Whats the best way to get and handle cash?
I just looked into my cash advance "fine print" for my United Mileage Plus Visa. What a scam! $5 or 3% (whichever is greater) for cash advance. Is there a better way, or am I missing something? I would love NOT to carry thousands of dollars on me.
So what does a person do when they don't want to give an obscene amount of money to their credit card co.? My plan was to use an ATM every other day or so and grab some quick cash. thank you |
Your plan is a good one but don't use a cash advance on Visa for that. Don't you have a bank card for withdrawing cash? In Canada it is called a debit card and also allows you to make point of sale purchases. I have used it all over Europe, the UK and Australia to withdraw cash (not for point of sale purchases) without a problem. Ask your bank if they have an alliance with a bank in the UK to save on withdrawal fees.
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If your United Mileage Plus Visa is a credit card, you will be very lucky if "$5 or 3% (whichever is greater)" is all you pay for a cash advance. Typically credit cards charge these fees as well as a very high interest rate which is applied from the moment you withdraw the cash—no grace period.
While some banks and credit unions do not charge fees for international withdrawals using your regular ATM/debit card, many do charge some fees, some lower than others. It is likely that these fees will be lower than using travelers checks and worth the expense compared to the insecurity of carrying large amounts of currency. If you want to avoid fees, shop around for a better deal. |
Use your bank card - just like in the states. If you have Bank Of America, then go to Barclays in England and they don't charge you the fees for an out of service bank - its only $5 per withdrawal, but hey - save the $5. ATM and banks are all over Great Britain just like the USA - so only withdraw as much as you are comfortable carrying. Remember what your daily banking limit is and perhaps raise it before you go abroad. Also, call your bank and let them know you will be traveling (and when and where) so they don't freeze your card. Whatever you do, do not use the credit card for a cash advance.
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ATM all the way, from your bank account not credit card. Withdraw limit to avoid having to go often and paying any withdrawal fees.
Note that an ATM withdrawal will be from your principal account, you won't be able to choose checking or savings. |
You are inquiring into the <b>absolutely stupidest way to obtain cash</b> by legitimate means. There is no reason, if you have any other resource, to EVER obtain a cash advance from a credit card. Not only do you get hit with those fees you mentioned, YOU ALSO PAY INTEREST FROM THE MOMENT THE MONEY IS WITHDRAWN, no 25 day grace period.
Even with no-fee cards like a Cap One credit card or a credit union credit card, you will STILL PAY INTEREST FROM THE MOMENT THE MONEY IS WITHDRAWN if you get a cash advance on a credit card. Smarten up and do not use your credit card to get cash. Either pay for transactions with the card, or get cash some other way (debit card). |
I am 100% on board with you Russ. I just wanted to go cash free as much as possible and pay it off when I got home. I am checking into my debit. It is a Visa from a local small bank, and I want to know it it will work in the UK.
What kind of charges per transaction can I look forward to with a debit card? |
My bank charges me for using my own money. What next? Travelers checks seem like a good idea.
Can you cash a travelers check easily in the UK? Thanks to all of you. |
Travelers checks cost MORE to use than the fees your bank charges (bad exchange rate plus fees), plus few venues are willing to cash travelers checks—bad idea. Your bank card is the least expensive way, though some banks offer fewer fees than others.
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It seems to me that the most economical way to get cash is to use a debit card from a credit union. Apparently they don't usually charge a fee to withdraw money.
I need to get the kind of credit union debit card that has the appropriate logo on the back (cirrus, plus, star, interlink, etc.) that will allow you to withdraw money at other banks, as in Europe. As it is now, I use my Wells Fargo debit card, which charges $5.00 no matter what the amount. Therefore, it behooves me to withdraw as much as I can at one time. I keep that cash, as well as my cards, in a money belt at all times. I usually charge expenses on my Mileage Plus Visa, even though I am charged 3% for each transaction. I use this card because I earn miles, of course. It's worth it to me because I have made several trips to Europe with my frequent flyer miles. I got tickets for my sister and me to Spain and also to Ireland. Last year I used my miles for another trip to Spain, and I will do it again next spring. I don't think it's a good idea to use travelers checks or to bring a lot of dollars. |
Taking a loan from a credit card is the worst way to get cash. Use your debit card to pull cash from your checking account - the the cost will be only about 1-% -unless your bank is gouging you.
