Can I use debit card abroad?

[peckarollover]

Do I get charged for paying with a Visa debit card in spain?

Also, will I get charged for taking money out of a cash machine over there?

We are not sure how much to take on holiday with us next week and ideally would like to be able to just leave it in the account and work like we would here but not sure if this will cost us a bomb in fees!

Depends on the bank, becca, but mine charges around £1.50 if I get £100 out of the machine - no charge for paying with it I don't think.

Who you with?

Check with your company. You will get charged for taking machine from a cashpoint - not sure on if you pay with your card.

Alliance and Leicester or Barclays (account with both of them that we could use either of)

Can work out very expensive depending on your bank. Details on fees and what to avoid are here

i saw an ad in the travel agents window for an american express card not a credit card ,is to use instead of travelers checks i will get the details today and let you know if you like.

You should be able to use it abroad with a pin number and also as a debit card in some shops, restaurants but it needs to have a particular symbol or chip. Think they sometimes load the exchange rate rather than charge per transaction but ask the card company.

Mine's A&L too - I just checked my statement and it says "VISA ATM CHG-CASH WDL" - dunno if it's a fixed fee or a percentage. 1.5% isn't bad anyway compared with some, but in case it is fixed don't get lots of little amounts out!

I use credit card for purchases though so don't know if there's a debit card charge for those.