Nationwide to charge for Euro transactions

On 06/08/10 12:28, tim.... wrote:
"Tim wrote in message
...
On Fri, 6 Aug 2010 10:07:47 +0100, David Horne wrote in post :
:

Tim wrote:

On Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:47:48 +0200, Martin wrote in post :
:

If you are frequently abroad open a bank account in the EU.

Depends where you go abroad. Not going to help me with draw dollars or
sols!

Surely you mean the Eurozone? The UK is in the EU, however hard some try
to
pretend it isn't.

I don't pay anything for ATM withdrawals in any Eurozone country.

That's because euro banks can't charge any more than they would for
'home' withdrawals. But that works other ways- some banks in euro
countries impose charges on home withdrawals...

Yes some do here as well, but here at least, most don't (as far as I can
tell from a straw-poll in the office). It depends on the bank and the
actual account you have.

Both the "Euro" country bank accounts that I had charged an annual fee for
having a "foreign" ATM card.

ABNAMRO charges for their own debit cards.

Free bank transfer was restricted to bank to
bank transfer and withdrawal of cash from your "home" bank (which may be
more than one branch).

If they don't get you one way they will do it another

tim

On 06/08/10 12:52, Tim C. wrote:
On Fri, 6 Aug 2010 11:28:02 +0100, tim.... wrote in post :
:

If they don't get you one way they will do it another

Banks never lose :-(

Northen Rock did LOL

"David Horne" wrote in message
...
Mike Lane wrote:

David Horne wrote on Aug 5, 2010:

Mike Lane wrote:

David Horne wrote on Aug 5, 2010:

Andy Pandy wrote:

Well after (correctly) telling us for years that other banks
rip us
off with foreign exchange loading fees and foreign cash
withdrawal
fees, Nationwide are jumping on the bandwagon and imposing a
2%
foreign exchange loading plus a £1 cash withdrawal fee on
their debit
card. A bit cheaper than most banks but not much.

I will miss the ATM card for the flex account- I used it all
over the
world for cash
[snip]

Same here!
What will you use instead?

As Andy, probably the Halifax Clarity credit card. But, when
travelling
on holiday with my partner, I'll get him to withdraw money from
his
Boston bank account, which only adds Visa's 1%. At least for the
time
being, with current exchange rates.



I see, thanks. But what an absolute PITA. I find all this swapping
accounts,
credit cards and all financial stuff tedious beyond belief. I'd
almost rather
pay the extra 1% or whatever

Which is exactly how banks get away with ripping customers off on
foreign transactions...

Extra 2-3% plus less favourable exchange rates...

The exchange rate should be the same (ie the VISA or MasterCard rate)
but typically the markup is 2.75% plus an additional fee of something
like 1.5-2% for ATM withdrawals/debit card payments. Usually 4-5% in
total. No bank is going to get 4-5% of my holiday spending for doing
FA!

--
Andy

David Horne wrote on Aug 5, 2010:

Mike Lane wrote:

David Horne wrote on Aug 5, 2010:

Andy Pandy wrote:

Well after (correctly) telling us for years that other banks rip us
off with foreign exchange loading fees and foreign cash withdrawal
fees, Nationwide are jumping on the bandwagon and imposing a 2%
foreign exchange loading plus a £1 cash withdrawal fee on their debit
card. A bit cheaper than most banks but not much.

I will miss the ATM card for the flex account- I used it all over the
world for cash
[snip]

Same here!
What will you use instead?

As Andy, probably the Halifax Clarity credit card. But, when travelling
on holiday with my partner, I'll get him to withdraw money from his
Boston bank account, which only adds Visa's 1%. At least for the time
being, with current exchange rates.



OK. How exactly does this work for cash withdrawals, can you tell me? The
Halifax site is a little vague about the exact T&Cs. It says:
No fee to transfer a balance
No cash withdrawal fee
No fee to use it anywhere worldwide
No annual fee.

I'm not sure I quite believe them. What's the catch? Most credit cards charge
interest for cash withdrawals from the day you make the withdrawal. Can you
preload the card with sufficient cash to cover a trip abroad?

--
Mike Lane
UK North Yorkshire
mike_lane at mac dot com

"Mike Lane" wrote in message
dia.com...
David Horne wrote on Aug 5, 2010:

Mike Lane wrote:

David Horne wrote on Aug 5, 2010:

Andy Pandy wrote:

Well after (correctly) telling us for years that other banks rip
us
off with foreign exchange loading fees and foreign cash
withdrawal
fees, Nationwide are jumping on the bandwagon and imposing a 2%
foreign exchange loading plus a £1 cash withdrawal fee on their
debit
card. A bit cheaper than most banks but not much.

I will miss the ATM card for the flex account- I used it all over
the
world for cash
[snip]

Same here!
What will you use instead?

As Andy, probably the Halifax Clarity credit card. But, when
travelling
on holiday with my partner, I'll get him to withdraw money from his
Boston bank account, which only adds Visa's 1%. At least for the
time
being, with current exchange rates.



