Holiday to USA how best to take spending money?

[Linnet]

We’re going to Florida in October and I’m not sure what to do about the spending money. The last time we went we took travellers cheques, but they don’t seem to be the way to go any more.

Someone mentioned a pre paid card but I’m not sure about these, there are so many to choose from, which is the best one to get?
are they safe? Are they accepted everywhere?

Or should we just take cash? But then that’s probably not that safe either.

Can any one advise please? How do you take your money? What would you recommend?

Thanks

We just draw our money out as we go when we're there from a Wells Fargo or Chase bank. You just need your passport and your debit card and then no need to have too much cash on you. They don't charge you for this either. We also take an international friendly credit card for the bigger purchases.

Really easy to get cash at any ATM with a debit card - there will always be a sign if they charge a surcharge, just avoid that and find another one. They are everywhere.

Also, you can pay with credit cards everywhere, almost. Well worth it so you are not carrying cash around!

Halifax Clarity credit card is good abroad - if you’re making purchases it’s free provided you pay off in full at the end of the month, and if you draw cash on it you just get charged interest - can get round that by paying it off the same day if you can access online banking that day. You can also have a second card holder for your partner on the same account which is handy.

Me and my husband use them regularly abroad and they work really well.

im going to the US in september and taking cash, a prepaid card for spending and to lift cash when over there and a credit card

Check out Revolut. It is a debit card that you can transfer money too and then switch currencies back and forth. I have re 3ntly moved from the U.K. to a euro zone country and it has been fantastic- easy and economical.

Halifax Clarity was recommended by MSE as the best credit card for travel. I got one just last week specially for this purpose. Though of course have ordered euros as well as you can't always pay card for some things, just like in the UK.

I just draw cash out of the atm with my usual visa card, and use my usual cards for payment in shops and restaurants.

Wow lots of answers, thank you

userofthiswebsite & be18mum I did see that Halifax card on MSE but was worried that the limit on a new credit card would be really small.

jackiethebackie can you tell me more about the Revolut card. How do I transfer money onto the revolut card? Do I need a revolut bank account? Or do I have the app on my phone and my own bank account app on my phone too? And do I just set up revolut as a payee and then transfer money from my account to the revolut account? I’m very confused about it and I can’t seem to find any answers on their website.

2018sofarsogreat & oohsmoochI thought your bank charged you a fee if you took money out of an ATM abroad?

chipsandpeas which prepaid card do you use?

2018sofarsogreat & oohsmoochI thought your bank charged you a fee if you took money out of an ATM abroad?

well, that may be true, check what rules you have on your card.

I got a £3k limit on my Halifax clarity which is plenty for 2 weeks in Florida for us plus about $150 for tips and small purchases

If it isn't enough you can always transfer money while you're there to pay bits off

Best way currently is a starling bank account. Normal app only current account so can transfer and use like your normal account and no charges or loading fees so you get the MasterCard day rate.

I also have a fee free Creation credit card which you can take cash out for no fee or use fee free. It has a 13000 limit so no issues on spending.

I took a fairfx card last time we went to America. But most recently I have used a Caxton Card for Euros but it takes any kind of currency at a good rate.

We recommend our family and friends to get a Caxton card. It’s easy to view the balance and top up via an app and you can load it with euros for holidays closer to home.

Can someone explain why they bother with "special" cards for travel? I've travelled widely using my normal visa and mastercards. In recent years I've used them in the US, Maldives, Mauritius, China, Singapore, Dubai and all over Europe. The fees are pretty low. Even if the special cards have better rates/fees surely for the average holiday the difference is going to be pretty negligible - you are not going to be converting significant sums.

We used a combination of Revolut and our Santander MasterCard. The revolut card you transfer money to, then you can spend on the card or withdraw cash. You just manage it via an app on your phone. The reason to do this is you get a fee free currency exchange - consider that currency exchanges can be 2% of transaction and it soon stocks up. So we used MasterCard which was also fee free where we could, and revolut for cash. Worked fairly seamlessly for a 3 week trip.

