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  #1  
Old 16 Mar 2012
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Bank charges - UK Banks
We spent far too much on our first trip on bank charges, even though we tried to manage it very carefully. At the time we had Oz bank accounts.

The first trip was in a 4x4, so we had loads of places to hide money. The next trip is on bicycles, which means we'll have to visit atms more frequently, resulting in more bank charges.

We have UK bank accounts at the moment, and will be travelling with GBP.

Does anyone know of any good deals at the moments with banks here in the UK with reduced (reasonable) fees for international transcations?

I just looked at the charges on my current bank (hsbc) and they are shocking to say the least.

FYI, the trip will be in China, SE Asia, India and Nepal.

Most of the transactions will be ATM withdrawels.

Thanks
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Old 16 Mar 2012
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The Post Office credit card doesn't charge you for use overseas, you can over pay into in the run up to your trip so you aren't running up a huge credit card bill as well.

I know a few years ago nationwide were advertising no fees for using your card abroard, don't know if thats still the case.
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Old 16 Mar 2012
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If transferring large 'chunks' of money to other, foreign bank accounts, the new (a year or so ago) Metro Bank charges £17 per transaction for international bank transfers.

As far as using ATMs for cash withdrawals - I use my NatWest associated card all the time in Russia. The exchange rate seems similar to what I see advertised in the streets here. The only charge is Exchange Rate Transaction Fee of about 2.5%. If, rarely, the ATM paying/foreign bank is going to make a charge it is displayed on the screen and I just cancel the transaction and go elsewhere.

An alternative I have not looked into is pre-paid cards which you load with money then draw from it - as FMF said above. I don't know what their costs might be.
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Old 16 Mar 2012
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Originally Posted by Fantastic Mister Fox View Post
The Post Office credit card doesn't charge you for use overseas, you can over pay into in the run up to your trip so you aren't running up a huge credit card bill as well.

I know a few years ago nationwide were advertising no fees for using your card abroard, don't know if thats still the case.
Not a bad idea, paying extra into the credit card, but I do wonder if there's still a cash withdrawel charge regardless.

I know (or is that think I know...) that they charge you for cash withdrawels on credit cards, even if I had to do it here in the UK with a UK card. I wonder if they only levy that charge if you draw from the credit card without having the extra paid in money....if you know what I mean.
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Old 16 Mar 2012
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Originally Posted by Pumbaa View Post

I know (or is that think I know...) that they charge you for cash withdrawels on credit cards, even if I had to do it here in the UK with a UK card. I wonder if they only levy that charge if you draw from the credit card without having the extra paid in money....if you know what I mean.
Yea, for credit cards you pay every time when used overseas, in all manner of charges. I believe debit cards are much better, but you still incur charges.
Guess what - none of the UK high street banks are very competitive in this area.

Recently I spent a bit of time looking at this very subject on here:-
Banking & Savings: Top Bank Accounts, Savings Accounts, Fixed Savings, Cash ISAs, Regular Savers & more
(I haven't found a better reference on this subject yet).

I did follow a few links within the site to get to "use of cash overseas", so best if you do your own research.
However, what they have in there is their recommended best deal; that used to be, quite a while ago, Nationwide, but it is not top of the list nowadays.
What does figure high up the best list are the companies who provide the pre-paid cards that Tony mentions in an earlier post - that type of system seems to be growing and I am tempted to take one on for use overseas.

The whole thing is a moving target, as ever when it comes to the banks, with best offers that recede down the best buy list as enough customers join up.

ps Metro bank is in there; there are a hand full of branches, all in London at present
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Old 16 Mar 2012
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I use my Santander Zero current account visa debit card and that account doesn't charge you the exchange rate fee at all. It also applies to the Zero credit card

Use an ATM Abroad - Santander - search for Zero

Also, I find the FX cards (http://www.fairfx.com) very good - when you calculate the fees vs what you get cash wise they often come out much better.

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Old 16 Mar 2012
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Originally Posted by mattcbf600 View Post
Also, I find the FX cards (FairFX Travel Money Cards - Best Exchange Rates on a Currency Card) very good - when you calculate the fees vs what you get cash wise they often come out much better.

m
Fairfx is one of the current best buys in my link, along with one or two other prepay cards of this nature; noteworthy is that they are part of the Mastercard "backup" so they should be accepted widely when outside the UK.

Also, from memory of reading the pros and cons within the moneysavingexpert website, I believe that when you load up your prepaid card you lock into the current exchange rates and not whatever the rate may be when you draw cash in the future - this is no different to buying cash at any currency exchange, so not a big deal in my view; in effect the prepaid card becomes a way of carrying cash around without having it physically in your pocket.
+ I think you nominate which currency you will draw in at the time the card is loaded, = US$ or Euros typically, so there is a small penalty if you change to a different currency later.

ps I've been digging into that website and this is the bit about travelling:-
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/tra...p-travel-money
Well done Matt, Santander Zero also gets an honourable mention!
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Last edited by Walkabout; 16 Mar 2012 at 18:31. Reason: ps added
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