Best way to handle money abroad

J

jaffacake

Guest
Hi I shall be going to usa for 2 months in the summer

and I was wondering what is the best way of getting cash to bring around

options I have considered so far :
  • Travellers Cheques
  • Bring cash over (exchange rate+commision with irish banks)
  • Taking Cash out on Credit card
  • Exchange Cash Over there
I am looking for which one is best (to get the most out of Dollar-euro rate)

I am going to put any purchases on Credit card, so it is more just spending money for day to day things
 
If I was you I would put a load of money into the credit card account before you go and then any withdrawals you make are exempt from charges if the account is in the black.
 
Wildone said:
If I was you I would put a load of money into the credit card account before you go and then any withdrawals you make are exempt from charges if the account is in the black.
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be casefull about that, if the card gets stolen the bank will only refund you back to zero....
 
I generally use the credit card approach (put money on it and make cash withdrawals - not cash advances) with the qualifier that I generally try to just put enough on it to tide me over for a few days and then top it up as required via online banking while allowing for any delay in transfers from my current account to the CC account clearing/being processed.
Wildone said:
If I was you I would put a load of money into the credit card account before you go and then any withdrawals you make are exempt from charges if the account is in the black.
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There may be no charges but a forex margin of c. 1.75%+ will be charged. Still, it's usually one of the more competitive ways to access money while outside the € zone.
 
Cash advances happen if there is no money lodged in advance to the card/account and incur interest charges immediately. Cash withdrawals are made when there is money on the account and don't incur any interest charges - just the forex margin mentioned earlier.
 
AFAIK the likes of MBNA charge whether or not its in the black - check out the rules for your particular card. AIB which I use don't charge when in credit.
 
NIB charge interest unless you have cleared the full amount on your last statement, plus all purchases since last statement, plus the amount of cash you are withdrawing - That's their definition of being in credit.
 
I'm not sure how mine works but I have used it for both cash withdrawls (having first lodged cash) and other transactions and have never incurred charges as a result.
 
Does this mean that you have to have enough cash to fund any credit purchases you make when abroad as well (if you want to avoid the cash advance fee?).

E.g. The balance on my cc is €0. I lodge €1000. I arrive at my destination. I hire a car for, say, €200, pay by cc. I then withdraw €900 in cash. Am I charged a cash advance fee on the €100? [€1000-€200-€800 = (€100)]
 
CCOVICH said:
Does this mean that you have to have enough cash to fund any credit purchases you make when abroad as well (if you want to avoid the cash advance fee?).
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In the case of NIB, yes - it does mean this - plus you have to have cleared your last bill.
 
Hmmm... I must check my PTSB VISA terms & conditions. Maybe the same caveats apply and somehow I managed not to hit on the problem before by chance...
 
Well it would seem to make sense, as would the part about clearing your last bill, I think that the Ts and Cs of any credit card will outline the order in which payments to the account are applied.
 
E.g. The balance on my cc is €0. I lodge €1000. I arrive at my destination. I hire a car for, say, €200, pay by cc. I then withdraw €900 in cash. Am I charged a cash advance fee on the €100? [€1000-€200-€800 = (€100)]


I think that it depends on when the transactions go through. ATM transactions generally go though within 24 hrs, but the car rental company could take several days to go through. AIB's online CC set-up is quite good as you can monitor your available balance. It is also good practice to keep an eye on your transactions while abroad in case any thing dodgy is going on.
 
I'm almost certain that AIB Visa doesn't charge interest on purchases or cash withdrawals once last bill has been paid and the next is cleared by the due date. There is a charge of about 2% for cash withdrawals and it's the same whether you need €10 or €100. Can anyone with AIB confirm this? I'll check with them tomorrow to be certain.
 
Whatever you do don't panic at the last minute and get a bad deal at the airport. I was travelling to Sweden recently and saw a 10% difference between the "we buy" and "we sell" rates quoted. That was in addition to the commission.
First Rate, the Bank of Ireland subsidiary was the culprit. Absolute shocker of a rip-off. Anyone travelling can use the ATM on that end for their kroner.

I fill the credit card and supplement as required from current a/c as suggested earlier.

I hear that cirrus is not too expensive these days either, but I wouldn't be an expert on it.
 
ClubMan said:
Hmmm... I must check my PTSB VISA terms & conditions. Maybe the same caveats apply and somehow I managed not to hit on the problem before by chance...
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I'm not sure how much help the T&C's will be. The NIB T&C's were quite vague. I'm planning a written complaint/request for clarification to them one of these days.
 
gearoid said:
Whatever you do don't panic at the last minute and get a bad deal at the airport.
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But it's worth pointing out that you might get a good deal exchanging euro v. the local currency in the country you're going to. For example, Croatia, i.e. the rate we got when exchanging cash was far closer to the interbank rate than is the case if buying kuna in Ireland.
 
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