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My bank (Lloyds) charges for using debit cards abroad, but some don't.
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: 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.
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.
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.
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!
Out of interest, where in Spain are you going @rawk100 ?
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https://www.postoffice.co.uk/travel-money/card
Declaration: I have no affiliation with the Post Office or their travel money card.
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.
I always keep a few beer/ice cream vouchers as well - ie Euros in cash
I recommend you check it out www.weswap.com
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/jul/21/why-barcelona-is-a-street-hotspot-and-how-to-beat-the-thieves?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other