# Best way to pay for things on holiday in Poland?



## Brendan Burgess (1 Jul 2017)

A friend of mine is traveling to Poland and wants to know the best way to pay for things? 

Debit card? 
Credit card? 
Withdraw cash? 

Brendan


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## Brendan Burgess (1 Jul 2017)

Here are AIB's debit card charges 



So buying something for the equivalent of €100 with the card will cost  €101.75.  I assume that they use the mid-rate for the currency exchange, so there is no cost there. 

Taking out €100 cash would cost €103.50 (2.5% currency conversion and 1% commission)


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## Brendan Burgess (1 Jul 2017)

Paying with a credit card is the same cost as with a debit card - €101.75 

To take out cash on a credit card would cost €103.25  (1.5% cash advance + 1.75% currency conversion) 

However, if she lodges euro to her credit card in advance so that it is in credit, she would not be charged the cash advance fee.

So taking out cash would cost only €101.75?  

*Summary *
Paying with a credit card or debit card is the cheapest. 

Taking out cash is cheapest with a pre-loaded credit card. 

Is that correct? 

Brendan


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## MrEarl (1 Jul 2017)

Hello Mr. Burgess,

We were in Krakow a couple of years ago and used cards for almost everything, they were widely accepted.

I would concur with your findings above (although it may be worth double checking that AIB won't charge a cash advance fee if the card is in credit.. just in case )

Also, as some credit cards may provide purchase insurance it could be advantageous to use a credit card, rather than a debit card.  Sorry, I am not familiar with AIB's credit cards so cannot be specific in relation to this point.


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## suzie (1 Jul 2017)

Could consider revolut....


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## RedOnion (1 Jul 2017)

There is a margin built into the FX rate applied, but I think it's the same for ATM and POS with AIB as they all clear through Visa.
As with any country, if the merchant (especially hotels) offers to charge you card in Euro say no as the FX rate applied is terrible (you avoid the cross border charges from AIB, but it doesn't compensate except maybe for low value transactions).

Edit: forgot not everything is Visa! there is a marginal difference between the Visa and MasterCard rates. Both publish rates once daily and these are what AIB use.


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## IsleOfMan (2 Jul 2017)

Is it possible to get Polish currency from your Irish Bank before you travel?


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## Brendan Burgess (2 Jul 2017)

RedOnion said:


> There is a margin built into the FX rate applied,



Are you sure? 

I thought that credit cards use the mid rate. 

Just check this calculator and it seems to be the mid-rate. 

https://www.visaeurope.com/making-payments/exchange-rates



Brendan


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## RedOnion (2 Jul 2017)

Brendan Burgess said:


> Are you sure?
> 
> I thought that credit cards use the mid rate.
> 
> ...


Looking at it, it's actually quiet small. Visa appear to have a number of currency pairs with a tiny spread, but it'd be more noticeable with more random currencies.
They only set the rate once per day, for the next day, so there is a tiny spread added in to cover their risk. If you did the same conversion on MasterCard website you might notice a few cent difference (I was using PLN).

Off topic, but the banks cross border handling fee is completely unjustified nowadays as the FX conversion is all done by Visa / MasterCard and the bank settle in Euro.


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## Brendan Burgess (2 Jul 2017)

RedOnion said:


> Looking at it, it's actually quiet small. Visa appear to have a number of currency pairs with a tiny spread,



Hi Red Onion

I don't want to make it too complicated.  There is a 1.75% conversion fee for buying goods with a credit or debit card - but no material other cost?  Is that right?


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## RedOnion (2 Jul 2017)

Brendan Burgess said:


> Hi Red Onion
> 
> I don't want to make it too complicated.  There is a 1.75% conversion fee for buying goods with a credit or debit card - but no material other cost?  Is that right?


Correct, except for very large purchases, for an AIB customer (other banks might have different fees). For AIB the minimum fee applies for all transactions under Eur25.70.
Note: All Irish banks apply a Cap on FX fees on Debit cards, but NOT on Credit cards.  It might apply for example where paying for a hotel bill for a week.

Whether or not a case advance fee applies for pre funded credit card, depends on the specific type of AIB credit card. It applies in all cases for Click and be cards.

Edited: re Maximum charges.


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## RedOnion (2 Jul 2017)

and the Visa spread in FX rates using live data is about 60bps between buy / sell rates.

This is immaterial as 'mid' rates are only available for large volume transactions.  Cards like Revolut apply a similar spread but are obscure about it.  It compares to a spread of about 6% on buy / sell rates in your local branch.