OK. How exactly does this work for cash withdrawals, can you tell
me? The
Halifax site is a little vague about the exact T&Cs. It says:
No fee to transfer a balance
No cash withdrawal fee
No fee to use it anywhere worldwide
No annual fee.

I'm not sure I quite believe them. What's the catch? Most credit
cards charge
interest for cash withdrawals from the day you make the withdrawal.
Can you
preload the card with sufficient cash to cover a trip abroad?

They charge immediate interest from the withdrawal date, but the rate
is only about 1% a month.
It looks like you can't pre-load it (it says any credit balance may be
returned) so what I'd do is just check the balance when I got back off
holiday and pay it all off. So I'd only be paying a week or two's
interest, probably under 0.5%.

If you use it for purchases as well you'd have to pay the whole lot
off when you got back off holiday to avoid further interest on the
cash advances (as your payment will be allocated to the interest free
purchases first). So if you want the full interest free period on
purchases, use another card, eg Nationwide, or get your partner a
Clarity and use one for purchases and the other for ATMs.

--
Andy

Andy Pandy wrote on Aug 7, 2010:


"Mike Lane" wrote in message
dia.com...
David Horne wrote on Aug 5, 2010:


As Andy, probably the Halifax Clarity credit card. But, when travelling
on holiday with my partner, I'll get him to withdraw money from his
Boston bank account, which only adds Visa's 1%. At least for the time
being, with current exchange rates.



OK. How exactly does this work for cash withdrawals, can you tell
me? The
Halifax site is a little vague about the exact T&Cs. It says:
No fee to transfer a balance
No cash withdrawal fee
No fee to use it anywhere worldwide
No annual fee.

I'm not sure I quite believe them. What's the catch? Most credit cards
charge interest for cash withdrawals from the day you make the
withdrawal. Can you preload the card with sufficient cash to cover a trip
abroad?

They charge immediate interest from the withdrawal date, but the rate
is only about 1% a month.
It looks like you can't pre-load it (it says any credit balance may be
returned) so what I'd do is just check the balance when I got back off
holiday and pay it all off. So I'd only be paying a week or two's
interest, probably under 0.5%.

If you use it for purchases as well you'd have to pay the whole lot
off when you got back off holiday to avoid further interest on the
cash advances (as your payment will be allocated to the interest free
purchases first). So if you want the full interest free period on
purchases, use another card, eg Nationwide, or get your partner a
Clarity and use one for purchases and the other for ATMs.


OK, thanks. I suppose that will be the best way of getting cash abroad in
future. It seems an insane way of using one's own money though - borrowing it
on a credit card and then repaying it with interest when you get back.


--
Mike Lane
UK North Yorkshire
mike_lane at mac dot com

On 07/08/10 17:20, Mike Lane wrote:
Andy Pandy wrote on Aug 7, 2010:


"Mike wrote in message
dia.com...
David Horne wrote on Aug 5, 2010:


As Andy, probably the Halifax Clarity credit card. But, when travelling
on holiday with my partner, I'll get him to withdraw money from his
Boston bank account, which only adds Visa's 1%. At least for the time
being, with current exchange rates.



OK. How exactly does this work for cash withdrawals, can you tell
me? The
Halifax site is a little vague about the exact T&Cs. It says:
No fee to transfer a balance
No cash withdrawal fee
No fee to use it anywhere worldwide
No annual fee.

I'm not sure I quite believe them. What's the catch? Most credit cards
charge interest for cash withdrawals from the day you make the
withdrawal. Can you preload the card with sufficient cash to cover a trip
abroad?

They charge immediate interest from the withdrawal date, but the rate
is only about 1% a month.
It looks like you can't pre-load it (it says any credit balance may be
returned) so what I'd do is just check the balance when I got back off
holiday and pay it all off. So I'd only be paying a week or two's
interest, probably under 0.5%.

If you use it for purchases as well you'd have to pay the whole lot
off when you got back off holiday to avoid further interest on the
cash advances (as your payment will be allocated to the interest free
purchases first). So if you want the full interest free period on
purchases, use another card, eg Nationwide, or get your partner a
Clarity and use one for purchases and the other for ATMs.


OK, thanks. I suppose that will be the best way of getting cash abroad in
future. It seems an insane way of using one's own money though - borrowing it
on a credit card and then repaying it with interest when you get back.

Can't you use, for example, a Visa debit card instead?

Martin wrote on Aug 7, 2010:

On 07/08/10 17:20, Mike Lane wrote:
Andy Pandy wrote on Aug 7, 2010:


"Mike wrote in message
dia.com...
David Horne wrote on Aug 5, 2010:


As Andy, probably the Halifax Clarity credit card. But, when travelling
on holiday with my partner, I'll get him to withdraw money from his
Boston bank account, which only adds Visa's 1%. At least for the time
being, with current exchange rates.



