Accessing cash

[Danthegorrila]

We are going to be cruising for a couple of years within the EU (further afeild after that) and will be living off a monthly sum paid from investments into an account for day to day expenses. What is the best way to run a current account? Debit cards and visa are very expensive after commission and exhange rates are taken into account and we are wondering what is the best and most economic way to access cash.
We would appreciate some advice please


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[elenya]

we have used the following method and it seems to work ok.
set up a standing order to your credit card account for your monthly allowance, then the account will be in credit and no cash withdrawals will cost. we allso have a direct debit set up just in case we go over so the bill will be paid automaticaly and thus bck to normal. internet banking is a very useful tool too.
have used this method and credit caeds since leaving uk in 1993 throughout the world.

enjoy the cruise

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[snowleopard]

we put cash into a Nationwide flexaccount with a visa debit card. at the time they were recommended by the Times as they gave a good exchange rate and no commission on cash machine transactions.

you can put most of your cash in a high interest internet account and transfer to the flexaccount as required.

we used the card everywhere we went in atlantic europe, caribbean, bermuda, azores. the only difficulties were in french territories where only half the banks accepted the card.

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[LadyInBed]

Re: Nationwide flexaccount

This is what I use as well.
The "no commission on cash machine transactions" and internet Xfer from high interest internet account to flexaccount works a treat.


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[tcm]

Re: Euros

If any of us had transferred our entire worldly goods into euros a year ago, they'd be worth around 12% more today. The £1 now stands at €1.45 ish, but as next march rolls around this might fall again, and it's rumoured unlikely that this government would step in until it fell below €1.30, and you may out of reach to do anything much if/when this happens. In any event, you'll need euros, not pounds, and lots of small transactions will be more expensive than fewer larger ones - though of course you lose investment income.

I am no expert on the best way to do access euros, but a french bank account lessens the need for cash pers se as cheques for any amount are accepted with no card - but you MUST have the money to cover it otherwsie you'll lose the right to a chequebook.

It's at least worth considering whether to have some cash assets already in euros.





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[alanhanson]

the most cost effective way is to transfer to your chosen currency is to bulk buy, use a money broker such as currencies.com
or currencies4less
if you change 5k pounds you get a good price
a lot better than the tourist rate.
check online at moneyfacts.co.uk
for what credit cards charge you will be shocked
at the foreign usage loading average 2.5%
and on top of that they give you the tourist exchange rate
( approx 4% less than the commercial rate)
we change 5 to 10 k each year and put it straight in to a barclays euro account with cheque book and a savings account
as an ifa i did a lot of research on this for myself and several clients.
the costs add up to a large saving.


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[Jacket]

I used the same method. Strangely enough, the only place I had problems was Germany, where they don't seem to have discovered credit cards, with everything being done in cash. I was surprised, as the Germans normally seem to like technology.

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[simonbertie]

ive always found you get a better rate in weardale. good luck anyway

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[charles_reed]

I opened a bank a/c with Credit Agricole and have a debit card (Maestro) which allows me to draw €300 a week from any €-area cashpoints.
It also serves as an electronic payment system.

I top up the account by writing a £ denominated cheque and receive the going rate witha flat-rate charge of about €29.

Whilst most were getting €1.30 - €1.33 to the £ from banks I got €1.47 (end June).

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