Travel Money Card

Banking, insurance, currency exchange, taxation, prices.

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
Lanark Lass
Rank 4
Rank 4
Posts: 189
Joined: Tue 02 Sep 2008 15:24
Contact:

Travel Money Card

Post by Lanark Lass »

This may interest people like myself who are UK resident but travel frequently to our base in France. To make day-to-day spending in France easier, I took out a Monarch Travel Money card in euros. The advert says no annual charge. This has worked fine until now. The card expiry date came and as I did not cancel the card and have my balance returned to my UK bank, a new Monarch card was issued. When I looked at my Monarch account statement I noted that I had been charged £6 for the new continuation card, so there is an annual charge! In retrospect I should have let the first account "die" and made a freshh application for a euro card either with Monarch or someone else. Monarch has now returned my £6 but made no comment re above. Beware!
martyn94
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 2086
Joined: Sun 14 Apr 2013 14:37

Post by martyn94 »

If you have a base in France, why not have an account here, with a card, and use that? You can top it up, if you use one or other FX dealer rather than your UK bank, at very much better rates than you will get from a cash-card operator.
Lanark Lass
Rank 4
Rank 4
Posts: 189
Joined: Tue 02 Sep 2008 15:24
Contact:

Post by Lanark Lass »

I do have a French bank account but not a bank card as yet. I thought you had to pay for these cards each year also additional fee for card for hubby?
martyn94
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 2086
Joined: Sun 14 Apr 2013 14:37

Post by martyn94 »

There are online accounts which offer free cards, but maybe not easily accessible to non-French residents. Otherwise you do pay an annual fee: I have always resented it, but not to the point of doing without. If you spend more than, say, £1-2000 a year here, you are likely to cover the fee by the savings you can make on transaction fees and foreign-exchange loadings, as compared with a UK-based card.
Lanark Lass
Rank 4
Rank 4
Posts: 189
Joined: Tue 02 Sep 2008 15:24
Contact:

Post by Lanark Lass »

The card I have gives 3c per pound less than the actual exchange rate and no charge for spending with the card or withdrawing mone from a cash point when in France (or any other European country).

I have now upgraded my Nationwide Flex Plus account. For a fee of £10 per month I have worldwide travel insurance, car breakdown cover in Europe (and UK) so have dropped my RAC membership(£70.95 p.a.). Also I can now withdraw from ATMs in Europe without charge. This may be a good account for other UK based "travellers"to consider.

My French account at the moment is used mainly for direct debits in France and a cheque book for occasional use.
martyn94
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 2086
Joined: Sun 14 Apr 2013 14:37

Post by martyn94 »

Lanark Lass wrote:The card I have gives 3c per pound less than the actual exchange rate and no charge for spending with the card or withdrawing mone from a cash point when in France (or any other European country).

I have now upgraded my Nationwide Flex Plus account. For a fee of £10 per month I have worldwide travel insurance, car breakdown cover in Europe (and UK) so have dropped my RAC membership(£70.95 p.a.). Also I can now withdraw from ATMs in Europe without charge. This may be a good account for other UK based "travellers"to consider.

My French account at the moment is used mainly for direct debits in France and a cheque book for occasional use.
The FX dealer I use gives "actual exchange rates" and charges 0.5% fee (half a centime per €) for transactions over £200. Compared to a 3% load, and reckoning €30 for the card fee, a French bank card breaks even after about €1,200 a year (or €2,400 for you and your spouse). And that is disregarding the fact that you pay up-front with pre-pay cards: your money is earning interest (little enough) for them not you.

