Money When In Europe

[drewpy]

I'm off to warmer climes in August (Spain and a bit of France) for 6 days on the TDM

 

What do you recommend I do for money, take euros and wear a wallet round the neck?

 

What credit cards do you need, I see Martins money tips recommends a particular type, I think I would be using it to get me out of the mire rather than general spending.

 

thanks for any tips

 

 

[Studley Ramrod]

I took euros and a debit card.  The card worked in all the places I used it except for one small self service station in France although that might have been me having a numpty moment.   Card is handy at times though, some fuel stops are self service using card only.

Ferry takes euros and sterling iirc you get a better deal using euros though.

[Rallyist]

I took Euro's and a Travel money card from the Post Office and paid for all fuel in Spain and Portugal with it without problem, also odd purchases in supermarkets etc.

[dablik]

I normally carry around 400 in Euros but i pay for all my fuel on the Master Card (no fees with my Halifax card) along with return ferry and hotels, never had an issue with acceptance, Visa does'nt appear to be readily accepted everywhere in my experience.....another option i've used is the P.O. Travel Money Card but if your doing big miles daily and topping up frequently let them know beforehand or they may assume some fraudalent use, happened to me but sorted with a quick call, good experience using it though..

[Trevini]

Like the others have said, Euros and a card. I normally allow £100/day when touring on the TDM to cover everything - fuel, meals, b&b etc and usually have a little spare on my return. Worth having a handful of Euro coins before you go in case of any toll roads. 

[dablik]

Good point Trev re small coins for French tolls especially although used the cc also to pay them an dyou can get change from notes, an aggravating experience when it's pissing down though.

[drewpy]

thanks for the tips fellas. :tup:

[alanfavell]

At automated tolls don't forget to press the button & yell moto to get the reduced rate,

I always carry enough cash for tolls in case the card won't work

[Trevini]

Good point Trev re small coins for French tolls especially although used the cc also to pay them an dyou can get change from notes, an aggravating experience when it's pissing down though.

Had a credit card cloned on a toll in France once. Got a call from bank on my return asking if I'd bought a three piece suite in Paris.

[Catteeclan]

Had a credit card cloned on a toll in France once. Got a call from bank on my return asking if I'd bought a three piece suite in Paris.

 

Been fun getting that on the bike.

[dapleb]

When nationwide stopped doing commission free withdrawals I swapped to caxton which was fine.


If I hit a toll road.... Something has gone seriously wrong. :-)

[ChrisG]

Worth checking if there are any bank accounts doing commission free withdrawls these days.  I have a Santander Zero account (which you can't get any more) that allows me to take cash out of machines at whatever the daily rate is.  My Halifax credit card doesn't charge comission on foreign transactions either so everything that can go on card goes on there, and I only carry a small amount of cash as I can withdraw some more when I need it.

 

Currently in Holland and quite a few places don't seem to take Visa/MasterCard over here, never had a problem in France or Germany though.

 

If you go to Switzerland you'll find most places will take Euro's but give you change in Francs, which is a pain.

This post was last modified: 24-04-2017, 08:23 PM by ChrisG.

[James]

+1 on the Santander Zero card and some Euro's in cash. Never had a problem in France, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, Turkey, etc.


Enjoy your trip Drewpy, and don't forget to take lots of pictures and post up a ride report once you're back home

[Studley Ramrod]

+1 on the Santander Zero card and some Euro's in cash. Never had a problem in France, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, Turkey, etc.


Enjoy your trip Drewpy, and don't forget to take lots of pictures and post up a ride report once you're back home

 

Es la ley

[Apache]

I've been using a Thomas Cook preloaded euros cash passport card for years. If you can afford to leave a balance permanently on the card it's best taken out as a euro only card. Spends anywhere. No charges. They just deduct the actual euros spent. Load it when exchange rate is high. I'm rather smugly still doing trips on money I loaded on to the card in 2014 at 1.37 to the pound....

This post was last modified: 25-04-2017, 04:56 PM by Apache.

[drewpy]

I've just applied for a Halifax Clarity credit card. unbelievably its the cheapest exchange rate and there are no transaction charges too.

 

The only time you'll pay straight away is if you get cash out of the ATM, so I'll take some Euros too.

[Studley Ramrod]

Rates were shite when we went in Sept last year, prolly not much better now.  Think we got around 1.13 euros for a quid.  A year earlier, when first planning the trip it was about 1.34 euros.

[ChrisG]

1.17 when I got some out on Monday, I was getting about 1.4 a year or so back.


Effectively the cost of beer has gone up by 20% :-(