How do you take money to Spain?

rawk100

I'm off to Spain for a couple of weeks and haven't been abroad for years so don't know the best way of taking money and paying for stuff. I can remember using travellers checks before but not sure if people still use them. Obviously I'm gonna take some cash but want to carry as least as possible. Is it best to just use a credit or debit card or will this incur big charges? Any tips would help.....

Nitefly

We went to Mallorca last year, took about €100 in cash so we could hit the ground running, and then just used ATMs.

My bank (Lloyds) charges for using debit cards abroad, but some don't.

RaymondLin

Halifax Clarity card, safe, best exchange rates (pay local currency).

EricTheWeary

The Money Saving Expert site is really good at telling you the best deals. Although it's hard to beat this:

RaymondLin said:

Halifax Clarity card, safe, best exchange rates (pay local currency).

The only downside of the Clarity is if you draw a lot of cash you pay interest on that until it's paid off.
I don't know if you'll get a Clarity in time now but MSE will have a bunch of options. Really, go spend ten minutes on there. Read the rest of my post first, obviously, then go there. 

Nitefly said:

We went to Mallorca last year, took about €100 in cash so we could hit the ground running, and then just used ATMs.

My bank (Lloyds) charges for using debit cards abroad, but some don't.

Lloyds debit usually regarded as the worst way of spending abroad. 
We usually get some euros in advance. Some very obviously bad deals ( such as at airports) although differences on the high street won't make much difference. I get mine from Sainsbury's as they do a better deal for Nectar card holders and you get points. 

RaymondLin

Why would you be using cash if the place take cards?

OP wants to carry the LEAST amount as possible then carry the least amount as possible and if you need it, take some cash out with your debit card when you need to.  All other time use the card.

vale

atms safest, as others have already said, but take usual precautions. don't let your card out of sight and watch out for non-standard swipers.

it's be worth finding out what your bank charges for atm withdrawals outside the uk. they may be covered by a blanket eu-wide maximum fee, but if not (or we should find ourselves outside the eu in future) then it's likely your bank will charge you 'significantly higher than cost' fees to exchange and withdraw overseas. as phone companies used to (and may yet again, post 2019) with extortionate roaming charges.

i had a basic account with lloyds 'forcibly upgraded' to a classic account this year. i didn't want the 'upgade' but on asking to stay with basic i was told the options are upgrade or leave. all the charm.
presented as a joyous promotion, on digging into the detail it appears that i will now be charged for sending and receiving money to and from abroad (account to account, not atm), which was entirely free of charges with my original account (i have family in europe, so was useful).

that's specific to one of my accounts, but if you have recently had a change of terms notification re the data protection thing, maybe check they didn't slip in any other small print account changes with that. my instincts lead me to suspect that banks across the board are quietly contractually setting up customers now for a post brexit screwing later, to make up for potential lost revenue from that.

and if you travel or holiday a lot, maybe think about settiing up a little deposit account with an eu based bank so while away in the future you are not transferring day-to-day between eu and non-eu banks.

stickyfiddle

Get the cheapest debit or credit card you can - check moneysavingexpert

Stavros

stickyfiddle said:

Get the cheapest debit or credit card you can - check moneysavingexpert

This ^

Doubt you will have time to obtain a Halifax Clarity card now, but worth doing anyway as it’s been the best one for years.

I have always found that ordering currency from Travelex in advance and picking it up at the airport to be one of the best ways of sorting cash out. Or you could order a pre-loaded currency passport, not sure how cheap those are at the minute though.

Enjoy your hols!

richh

Mainly on the plane

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

RaymondLin said:

Halifax Clarity card, safe, best exchange rates (pay local currency).

100% the best way to do it, if the OP has time to apply for one. As long as you pay it off in full as soon as you get home to avoid any re-payment interest it's most definitely a money saver.


