Use Laser/Maestro or Visa when shopping in North?

M

merjock

Guest
Hope to be visiting across the border this weekend and will probably do a little shopping as well. Which is the cheapest way to shop up there (other than cash) Laser/Maestro card or Visa?

Thanks
Dermot
 
Not every shop accepts Laser - Sainsburys definitely don't. By using a credit card, you will get the exchange rate valid at the time the transaction is credited to your account, which usually works out for the best.
 
I paid by laser in sainsburys in sprucefield just last week.Just check that your card has a maestro symbol.By cash I assume you mean sterling because some shops give a bad exchange rate for euros.For example,sainsburys were giving 88p per euro and I got 93.5 on laser
 
I usually pay by laser for shopping and CC for larger items, however withdrawls from ATMs can also fare well sometimes.
 
I was in Topshop in Newry a while back and paid by credit card. They offered me the choice to pay in euros and quoted me a euro price - it was about 5% dearer than the sterling price, so pay in sterling.
 
Sorry to be pedantic, but I'm going to be anyway ..

LASER cards don't work in NI/GB. If your card has a Maestro or a Cirrus logo, they may be accepted as such, not as LASER. If your LASER card does not have these logos, it won't be accepted so, for that reason, it is not accurate to say that LASER cards work in NI/GB.

Although LASER is a generic term for your bank debit card, it's not always only a LASER card, in the same way that that not all vacuum cleaners are Hoovers.

Seperate to the rate, you'll also get hit with a seperate cross-currency transaction charge which, in effect, increases the price of your GBP. Similar charge would apply for credit cards if you opt to pay in GBP.
 
Not sure about the previous poster's statement on cross currency transaction charge, but I have never seen it on my cc statement, only on my current account statement when I use my maestro laser card.

So the CC is cheaper when paying for goods in shops.
 
Happy_Harry said:
Not sure about the previous poster's statement on cross currency transaction charge, but I have never seen it on my cc statement
Click to expand...

Looking at my (BoI Mastercard) statement from December 2008

Code: 
10 Dec  Amazon EU                                   AMAZON.CO.UK  GB     44.11
        38.50 GBP @ 0.8728
        Includes Cross Border Handling Fee of 1.75%
not 'seperate' as I posted earlier, but there nonetheless
 
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