To the poster who asked why not usual debit/credit cards: most banks charge you every time you use them abroad. Some don't. We have used Caxton (pre-pay) - good for budgeting & now have a Barclaycard travel visa card. No charges for taking out money or using as a credit card.

Hiya, we spent 3 months in the USA earlier this year on an extended holiday and we used 3 things for our daily expenses,
Halifax Credit Card ( no transaction fee abroad)
TravelFX preloaded card
Cash

I read a very good set of reports on Money saving expert ( good old Martin Lewis) and then we applied for a hot the Halifax card and it saved us a fortune. We got 2 different cards just in case one got blocked/stolen/lost and it was brilliant. Link below too the pages www.moneysavingexpert.com/search/#stq=Travel%20money

Halifax clarity card here too, go to US twice a year. Husband, daughter and my mum all now have one for using abroad. I get cash out with this when away. May have accidentally overpaid a bit up front this last time🤫

I save 250 on a trip to the states last time

It can be up to 1.50 and 3% charge if you have the worst cards - stantander.

I have a Monzo card - I used to be able to add credit via an app on my phone, but they have upped the security now so I have to do a bank transfer, which is a bit of a pain. No bank charges, and you use it like a normal debit card, and can withdraw cash with it.

The reason I use it is because I went to the States and every ATM charged up to $6 for cash withdrawal!!! and you get charged every time you use your debit card. It cost me a fortune.

Starling it’s the future. Current account with no fees for taking cash out or spending abroad.

Eurochick

The difference in cost between Halifax Clarity or other cost free options and the most expensive ones, that charge a 3% conversion charge plus fees isn't negligible at all, it can be well over 5% in total, so a few tens of pounds per holiday, so it can be like getting an extra meal during each holiday for free, compared with using a card that charges.

I stupidly lost my Halifax card on day 1 of a holiday in Mallorca so we had to use another card and I worked out that it cost between £20 and £30 extra in fees due to the more expensive card.

We now have a Santander Zero card as well as the Halifax Clarity and at least one of these cards has a different number on DPs card, so if one is lost and has to be cancelled, the other will still work.

As far as credit limits go, Halifax have always been a bit mean to me, and it's currently £1k, and they keep putting it down to £500 (I have a perfect credit rating, everything is paid back on DD, but I'm one of those who exploits all the loopholes to make money out of the banks) but the Santander Zero card has a £5k+ limit, so more than we would ever need, hopefully, but our current account is with them.

You just have to watch for (and reject) any 'helpful' offers to pay in pounds, because the exchange rate is dreadful (worse I've seen is over 10% in cash machines in hotels). Always pay in the local currency.

Also watch for cash machines that charge - they seem to be appearing in Spain this year, don't know about anywhere else. Bank machines seem to be OK (and plentiful - even small mountain villages nearly always have banks and cash machines) but those outside Spar or in hotels seem to have started charging.

This thread proves that it's really worth understanding what you get charged and which card to use.

The Santander debit card is awful and really expensive, but the Santander credit card (Zero version) is totally free, but strangely seems to get ignored on Moneysavingexpert. I wonder if they have an arrangement with Halifax?

But that seems strange because if Halifax issue a load of credit cards to people who only use them to get cheap holiday money that they pay back straight away, so no interest, how do they make money out of that?

Following MSE advice I use Post Office credit card, zero extra charges and we’ve just signed up for Revolut.

DH wasn’t paying attention last time we went abroad and I wasn’t paying attention to which card he was using at first, so he tapped his usual debit card which charged a fee on every tap....

Also be aware if you are asked to pay in pounds or local currency on card. Much more likely to get a better rate if you say pound as you’ll be charged your banks rate rather than whatever the shop or restaurant have set as the exchange rate,. It adds up over two weeks..

that is the wrong advice. pay in local currency to get your bank's rate.