Your Nationwide deal sounds better than most "packaged" accounts, but unfortunately not available to us French residents. In theory, I am not entitled to any account with them at all (at least if I were a new customer). But they seem content, so far, to live with my change to a French account address: has any one here had grief with them?
martyn94
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 2086
Joined: Sun 14 Apr 2013 14:37

Post by martyn94 »

Bizarre. I posted twice by mistake and attempted to delete the second one. The system said "Sorry: you can only delete your own posts". Apologies.
martyn94
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 2086
Joined: Sun 14 Apr 2013 14:37

Post by martyn94 »

Even more bizarre: the superfluous post has now disappeared. Apologies again.
Geoman
Rank 3
Rank 3
Posts: 85
Joined: Tue 25 Feb 2014 17:23

Post by Geoman »

I know they charge monthly fee,s but a French current account is easiest way, get cash in UK from Ramsdens, Cheque Centre etc then bring it out & deposit it in French account then you have use of French card.
martyn94
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 2086
Joined: Sun 14 Apr 2013 14:37

Post by martyn94 »

Geoman wrote:I know they charge monthly fee,s but a French current account is easiest way, get cash in UK from Ramsdens, Cheque Centre etc then bring it out & deposit it in French account then you have use of French card.
Bringing your dosh in folding money is about the most expensive and insecure way you can do it - and illegal if done in large enough amounts without declaration. But I guess it depends on how you got it.....
Geoman
Rank 3
Rank 3
Posts: 85
Joined: Tue 25 Feb 2014 17:23

Post by Geoman »

The rates we get for cash are miles better than bank rates,no commission & no transfer fee.
Owens88
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 444
Joined: Fri 13 Jan 2006 01:49
Contact:

Post by Owens88 »

What is the legal limit for legally acquired cash?
John
www.Goodviews.co.uk

Vernet Les Bains and East Midlands
Geoman
Rank 3
Rank 3
Posts: 85
Joined: Tue 25 Feb 2014 17:23

Post by Geoman »

Don't know exact amount but it is quite alot.
Geoman
Rank 3
Rank 3
Posts: 85
Joined: Tue 25 Feb 2014 17:23

Post by Geoman »

You have to declare anything over £10,000 but there is no limit in principal to how much you have as long as you can prove its legal.
Owens88
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 444
Joined: Fri 13 Jan 2006 01:49
Contact:

Post by Owens88 »

No Problem ! Thanks.
John
www.Goodviews.co.uk

Vernet Les Bains and East Midlands
martyn94
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 2086
Joined: Sun 14 Apr 2013 14:37

Post by martyn94 »

Geoman wrote:The rates we get for cash are miles better than bank rates,no commission & no transfer fee.
Ramsdens are currently quoting €1.1734 to a pound: my best-buy FX dealer is quoting €1.195458 (slightly worse for transactions under £200). And no need to go to their branch to pick it up, nor to your French bank to pay it in. Rates at UK banks are bad, and Ramsdens do a pretty good rate if you need cash, but there are better alternatives to top up your bank account.
Geoman
Rank 3
Rank 3
Posts: 85
Joined: Tue 25 Feb 2014 17:23

Post by Geoman »

Who do you use? Sometimes what Ramsdens,s etc quote online isn't what you get in store. Where I go there is 3 different money shops & also travel agents all fighting for buisness & we seem to get good rates compared to others I have spoken too. Last week I got just over 1.20 which is best I have seen for a long time.
martyn94
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 2086
Joined: Sun 14 Apr 2013 14:37

Post by martyn94 »

Geoman wrote:Who do you use? Sometimes what Ramsdens,s etc quote online isn't what you get in store. Where I go there is 3 different money shops & also travel agents all fighting for buisness & we seem to get good rates compared to others I have spoken too. Last week I got just over 1.20 which is best I have seen for a long time.
I use transferwise.com. I doubt whether you will find a better rate elsewhere unless the shop has forgotten to update their rate. They take 50p in £100 off the middle-market rate: they are quoting 1.192 currently (which is exactly 0.005 off the middle-market rate given by xe currency) but rates have slipped a bit since last week. You get the rate at the time they complete the transaction: sometimes a bit worse than the one first quoted, and sometimes a bit better. But absolutely the cheapest, in my recent experience.
Post Reply