Going on Holiday - Save Good Money With The Nationwide
June 2005
Going on holiday soon? Chances are if you take your credit card/debit card you're going to be screwed for all sorts of 'fees' by your bank. Remember financial institutions love to add charges here, fees there and skim any other assorted money they can from your account. All they need is an excuse and when you're on holiday in a foreign country they have carte balance.
One of the problems most of us have on holiday is that we spend too much. Therefore any plan to save money is a godsend.
Plastic Is Convenient
There's no doubt that plastic is very convenient abroad but it is usually incredibly expensive to use. For instance drawing £100 of Euros from a hole in the wall using a Debit Card can cost nearly £5. This is because the big banks charge between 2.65% and 2.75% on cash withdrawals. Plus they add a 'foreign loading charge' of between 1.5% and 2.25%, and of course there maybe another charge levied by the foreign bank whose cashpoint machine you're using. All in all you can bet you're going to be stung.
Note, that Credit Card fees for withdrawing cash can often be even higher.
So What To Do?
Simple, open another bank account with the Nationwide. The building society's debit card has no charges for overseas usage and its Credit Card has a transaction fee of 1.5% which is around the lowest on the market today. Also there is NO foreign currency loading fee.
To sum up, if you're going on holiday and are likely to withdraw around £1,000 using a debit card the Nationwide could save you around £50. Perhaps not so much on one holiday but;
- Over a few years this amount will certainly add up, and
- Why continue to be ripped off by your present bank (after all if Nationwide can offer zero fees why are the others charging?)
Note: You can still keep your present bank account, just open up a Nationwide one for holiday spending.
Taking Cash Abroad
It's also a good idea to take some cash abroad for you but NEVER buy this at the airport of on the ferry etc. Always buy some in advance. At the time of writing Marks & Spencers alongside www.travelex.com offer some of the best deals but get a quote beforehand.
M&S can send you the money by recorded mail and if you order online at Travelex you can pick up the cash at the airport which is a nice touch.
Happy Holidays!
See Also
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