If you want cash, the cheapest way is to use your visa card at the foreign ATM (unless you are bank staff or somehow else qualify for commission free FX).  Like with point of sale, avoid ATM's that will charge your card in Euro as the FX rate is poor - you'll see these typically from banks you've never heard of in Airports.



*100.00* Polish Zloty = *23.70* Euro

* * * * *

*1* Polish Zloty = *0.2369650000* Euro

*- Or -*

*1* Euro = *4.2200324943* Polish Zloty





*23.70* Euro = *100.63* Polish Zloty

* * * * *

*1* Euro = *4.2459960257* Polish Zloty

*- Or -*

*1* Polish Zloty = *0.2355160000* Euro


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## MrEarl (3 Jul 2017)

RedOnion said:


> ......Whether or not a case advance fee applies for pre funded credit card, depends on the specific type of AIB credit card. It applies in all cases for Click and be cards. ....



That is probably the most important thing to keep in mind and confirms my suspicions.  I have a feeling it's the same across all card providers, so no one should make assumptions, just because their card is in credit.  The old transaction costs can sting a bit, particularly if the person is using the ATM regularly to make smaller cash withdrawals (which would not be unusual, given most people rather the security of having less cash on them).


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## Eithneangela (3 Jul 2017)

+1 to Revolut.


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## hfp (3 Jul 2017)

I would never go abroad without bringing a good supply of local currency in cash, and then use debit or credit card for additional spending.  It might not be the cheapest option but if you rely on card alone you take the risk of your card not working,  a security hold being put on the card due to unusual activity - last time this happened to me I was on hold for 45 minutes to get it lifted, catastrophic bank failure or the card being stolen.

To spread the risk when travelling I split the money between various bags and pockets, and then once arrived I only carry enough to do me for the day and the rest gets put in the safe.

I mention catastrophic bank failure as I worked in Ulster Bank during their 'incident' and was amazed at how many people arrived on their holidays with only their one debit card and not a penny in cash and were left completely stuck!!


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## Daddy Ireland (3 Jul 2017)

Instead of bringing a good supply of local cash I would advocate in the case of Poland bringing a good supply of Euro and converting it at a Kantor exchange.   For example today €500 would purchase 2100 zloty at a Kantor in Krakow.   Heading instead to a credit union today €500 would get you 2047 zloty.


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## RedOnion (3 Jul 2017)

Daddy Ireland said:


> Instead of bringing a good supply of local cash I would advocate in the case of Poland bringing a good supply of Euro and converting it at a Kantor exchange.   For example today €500 would purchase 2100 zloty at a Kantor in Krakow.   Heading instead to a credit union today €500 would get you 2047 zloty.


Absolutely agree. I forgot to include that as an option for cash. Spreads on EUR or USD tend to be very low in a lot of countries where they're in high demand. I've done this a few times in Russia.


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## Lightning (3 Jul 2017)

Eithneangela said:


> +1 to Revolut.



Absolutely agree. The solution here is not cash nor AIB debit card nor AIB credit card.

The solution is Revolut with no FX conversion fee and no FX transaction fee. (0.5% fee at weekends). 

Simply download the app and request a card.


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## demoivre (3 Jul 2017)

Daddy Ireland said:


> Instead of bringing a good supply of local cash I would advocate in the case of Poland bringing a good supply of Euro and converting it at a Kantor exchange.   For example today €500 would purchase 2100 zloty at a Kantor in Krakow.   Heading instead to a credit union today €500 would get you 2047 zloty.



Revolut would buy you 2122 zloty with the same 500 euro today. You get interbank rates with Revolut.


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## RedOnion (3 Jul 2017)

CiaranT said:


> Absolutely agree. The solution here is not cash nor AIB debit card nor AIB credit card.
> 
> The solution is Revolut with no FX conversion fee and no FX transaction fee.
> 
> Simply download the app and request a card.


Right, that's me convinced! I've started installing the app and will give it a try. When I was comparing FX rates I didn't realise Revolut add a margin at weekend, so looks a lot better midweek.


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## Lightning (4 Jul 2017)

The FX margin is zero from Monday to Friday and 0.5% at the weekends. Even at the weekends, it is significantly cheaper than cash or standard debit or credit cards.


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## MrEarl (4 Jul 2017)

How safe is Revolut ?


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## Lightning (4 Jul 2017)

In terms of purchase security, Revolut has some decent security features inside the app such as the ability to disable magstrip payments.

In terms of deposits / top-ups with Revolut, your money is not subject to a deposit guarantee. Perhaps best not keeping very large sums in the account at any one stage.


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