OK. How exactly does this work for cash withdrawals, can you tell
me? The
Halifax site is a little vague about the exact T&Cs. It says:
No fee to transfer a balance
No cash withdrawal fee
No fee to use it anywhere worldwide
No annual fee.

I'm not sure I quite believe them. What's the catch? Most credit cards
charge interest for cash withdrawals from the day you make the
withdrawal. Can you preload the card with sufficient cash to cover a trip
abroad?

They charge immediate interest from the withdrawal date, but the rate
is only about 1% a month.
It looks like you can't pre-load it (it says any credit balance may be
returned) so what I'd do is just check the balance when I got back off
holiday and pay it all off. So I'd only be paying a week or two's
interest, probably under 0.5%.

If you use it for purchases as well you'd have to pay the whole lot
off when you got back off holiday to avoid further interest on the
cash advances (as your payment will be allocated to the interest free
purchases first). So if you want the full interest free period on
purchases, use another card, eg Nationwide, or get your partner a
Clarity and use one for purchases and the other for ATMs.


OK, thanks. I suppose that will be the best way of getting cash abroad in
future. It seems an insane way of using one's own money though -
borrowing it on a credit card and then repaying it with interest when you
get back.

Can't you use, for example, a Visa debit card instead?

Yes, of course. It's what I do at the moment - I use the Nationwide Flex
debit card which up till now has allowed withdrawals anywhere with no charges
applied. From November though they're going to impose a 2% charge for foreign
withdrawals.

--
Mike Lane
UK North Yorkshire
mike_lane at mac dot com

On 07/08/10 19:35, Mike Lane wrote:
Martin wrote on Aug 7, 2010:

On 07/08/10 17:20, Mike Lane wrote:
Andy Pandy wrote on Aug 7, 2010:


"Mike wrote in message
dia.com...
David Horne wrote on Aug 5, 2010:


As Andy, probably the Halifax Clarity credit card. But, when travelling
on holiday with my partner, I'll get him to withdraw money from his
Boston bank account, which only adds Visa's 1%. At least for the time
being, with current exchange rates.



OK. How exactly does this work for cash withdrawals, can you tell
me? The
Halifax site is a little vague about the exact T&Cs. It says:
No fee to transfer a balance
No cash withdrawal fee
No fee to use it anywhere worldwide
No annual fee.

I'm not sure I quite believe them. What's the catch? Most credit cards
charge interest for cash withdrawals from the day you make the
withdrawal. Can you preload the card with sufficient cash to cover a trip
abroad?

They charge immediate interest from the withdrawal date, but the rate
is only about 1% a month.
It looks like you can't pre-load it (it says any credit balance may be
returned) so what I'd do is just check the balance when I got back off
holiday and pay it all off. So I'd only be paying a week or two's
interest, probably under 0.5%.

If you use it for purchases as well you'd have to pay the whole lot
off when you got back off holiday to avoid further interest on the
cash advances (as your payment will be allocated to the interest free
purchases first). So if you want the full interest free period on
purchases, use another card, eg Nationwide, or get your partner a
Clarity and use one for purchases and the other for ATMs.


OK, thanks. I suppose that will be the best way of getting cash abroad in
future. It seems an insane way of using one's own money though -
borrowing it on a credit card and then repaying it with interest when you
get back.

Can't you use, for example, a Visa debit card instead?

Yes, of course. It's what I do at the moment - I use the Nationwide Flex
debit card which up till now has allowed withdrawals anywhere with no charges
applied. From November though they're going to impose a 2% charge for foreign
withdrawals.

Mike, do you remember when I said you could get P&O North Sea Ferries
Hull-Rotterdam season tickets? Although they are only advertised for
Rotterdam/Zeebrugge-Hull. They are availble in the other direction too.
I met a woman in Filey with a holiday house in France who has bought
season tickets to Rotterdam every year for years. You pay the low season
rate irrespective of when you travel. There is a small surcharge for a
few peak days per year. You also get preferential treatment. They
guarantee you a place on the ferry even if you only book shortly before
the day you want to travel. You can cancel a booking up to a few hours
before the boat sails.

Martin wrote on Aug 8, 2010:

Mike, do you remember when I said you could get P&O North Sea Ferries
Hull-Rotterdam season tickets? Although they are only advertised for
Rotterdam/Zeebrugge-Hull. They are availble in the other direction too.
I met a woman in Filey with a holiday house in France who has bought
season tickets to Rotterdam every year for years. You pay the low season
rate irrespective of when you travel. There is a small surcharge for a
few peak days per year. You also get preferential treatment. They
guarantee you a place on the ferry even if you only book shortly before
the day you want to travel. You can cancel a booking up to a few hours
before the boat sails.

I'll look into that, but the website indicates that the season ticket offer
is for 5 'short break' return trips. I'm not sure sure how they define a
short break but I think it's for a shorter time than I would normally be
interested in.

--
Mike Lane
UK North Yorkshire
mike_lane at mac dot com