Going to Europe : best way to spend ?

[wizzler]

Not been abroad for about 8 years and am aware of how fast things change.
We are going to France in a few weeks and I am trying to establish the best way to deal with money while we are there

I don't want to take wads of Euro notes, for security reasons.

Can anyone advise what the best way of dealing with travel spends is : ... are travellers cheques even still in existence ?

I travel a lot for business and my personal preference is for a pre-paid Euro card. Mine is with FairFX but there are others. You load it up with Euros before you travel and can then either use the card in cashpoint machines or as a debit card for purchases. Top-ups can be made online or via mobile phone any time. There's a PIN for security and, if it gets lost, it can be replaced. I find I get a good rate when I make the initial top-up, the ?1.50 for cashpoint withdrawals is acceptable and there are no hidden exchange rate charges when you use it to spend.

Prepaid Cards

I just use my nomal debit card when I travel. I use it in shops and restaurants and get cash out of a machine locally if needed.

I used to use my debit card (I'm with Halifax) but each transaction costs ?1.50 and there is a transaction charge of 2.75%. Similar charges apply when using a GBP credit card overseas.

Thanks... will check out prepaid cards