Out of interest, where in Spain are you going @rawk100 ?

spark240

Don’t bother....small amount for day one....then always pay in euros on a Card, or cash out local ATM.

fandango

The Post Office Travel Money Card is meant to be quite good. Used it myself to good effect. It's not a "credit card" or a "debit card". It's like a pay-as-you-go mobile phone card. But for currency. Pick up a card from the Post Office, open an account, and like most things these days you can manage purchases online. Add additional money or currency as you want. Then use it like a debit/credit card.

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/travel-money/card

Declaration: I have no affiliation with the Post Office or their travel money card.

RaymondLin

OR alternatively, you can do this.

https://www.revolut.com

Download the app, you can get a physical card, think of it as like a cash top up card.  You can transfer money into this card like you do paying someone on BACS, then you use this card to pay, it has free money exchanges i many countries and free global money withdrawal so if you move money into this, then withdrawal with this card then you get no fees.

77ric

Post office travel money card? Basically a prepaid credit card load up with euros and off you go. Can be loaded up with multiple currencies too. Take around a week to get. 

guitars4you

fandango said:

The Post Office Travel Money Card is meant to be quite good. Used it myself to good effect. It's not a "credit card" or a "debit card". It's like a pay-as-you-go mobile phone card. But for currency. Pick up a card from the Post Office, open an account, and like most things these days you can manage purchases online. Add additional money or currency as you want. Then use it like a debit/credit card.

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/travel-money/card

Declaration: I have no affiliation with the Post Office or their travel money card.

likewise a travel money card - I use Thomas Cook and Co-Op versions as local to me - negative on one of them is you can't get a balance, so just keep your own running total - So transfer say 1K from your account to such a card and spend as and when required - Use them in ATM's or most shops, bars, restaurants etc like a debit card - No fees - even use as £ Sterling when back home if any funds left

I always keep a few beer/ice cream vouchers as well - ie Euros in cash

Hootsmon

They have tightened up on that sort of thing these days. You most definitely would have to sedate it first.......oh, wait a mo, I read that as Monkey....sorry

RandallFlagg

We're in the US for our hols and I got a couple of WeSwap cards to avoid transaction and ATM fees and we get good fx rates. it's Mastercard charge card that you load up and uses really good exchange rates and swaps currencies between it's customer base.

I recommend you check it out www.weswap.com

DiscoStu

If you are paying by card abroad and they give you the option of paying in Pounds £ instead, decline. Paying in the local currency incurs less fees.

Sporky

https://www.ettinger.co.uk/var/ezdemo_site/storage/images/_aliases/gallery_main/media/images/product-shots-grey/sterling-product-shots/st030cjr-product-shots/st030cjrbtq-sterling-turquoise-billfold-wallet-with-6-cc-2/297815-1-eng-GB/ST030CJRBTQ-Sterling-Turquoise-Billfold-Wallet-with-6-CC-2.jpg

Alterlifeson

guitars4you said:

fandango said:

The Post Office Travel Money Card is meant to be quite good. Used it myself to good effect. It's not a "credit card" or a "debit card". It's like a pay-as-you-go mobile phone card. But for currency. Pick up a card from the Post Office, open an account, and like most things these days you can manage purchases online. Add additional money or currency as you want. Then use it like a debit/credit card.

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/travel-money/card

Declaration: I have no affiliation with the Post Office or their travel money card.

likewise a travel money card - I use Thomas Cook and Co-Op versions as local to me - negative on one of them is you can't get a balance, so just keep your own running total - So transfer say 1K from your account to such a card and spend as and when required - Use them in ATM's or most shops, bars, restaurants etc like a debit card - No fees - even use as £ Sterling when back home if any funds left

I always keep a few beer/ice cream vouchers as well - ie Euros in cash

+1 for a travel money card, used it both in the states and Europe and it worked perfectly. If I recall, you can check the balance of the Post Office one using the app. You can top it up via the app as well.

Whitecat

Something to keep in mind - 

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/jul/21/why-barcelona-is-a-street-hotspot-and-how-to-beat-the-thieves?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other