David Jenkins
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| posted on 2/9/10 at 07:02 PM |
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Foreign money from the Post Office?
Has anyone got foreign currency from the Post Office? Their exchange rates are far better than my bank's - £50 worth of difference - but
I'm wondering how I should pay for the currency.
If I pay by card I'll have to pay a percentage for taking cash (I presume), and the PO may not accept a cheque in payment.
So - if you've done this - how did you do it?
cheers,
David
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chrsgrain
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| posted on 2/9/10 at 07:04 PM |
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Pay in cash? I've done it for small amounts...
Chris
Spoing! - the sound of an irony meter breaking...
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hobzy
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| posted on 2/9/10 at 07:07 PM |
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Did ours online at PO on our debit card, no issues and it was delivered to the house. Can't remember what the commission was but no extra charge
for using card.
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 2/9/10 at 07:10 PM |
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Ah - good news.
It'll be a substantial amount, as we're off for 3 weeks in Australia (with a couple of days in Hong Kong). Neither destination is cheap
any more... 
I haven't quite worked out a sensible balance between cash, travellers cheques and credit card yet...
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Project7
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| posted on 2/9/10 at 07:14 PM |
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Order it online from thier website, and pay on a debit card. You get a better rate than going to an actual post office, and free next day delivery!
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gregs
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| posted on 2/9/10 at 07:38 PM |
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To keep it easy - get yourself a nationwide current account, put the cash in there and take your visa debit card with you. You'll get rates
several % better than any foreign exchange.
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ashg
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| posted on 2/9/10 at 07:47 PM |
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i travel lots for work. i usually find that my american express is pretty good on exchange rate and they dont charge me for using it, plus the added
fraud protection.
i usually do 40% cash. order it from the post office online pay with debit card.
i usually pay for everything on credit card where i have the option and save the cash for when i cant use the card. if you dont plan to spend that way
take more cash as getting cash out of the hole in the wall is the most expensive way of getting extra cash when away.
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)
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DavidM
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| posted on 2/9/10 at 08:37 PM |
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We've previously used the Post Office, but recently we bought Euros at Tesco. Their rates are worth looking at. We usually just change a small
amount of cash as a float for small expenses and then use a card for everything else. If you are using a card, make sure you tell the bank or card
company where you are going, because sometimes they block the card if they see unusual transactions, such as a card being used in a different
country.
David
David
Proportion is Everything
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JoelP
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| posted on 2/9/10 at 09:26 PM |
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hi david. Check out the moneysavingexpert guide on holiday money:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money
plastic is better than cash in general, if you have the right one. Last time i was abroad i just got the advised card, and havent used it since!
Beware! Bourettes is binfectious.
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Agriv8
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| posted on 2/9/10 at 09:49 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by hobzy
Did ours online at PO on our debit card, no issues and it was delivered to the house. Can't remember what the commission was but no extra charge
for using card.
yup did a large sum 3 weeks ago for summer hols ordered online ( before 3 for next day IIRC ) Picked up at local PO easy peasy and would do it again
!!!
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bigfoot4616
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| posted on 2/9/10 at 10:56 PM |
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the wife just got a £1000 worth of euro's from the post office today, would of got 26 euro's more ordering online for collection. not a
massive difference but worth doing if you plan ahead properly
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Danozeman
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| posted on 3/9/10 at 08:57 AM |
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My mate always gets his from the post office as they are the best. Pay with your debit card in the post office. Theyl either get it in for you or
you can have it delivered to your house i believe.
Trevor in capel po should do it for you.
Dan
Built the purple peril!! Let the modifications begin!!
http://www.eastangliankitcars.co.uk
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 3/9/10 at 10:35 AM |
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Trevor's retired! Got fed up with regular armed hold-ups.
Sounds like the PO is ideal - wish I'd seen that MoneyExpert site earlier, as I'd have a job to get a new card at short notice (but I will
ask about the 2nd best card in my branch of the Halifax tomorrow).
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Humbug
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| posted on 3/9/10 at 10:49 AM |
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If you want to take some cash with you for the first day or so, my advice is to use the MoneySaving Expert money maximiser site first off. What I
usually do is order it from Travelex to pick up at the airport, then find the cheapest alternative on the MSE site that you can get a price from
without having to register (usually Interchange FX) and claim back the difference from Travelex under their price promise. Then you get the best price
and the convenience. I've never had a problem getting the refund and on a few hundred pounds worth it can easily be £10-20 - enough for a beer
or two :p.
I must admit until this year I usually got cash out from ATMs with my debit card but after reading MSE on the charges/crap exchange rates, I took more
cash with me this time. If I had had time I would ahve got one of the Halifax Clarity credit cards - no loading or crap rates for purchases or cash
withdrawals; although you do pay interest on the cash, it's only about 1.3% a month so if you pay it off when you get the bill, it's still
less than the 2%+ you normally get hit for.
My son has just gone to Japan for 10 months to study and he got a Clarity card as a cheap/easy way of getting cash there. He has set up a direct debit
to pay it off each month.
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dhutch
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| posted on 3/9/10 at 11:49 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by gregs
To keep it easy - get yourself a nationwide current account, put the cash in there and take your visa debit card with you. You'll get rates
several % better than any foreign exchange.
I have to admit, this is what ive done in the past. Its only really been pocket money, and it was % commision at the time (recently changed to 2% i
think) but it was very easy.
- Took out £50 a dover early arrivals area just incase and then just put everything on the card, with one other trip to an atm for a top-up.
Daniel
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 3/9/10 at 11:53 AM |
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Just read on that Money Expert site that the nationwide debit card thing ends on 1st November... then it will cost much the same as the other debit
cards.
It looks like the better credit cards are the way to go.
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JoelP
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| posted on 3/9/10 at 08:59 PM |
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its worth signing up for the email newsletter at MSE, they have all sorts of daft ways to save money. Like a pair of prescription sunglasses for
£9.
They reckon spending a day doing the money makeover can be like getting a 25% pay rise - though maybe only if you've been slack in the past.
Beware! Bourettes is binfectious.
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 4/9/10 at 10:37 AM |
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This could prove expensive - went into the bank this morning to get one of their "no fee if used abroad" cards. Have to cancel mine
before getting another, which would take far too long, so had to get one in my wife's name...
...thankfully she doesn't believe in credit cards! 
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