. I think that all Irish cards charge at least 1.75% margin on such transactions (purchases or cash advances or withdrawals). I certainly wouldn't expect most banks to forego foreign exchange margin charges.MPH said:
DrMoriarty
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I seem to recall AIB experiencing a little, er, confusion themselves regarding their FX rates...? 
Be careful of those ATM cards with the 'plus' & 'link' sign, I couldn't find any bank recently in the Lake Garda area (Riva del Garda) that recognised them (Verona didn't seem any better though I had limited time there to suss out many banks) yet I used my ATM card no bother in San Fran last year.
Worse when I went to two banks in Riva del Garda with my visa they wouldn't accept it cause I didn't know my pin. In desperation I tried to contact the credit people online but I hadn't all the personal information about my account handy to do it successfully. Eventually I had to pay through the nose in a Bureau de Change to get money.
When I returned home & rang the credit card people it turned out my credit card wasn't even a chip & pin one, don't know what they called it, 'a chip & key in one' or something. In other words the banks should have realised this in Italy and accepted it. Now of course I've changed to a chip & pin & know my pin number backwards to avoid this happening again & the other type of card is being phased out.
Also please be aware if you use your credit card to take money out from a bank, interest amounts immediately rather than after the payby time on your statement, something to do with an agreement with retailers when using your credit card to purchase items.
The motto of the story is if you're going abroad & trying to rely on your ATM card check with your bank are the 'link' & 'plus' signs recognised widely at your destination country.
Alternatively you can get a laser card which I believe are widely accepted but if you do this it'll be treated like a credit card by the government & the €40 levy will be put on this. Also as someone I think mentioned here my credit card company offered to transfer money into my bank account so I could use access these funds with my ATM card at a lower interest rate than with my credit card.
Lastly invest is one of those bun (waist bags), you're less likely to get robbed.
Worse when I went to two banks in Riva del Garda with my visa they wouldn't accept it cause I didn't know my pin. In desperation I tried to contact the credit people online but I hadn't all the personal information about my account handy to do it successfully. Eventually I had to pay through the nose in a Bureau de Change to get money.
When I returned home & rang the credit card people it turned out my credit card wasn't even a chip & pin one, don't know what they called it, 'a chip & key in one' or something. In other words the banks should have realised this in Italy and accepted it. Now of course I've changed to a chip & pin & know my pin number backwards to avoid this happening again & the other type of card is being phased out.
Also please be aware if you use your credit card to take money out from a bank, interest amounts immediately rather than after the payby time on your statement, something to do with an agreement with retailers when using your credit card to purchase items.
The motto of the story is if you're going abroad & trying to rely on your ATM card check with your bank are the 'link' & 'plus' signs recognised widely at your destination country.
Alternatively you can get a laser card which I believe are widely accepted but if you do this it'll be treated like a credit card by the government & the €40 levy will be put on this. Also as someone I think mentioned here my credit card company offered to transfer money into my bank account so I could use access these funds with my ATM card at a lower interest rate than with my credit card.
Lastly invest is one of those bun (waist bags), you're less likely to get robbed.
Not if the card account is pre-loaded with cash in preparation for making cash withdrawals. Cash advances incur interest charges immediately. Cash withdrawals are only subject to forex charges outside the € zone.Sierra said:
What do you mean by "link" and "plus" signs? Do you mean Cirrus/Maestro/Plus+ or something else? These relate to ATM/debit cards and not credit cards only as far as I know. I've never had any problems or incurred unexpected charges when making cash withdrawals (not advances!) from a pre-loaded credit card while travelling in Italy or any other country that I've visited. In the USA I noticed that some ATMs charge an additional fixed fee (e.g. US$2) on transactions but it was easy to avoid these by just going to another ATM that did levy such charges.
This is incorrect. The stamp duty on credit cards is €40. The stamp duty on debit cards and ATM cards is €10 (each) - e.g. a combines debit and ATM card is subject to €20 stamp duty. See [broken link removed].
Thank you Clubman for correcting me, I'm obviously not a finance person.
It's good to know if it is necessary to get a laser card when travelling to New Zealand later this year I won't be charged through the nose by the government for the privilege should I find my ATM card is not widely accepted.
I edited my earlier post because I may have confused you. Yes I was referring to ATM cards.
Well I'm afraid I did, earlier this year. If you mean as I think you do by pre-loaded meaning having spent well below your credit limit I was well below my credit limit. When it became obvious to me that the signs on my ATM card were being greeted everywhere with bewilderment I tried using my credit card in two banks in Riva del Garda but was refused funds on the grounds I didn't know my pin number, which as it turned out, was on a non chip & pin credit card.
Only for the bureau de change I would have found myself in a right situation, mind you they charged heftily for the privilege.
I was also told by the credit card people that cash withdrawals incurred immediate interest charges (& I was in the € zone at the time) but if they don't I'm more than happy to know it. Presumably by cash advances you mean if you want to spend over your credit limit?
It's good to know if it is necessary to get a laser card when travelling to New Zealand later this year I won't be charged through the nose by the government for the privilege should I find my ATM card is not widely accepted.
I edited my earlier post because I may have confused you. Yes I was referring to ATM cards.
Well I'm afraid I did, earlier this year. If you mean as I think you do by pre-loaded meaning having spent well below your credit limit I was well below my credit limit. When it became obvious to me that the signs on my ATM card were being greeted everywhere with bewilderment I tried using my credit card in two banks in Riva del Garda but was refused funds on the grounds I didn't know my pin number, which as it turned out, was on a non chip & pin credit card.
Only for the bureau de change I would have found myself in a right situation, mind you they charged heftily for the privilege.
I was also told by the credit card people that cash withdrawals incurred immediate interest charges (& I was in the € zone at the time) but if they don't I'm more than happy to know it. Presumably by cash advances you mean if you want to spend over your credit limit?
I still reckon that preloading a credit card with cash and withdrawing it might be the most cost effective way to access cash outside the € zone. Cirrus etc. generally charge a minimum fixed fee or a percentage of the transaction meaning that for smaller amounts the charges are relatively high. I don't understand the point about being charged through the nose. You still pay stamp duty on such cards even if it is less than that charged on credit cards.Sierra said:
Still not sure what "link" and "plus" are though.
Not - I mean lodging money to the credit card account so that you have a credit balance which you can access through cash withdrawals at no cost other than the forex margin (c. 1.75% in most cases) on foreign currency transactions. Where necessary I tend to use online banking to transfer money bit by bit instead of all in one go since doing the latter can be risky if your card is lost/stolen and you have no comeback for cash in the account being taken.
Cash advances are where you have no cash in the account and you take out cash. Cash withdrawals are where you have cash in the account and you take out cash. The credit balance is irrelebant when it comes to cash access really.
Always read the terms & conditions of your cards and get details of the banking systems/charges applicable in the destination country before travelling so that you can make an informed choice on how to access cash.
I'm talking about the link & plus signs on the back of my ATM card. The Link sign is red set against a blue backround, the Plus sign is blue set against a while background with three triangles. I was told to use these cards at an ATM I had to see the equivalent signs on the machine.
As I've said I'm not a finance person so you'll have to excuse my lack of knowledge of financial parlance.