Best rate/place for euros?

[Big Rig]

I’m off to Ibiza next week, need to change £3,000 into euros, where is the best place?

[skilly1]

You may have left it a bit late, but the best thing I find to do is having a Halifax clarity account and put all your holiday spend on the card. When you come back pay off the card.

They don’t charge any fees for taking out money from cash machines, or card payments overseas, and they have a fantastic exchange rate. Just make sure when you take money out overseas and it asks if you want to pay in UK pounds or euros you select euros.

It means after your holiday you’re not left with euros as you’re only taking out the amount you need. It also means you’re unlikely to be robbed of your €3000.

[HotJambalaya]

As above, unless you need cash specifically do it via card.

I’d do revolut, because I think they’ll issue you a card over Apple Pay immediately.

Then just change a little walking around cash

[Truckosaurus]

When I've bought USD and Euros this year (only small 'walking about money' volumes) the rate at Tesco is close enough to the lowest one listed on the MoneySavingExperts website that it isn't worth the fuss going somewhere inconvenient or waiting around for a delivery.

[LuS1fer]

I only take Euros to buy beer with. I buy 300 at Tesco using my Clubcard for a slightly better rate.

I have a Wise account and card which means I can load it with Euros at near to the prevailing market rate and I use that for everything else. No way would I take that much cash anywhere.

[jfis89]

That’s a hell of a lot of pills

[JEA1K]

jfis89 said:

That’s a hell of a lot of pills

[shunt]

You need a Revolut card.

[Big Rig]

I’ve got a clarity card but will still need a fair bit of cash. Thanks everyone.

[Carl_Manchester]

Big Rig said:

I’ve got a clarity card but will still need a fair bit of cash. Thanks everyone.

I would not use the Clarity card unless its an emergency as you'll get battered with fees, its not just the exchange rate, they also charge you a fiver each time you use an ATM regardless of what the Spanish ATM charges you.

Some options, it depends on the airport you are flying from.

a) order euro notes online from travelex and pickup at airport. the rate online is usually (But not always) good

b) Order a travelex card, pick it up at airport, charge it up with euros via phone app and then cash out from a decent ATM in Ibiza, if PDB for example you can use a proper bank branch ATM. Travelex don't charge you ATM fees (the Spanish bank will though).

I use a Curve card now for my euros but I have travelex card as a backup.

[LimaDelta]

Another vote for Revolut.

[Your Dad]

Carl_Manchester said:

Big Rig said:

I’ve got a clarity card but will still need a fair bit of cash. Thanks everyone.

I would not use the Clarity card unless its an emergency as you'll get battered with fees, its not just the exchange rate, they also charge you a fiver each time you use an ATM regardless of what the Spanish ATM charges you.

Halifax don’t charge a fee for cash withdrawals from foreign ATMs, although the ATM provider might add a fee.

Been using a Clarity card for 8yrs, never incurred a single fee, always get excellent exchange rates and so long as cash advance balance is paid straight away pay no interest on it.

[Carl_Manchester]

I read the fees directly off the clarity page before posting. Apols if wrong but their 100 euro example on their page says that they do charge a fiver per atm withdrawal if it's euros as well as a 2.9% FX fee.

[Whoozit]

Carl_Manchester said:

I read the fees directly off the clarity page before posting. Apols if wrong but their 100 euro example on their page says that they do charge a fiver per atm withdrawal if it's euros as well as a 2.9% FX fee.

That's amazingly expensive. Have a read of https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/destinations/

[Big Rig]

I’m slightly confused now, so which is better. Taking the euros I’ll need or drawing 500 euros per day off my clarity card whilst I’m there then paying it off in full when I return?

[Your Dad]

Depends how you get your Euros before you go, but Clarity card will give better exchange rates than High Street. If you put money into your Clarity account straight after using ATM to cover the withdrawal you won’t pay interest on the cash advance. Halifax don’t charge for cash ATM withdrawals for foreign currency whilst overseas with the Clarity card, although the ATM provider might (I’ve never been charged).

€100 example quoted above is not relevant to Clarity card and is on the general credit card page, not a Clarity specific page .

Edited by Your Dad on Sunday 17th July 07:19

[Big Rig]

Your Dad said:

Depends how you get your Euros before you go, but Clarity card will give better exchange rates than High Street. If you put money into your Clarity account straight after using ATM to cover the withdrawal you won’t pay interest on the cash advance. Halifax don’t charge for cash ATM withdrawals for foreign currency whilst overseas with the Clarity card, although the ATM provider might (I’ve never been charged).

€100 example quoted above is not relevant to Clarity card and is on the general credit card page, not a Clarity specific page .

Edited by Your Dad on Sunday 17th July 07:19

The interest being a few pence per day?

Ok I’ll take 1000 euros cash and draw the rest whilst I’m out there on the clarity card thanks.

[AceKid]

We are going to Spain next month and I have just opened a Chase account, no fees at all, no monthly cost, 10% cashback on spends for the first year too. Jhst load the £3k onto it and away you go.

[numtumfutunch]

shunt said:

You need a Revolut card.

Whats wrong with Monzo?

Have just returned from 3 weeks in NL/Denmark and got good rates on contactless and cashpoint withdrawls

Admittedly had to put 2 months worth of DD in before travelling which wasnt exactly a hardship, esp if you transferred them straight back to your main bank the day after........

Cheers

[peter tdci]

Big Rig said:

The interest being a few pence per day?

Ok I’ll take 1000 euros cash and draw the rest whilst I’m out there on the clarity card thanks.

I use a Clarity card mainly for travel and use it to get cash while abroad. I couple of things I do to keep the bank charges down:

I transfer sterling to my Clarity account after big withdrawals (the interest on cash withdrawals start ticking immediately). But, any money you pay into your Clarity account goes to clear off any outstanding statement balance first, so I have a quiet month on the card before travelling and pay off the full statement balance before travelling.

Secondly, shop around the ATMs to find a bank with no or the smallest withdrawal charges - these are imposed by the local bank, not Clarity. And, of course, choose to be charged in the local currency, not sterling.