Travellers cheques, cash or visa?

So with NW you pay a flat fee of a quid plus 2% of the amount taken out plus $2.95 to the US ATM bank?

Jeepers!

I am now thinking of converting to Amex T/cqs before we go and then cashing them over tghere. There used to be a bank that cashed the T/cs free. Can anyone help me by confirming this with the name of said bank?

There are a few credit cards which now give you a better rate than either Nationwide or travellers cheques, with no exchange fees. Look at the Halifax Clarity card or the Post Office credit card.

You can also use the Halifax Clarity credit card to get cash from ATMs, with no fees except the small fee that the ATM owner charges (which seems to be unavoidable). If you use the Halifax card to get cash you pay interest from the time you withdraw the cash, but as long as you pay it off promptly the interest is a lot less than the fees charged (about 2.75%) on most debit cards.

It's become more complicated recently because, as far as I can tell, there isn't 1 card that offers the best deal on cash withdrawals, purchases and interest. I suppose the answer is to use different cards for different things but whether it's worth the trouble is debatable.

I still have the Nationwide cards and used to stick with them but they're probably not the best for anything these days. On my last few trips I've been using my Amex Rewards card because I reckon the value of the rewards is greater than the small additional charges I incur. YMMV.

I have opened a Santander Zero account because there are no fees on any overseas transactions. I used it recently in Cyprus and checked the rates etc and you still get the inter bank transaction rate-very impressed.
When we go in August I intend to use my card for virtually all my transactions as i do here.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by NigelM
I am now thinking of converting to Amex T/cqs before we go and then cashing them over tghere. There used to be a bank that cashed the T/cs free. Can anyone help me by confirming this with the name of said bank?
[/quote]

i am keen to bottom this out if anyone knows the position

Thanks

I have managed to ascertain via a phone call with a BoA branch in Kissimee (selected at random and thank you Maria!!)that they will cash Amex US$ TCqs without commission uop to a ceiling per day.

Surely then as long as you do not mind planning your trip with just a few trips to BoA it is a relatively cheaper option.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by NigelM
I have managed to ascertain via a phone call with a BoA branch in Kissimee (selected at random and thank you Maria!!)that they will cash Amex US$ TCqs without commission uop to a ceiling per day.

Surely then as long as you do not mind planning your trip with just a few trips to BoA it is a relatively cheaper option.
[/quote]

If they are dollar t chqs most places will let you use them like cash (there are a few that won't take them but not many) and you get change as cash so why have the hassle of going to the bank? We still use them so we don't take as much cash (so safer), but are constantly being topped up through our holiday. I know a lot don't use them but I still like them. We use the clarity card (used to have Nationwide but they changed the t&c's) as it is not loaded when goes on the statement

I have the Santander Zero card and use it for everything when we are away. However make sure you have a backup as Santander have a habit of suspending the card even if you have told them you will be away. Over 2 weeks at Christmas they suspended our cards 3 times in total and we spent a long tome on the phone to them. Eventually I spoke with a manager at the call centre and she sorted things out, but if we had not had back up cards then we would have had problems.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Albert the Frog
I have opened a Santander Zero account because there are no fees on any overseas transactions. I used it recently in Cyprus and checked the rates etc and you still get the inter bank transaction rate-very impressed.
When we go in August I intend to use my card for virtually all my transactions as i do here.
[/quote]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:However make sure you have a backup as Santander have a habit of suspending the card even if you have told them you will be away. Over 2 weeks at Christmas they suspended our cards 3 times in total and we spent a long tome on the phone to them.[/quote]

You are apparently not alone, I have read several reports about this happening with Santander on their credit cards, debit card and internet banking.

Since they changed the name of Alliance and Leicester and Abbey, my wife has had her debit card stopped and internet banking suspended.
I have also had my internet and telephone banking suspended twice.

In every case they were adamant that we had wrongly entered our pin - three times. With internet banking it is a real bind as they have to send a new pin by snail mail to your home address(takes 7 to 10 working days) and you have no access during that period.