Your help and reviews are required > Information and help please

Cheques.

<< < (2/3) > >>

Lesley:
Jimbo - not sure whom stole my ole man Aris' boat from the harbour but it never turned up either wrecked or dumped........that was 2 years ago, hence no home caught & served fish these days....  :(

Cerys:
As previously mentioned San Stefano Travel do indeed cash both euro and sterling travelers cheques as well as exchanging sterling notes for euros. For those of you who don't have access to a safety deposit box in your accommodation we also rent safety deposit boxes. The pre-loaded cards are great in theory, however not all restaurants, bars etc. in San Stefanos accept card payments so it's always better to check first. Also, the pre-loaded cards are susceptable to the same charge as a credit/debit card when used, i.e. 2-5% transaction charge so in the grand scheme of things they may end up costing you more. 

D@G:

--- Quote from: Cerys on April 15, 2013, 02:28:27 PM ---As previously mentioned San Stefano Travel do indeed cash both euro and sterling travelers cheques as well as exchanging sterling notes for euros. For those of you who don't have access to a safety deposit box in your accommodation we also rent safety deposit boxes. The pre-loaded cards are great in theory, however not all restaurants, bars etc. in San Stefanos accept card payments so it's always better to check first. Also, the pre-loaded cards are susceptable to the same charge as a credit/debit card when used, i.e. 2-5% transaction charge so in the grand scheme of things they may end up costing you more. 

--- End quote ---

Just to pick up on the bolded Cerys. Most cards will only charge €2 per cash transaction. Meaning point of sale transactions (restaurants, shops etc) are free from any charges whilst using a cash machine will cost €2 (which is a little over 0.5% if withdrawing the maximum €300).

Waspman:
By far the best and cheapest way of spending money abroad is by the "no load/commission" credit card, but only if you pay the balance off in full every month.  With this type of card it's far cheaper to spend on them (tavernas and supermarkets) than withdraw cash and spend it.

It's likely that you will only get one of these cards if you have a good credit rating and are the type who does not go into debt, otherwise it's the pre-paid card to go for.

The current best at present is the Halifax Clarity Card, you don't have to be a Halifax customer to apply for one.
There is no foreign exchange fee worldwide and there is no cash withdrawal fee, unlike most other cards, however you will be charged interest from the date you withdraw the cash (the same as all other cards) but fairly low interest at 12.9%, so set up a direct debit to pay it off in full every month.
There are extra benefits if you have a Halifax Reward current account

There are a couple of others which are nearly as good if you have them, Post Office (£3 cash withdrawal fee), Nationwide (£2 cash withdrawal fee) and Santander Zero (no cash withdrawal fee) but no fees on any of them if using in tavernas or shops.

A lot of pre-paid cards have start up fees, ATM withdrawal fees (FairFX is 1.5 € for each withdrawal), inactivity fees (both My Travel Cash and Travelex charge a £2 monthly inactivity fee once a card has not been used for 12 months. FairFX and Caxton FX do not)

Another thing to remember is if the retailer gives you the choice of paying  in £'s or euros, always choose euros or you will lose out.

Last year only one of the several tavernas and supermarkets would not accept any type of card, The Beachcomber.

In 2012 I was getting about 0.05 to 0.06 euros above the San Stefanos exchange rate, food for thought.

Cerys:
Although the UK supplier of the pre-paid card may state that there are no charges, the Greek banks processing the payments certainly do charge the vendor for accepting the payment thus incurring the small transaction charge. It has always been this way when guests have chosen to pay by debit or credit card and the Greek banks see no difference in paying via a pre-paid card.   

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page