Euros...Best rates

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PAULSTEWART

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Going to Holland on mbm trip this weekend, and as usual left everything to the last minute /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
Heard that many places don't accept cards for fuel, so advised to take loads of cash. Where is best exchange rate available this late in the day????
btw, anyone else on here going??
 
Amex card in an ATM and you get the proper bank rate, not the noddy over the counter rate. Did it in March in Greece, 1.42 euro to the pound over the counter, 1.462 euro to the pound from the card. Make sure you do big withdrawls (£500 to £1000/time) to absorb the £3.00 fee though
 
DON'T follow my method!

Last week we had been planning to drive to house in SoF for 10 days but at the last minute two things went wrong:

1 we had to come back early for another commitment

2 children's passports were delayed

This meant that on Monday last week we had a day on the boat: Good.

But we had pretty much decided not to go to France, until the passports arrived on Tuesday morning. Because we had to be back for first thing on Sunday we threw a few things (kids included) into the car and set off.

At the Chunnel, I dashed into Travelex and bought £800 of euros and paid a premium to be able to change them back at the same rate. Returning on Sunday I had about 500 euros and Travelex was closed so I took them to Barclays when I was back at work.

Now, I had been in something of a rush and becuase I expected to sell them back at the same rate I hadn't even looked at the rate at which I bought which turned out to be 1.36 as against the rate at which I sold which was 1.56.

Ouch.
 
Re: 1.56

Dont forget buy and sell are always very different.

you buy below and they make money. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
100 quid at 1.42= 142 Euros. (Have to say 1.42 is very good. interbank was 1.46 yesterday)

you sell above and they make even more money. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
142 euro's at 1.56=91 quid

at least its better than before the euro if you were travelling to say belgium france and holland. someone did a calculation a while back that you only had to enter and leave a few countries and only change the currency and you would have no money left. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
So EC has brought us something /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Doug
 
Re: 1.56

Todays newspaper gives the 'tourist rate' ie the average of the main BdC, as €1.39. Its often a couple of points lower at airpoints etc. Rates in the 1.40s need looking at carefully. I got €1.45 in Crete in June but the increased commission reduced this to a net €1.41. These Greeks are not daft you know!!
 
Useing normal routes (not commercial rates) try "order in advance" Travelex which you can pick up at an airport. Also M&S order in advance/deliver to your door rates are good.
Note the "buy on the day" Travelex is the worst rate ever.

I take my data from the Saturday Telegraph a few weeks back which I cut out for an occasion just like this.
 
Thanks everybody for info.
Jez, surely can use my uk intelligent finance debit card to get cash anyway so is there any advantage using amex???
 
You can.........but just about everyone except Nationwide screw you something rotten on both commission and exchange rate. I opened a Flex account just for this purpose.
 
Re: 1.56

I don't usually, but this time I knew I was unlikely to go back to the Eurozone for quite a while so I thought it would be neat to return the money to my Barclays account where I get interest rather than leaving it lying around for 6 months.

Live and learn, eh?
 
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