Majorca cash or card

[ijustdontknow01]

hi we’re going to Majorca in July on holiday, how much cash would we need to take as well as card? Do they still use a lot of cash over there or everything card nowadays?

We’re going in June and plan to take a small amount of cash for things like drinks / ice creams around the beach but most places take card now. We’re with Halifax and they do something called travel ready where you pay £7 (thereabouts) for a week and you don’t pay any further charges using your card abroad so we do that.

I use a prepaid travel card (such as Revolut or Wise) for 90% of my spending when in Mallorca (Majorca). I think it is much safer than large amounts of cash. We hired a car and travelled around the island for two weeks and didn’t come across anywhere we really couldn’t use a card.

I notice that Money Saving Expert recommends * *the Barclaycard Rewards Credit Card when travelling abroad as this gives you extra protection along with 0.5% cashback on most spending until 30 Sep (with an ongoing 0.25% cashback after that). Best of all it has no fees or interest on spending and cash withdrawals abroad as long as you pay them off IN FULL each month.

@Pigeonqueenthank you. How much are you planning on taking? I was thinking £300 worth but now I am thinking maybe that’s too much

@LittleLlamathank for you this I shall look into it

This depends hugely on what in included in your holiday - self catering, all inclusive?

@Uphighseeskywe are all inclusive. We are planning to do lots of days out though and beach days

That’s about the amount we take (we are all inclusive too). But I think it just depends how much time you plan to be out and about / buying stuff etc. Although we’re all inclusive we enjoy having the odd meal out for lunch or dinner and always wandering about so £300 is about right. Some manage with far less.

You can just withdraw extra cash via an ATM if you run out.

But also take a CC that doesn't charge extra fees or has poor exchange rates when used abroad - check MoneySavingExpert.

If you prefer to use a card then you can, almost anywhere in Majorca. Taxis and buses take cards (except for the Palma city buses where you have to give the driver €2 in cash still).

Honestly I wouldn't take more than €100, just to have in case you happen to encounter a cash-only place, or one with "minimum card payment €5", but there really aren't many of those. You can always get money out of an ATM, but as a PP noted there is a fixed fee (€2.50 or €3) per withdrawal, so try not to make 6 withdrawals of €20 each.

The fintech cards (Wise, Monzo, etc) are a bit cheaper than your standard NatWest/Lloyds, say 0.4% versus 2.75%. That looks like a lot as a multiple, but 2.75% is still only 9p on two coffees for £3.50. The good thing about those newer cards is that their competition has led to most of the main banks no longer charging a minimum fee per debit card transaction - for many years that £3.50 pair of coffees would cost you 75p extra with a regular bank card.

Some people say "I take cash to avoid the card charges" but you generally pay a lot higher % to get Euros in cash from a UK bank and especially from an airport bureau de change (just don't, their rates are horrible).

Don’t forget you will need cash for the Spanish tourist tax as that cannot be paid by card.