We're with First Direct. For a monthly fee (I think its about £12,) you can join firstdirectory. This gives you foreign money delivered to your door via courier. Free 12 months of travel insurance for you, your partner and any children. Free cash withdraws abroad. Money off at some venues in the UK.
We used Nationwide too this year. Fantastic. Used Halifax once by mistake and they charged £1.50 flat rate. Given the fact that we used our Nationwide card 40 times in all, that makes a saving of £60! Only thing that surprised me was that on the statement there is no detail about what the debit was paid too e.g. Intermarche, etc. Just says 'Visa debit' for each one, and no record of what the exchange rate was.
One problem (would be the same with any card) - we had some trouble knowing just how much we had left on the account as the cash machines did not give balances. We tried to list what we bought, but it's complex with some cash purchases and others by card. Anyone got any whizzy solutions? Perhaps we should have gone to the nearest Internet cafe and logged on?
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Quote: Originally posted by lequimper on 06/9/2006
We used Nationwide too this year. Fantastic. Used Halifax once by mistake and they charged £1.50 flat rate. Given the fact that we used our Nationwide card 40 times in all, that makes a saving of £60! Only thing that surprised me was that on the statement there is no detail about what the debit was paid too e.g. Intermarche, etc. Just says 'Visa debit' for each one, and no record of what the exchange rate was.
One problem (would be the same with any card) - we had some trouble knowing just how much we had left on the account as the cash machines did not give balances. We tried to list what we bought, but it's complex with some cash purchases and others by card. Anyone got any whizzy solutions? Perhaps we should have gone to the nearest Internet cafe and logged on?
If you have internet banking you bcan click for a detailed statement which does tell you the rate of exchange.
Another problem is that there is a limit on the rate at which you van withdraw cash -I know because I hit it and although there was money still in the account it wouldn't let me have more cash.
I switched to Nationwide earlier this year and in France it consistently gave a better exchange rate than my credit card. the only problem was that some places including the E Leclerc hypermarkets did not accept it and we had to use our credit cards.
I found that my Nationwide card gave a rate of 1.46 to 1.48 where my Egg card gave a rate of 1.41 to 1.43
Hi Tim s- Nationwide offers debit and credit cards and both with the Visa logo so if some places in France do not accept the debit card, they should accept the credit card, and for purchases the credit card still offers free transactions and good exchange rates. kiev
If you have the Nationwide Cash Reward credit card, you get 0.5% credited back to your account - so if you spend £500 on it in a holiday, you get given £25 back at the end, too. Having said that, we always use the Nationwide card abroad but Tesco Credit Card at home so we can save up for Clubcard Deals and get cheap ferry crossings.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Hooray for Nationwide
