Best Way to Pay When Travelling through Europe?

LTregetour on 04/08/2018 - 13:34

Hi all,

Heading to Europe with my SO in December & wanting to know the best way to deploy my funds while travelling. Cash/credit/debit? What tools should I use to do this?

I've seen some interesting ideas RE ANZ Travel Rewards (overpaying balance & withdrawing cash for free, while avoiding overseas transaction costs while using card for payments), however keen to see if anything else is worth considering.

Not main preference RE cash/credit/debit - i'm not borrowing for the trip and can fund whatever will result in the most flexibility & safety while abroad.

Cheers.

Financial

Comments

  • flyingtrapeze on 04/08/2018 - 15:14

    Took the family to Europe and USA last year. BankWest zero with no forex cost. Two other advantages were, able to receive a notification on iPhone as soon as transaction happened, via app. There was a phone number to call in Australia when need to reset pin but using a Europe SIM card. Get the card early,setup it up and practise interacting with the app. It will lock you out if you use fingerprint authentication and the phone keep missing the finger print. It counts as wrong PIN and will end up locking the app, which then requires a reset via SMS which might not work out if you are using a different sim in Europe. Have fun.

  • markb28 on 04/08/2018 - 19:44

    I opened a HSBC global account before heading to Europe in June. It's a regular AU bank account with multiple currency accounts. No fees or minimum monthly balance. Used as a paywave card and lifted cash with no fees anywhere and card transactions use the visa spot rate. I just moved money across from my regular NAB account when running low.

    https://www.hsbc.com.au/1/2/personal/savings/multicurrency

    Worked great, will use again for future holidays.

  • AdosHouse on 04/08/2018 - 20:00
    -1

    Probably not the best or cheapest way, but when I went to Europe I had purchased most of my money on a TravelEx Money card, got a better rate if bought online rather than at one of the kiosks. Also got a few hundred in cash too.

    Also took my CBA credit card as a backup. All locked in the app for cash withdraws, and international transactions.

  • AusGP on 05/08/2018 - 01:18

    I travelled Europe for 2 months in early 2017 and can attest the ANZ card is great! Worked like a charm.

    • blueyez on 09/08/2018 - 16:32

      I'm still hoping they offer a better bonus sign up deal, but am eyeing it for my upcoming Euro trip.

      Did you use it just for purchases or withdrawals too?

  • blueyez on 09/08/2018 - 16:33

    My travel companions are my Citibank debit (to make cash withdrawals overseas, great exchange rates and wasn't charged ATM fees [some still charge]) and 28 degrees credit card (great exchange rate, normally my back up) and some cash.

  • Helmutson on 11/08/2018 - 23:00

    Travelled through London, Paris, Belgium, Luxembourg and parts of Germany in May this year. Used my Coles Rewards MasterCard for almost all of my purchases. Zero international transaction fees, all price conversions are done at MasterCard rates, 2 flybuys points for every equivalent AUD spent. I was surprised at how many places allowed card payment these days. Last time I was in Europe in 2011 cash was the only game in town.
    Also used my ING Orange Debit card for cash withdrawals. If you fullfill there requirement of 5 spends and $1000 deposited the month prior to travelling, they will rebate all ATM and conversion fees (which they did for me).

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