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I had always used my bank's ATM card with no problem internationally. Recently, I had a need to have a large amount of cash on one day only to pay rent and a security deposit. My bank would not allow any raise of one-day limit,even for a 24-hr time period.
Thanks to this board, I was able to solve the problem. Following excellent advice, I opened a Schwab account that gave me a debit card. I really don't like debit cards, but with this one, I was allowed to reduce purchases to one cent but increase withdrawals to $2,000 a day. No international currency fee charges. Refunds on any foreign ATM charges. Problem was that I needed even more cash for this rent situation. I opened Capital One Banking accounts--one High Yield and one Money Market. Again, no foreign transaction fees, and one of those will refund foreign ATM charges. All three worked like a charm within my one-hour time window between landing and payment in France, and I was very pleased. For all other charges internationally, I use a Capital One Visa. No foreign transaction fees whatsoever. No problem with identity either--I just upload a family picture onto the card via their website. I receive their version of "miles", which is basically a dollar credit against any airline purchase. My card gives me several miles per $ purchase, too. However, I rarely use that card domestically. All my utility bills, my Amazon accounts, Staples accounts, and even department store accounts are funnelled through two credit cards attached to US Airways. I therefore receive 20,000 preferred miles (which count as "flown" miles) just through yearly expenses on those cards, and then only have to fly 5,000 actual miles to receive Silver status. Once Silver status kicks in, the bonus miles start pouring in. It is very rare that I do not attain Gold Status by year end because of the ability to credit flown miles from any Star Alliance partner (United, Air New Zealand, etc)onto my miles tally. I can then use those miles on any Star Alliance partner, too. So again, for international cash needs, I highly recommend a Schwab account, and if that is not convenient, I also recommend both a Capital One banking account for ATM or debit. For purchases internationally, I am very happy with my Capital One credit card. I have found service with Schwab and Cap One to be outstanding. |
Yes, use debit cards, not credit cards, for cash withdrawals at atms.
Yes, check into cards like Capital One with no foreign transactions fees for the times when you do use a credit card. No, don't plan on using travelers checks at all. Yes, check into opening a credit union account somewhere if you can; generally I think their atm fees will be less than most banks. Also I have found it a good idea to take 2 debit cards from different banking intities. Not every ATM card will necessarily be accepted by every ATM you pass (they are ubiquitous in general) but I found that at least one of my ATM debit cards would be accepted. This also allowed me to not fret too much about daily limits.The fees for using a foreign atm were more with my bank debit card than for using our credit-union issued one, but my bank card was accepted at more atm's than my credit union one. I'm sure there are exceptions, but it's worth checking into. The UK is a bit more cash-based than the US in a way; not every place will accept a debit card for small purchases; always good to have cash on hand..(I'm sure there are exceptions to this, but in general I'm just saying don't plan on relying on debit or credit card only) You do know to let ALL your financial institutions know of your travel dates? |
Any ATM card on the Cirrus or Plus cash network (look for the logo on the back) should work well internationally. Plus may be more useful (need to check my Cap One card, they switched networks to the more popular one).
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>>>Travelers checks seem like a good idea<<<
Yes, your bank will charge you ... anytime you deal in foreign exchange there will be fees. But do not be fooled about TCs.. - almost nowhere wants to cash them anymore - if you find somewhere they are likely you charge a fee to cash - if you elect to get the checks in pounds you'll get a poor exchange rate - if USD checks you'll get hosed on the exchange in the UK Your bank is almost always the lesser of many evils. Find a bank like TD or a credit union who charges less in fees. |
Heads up on the limits - the ATM's in both Italy and France would only allow me to withdraw 200E at a time, even though my limit was much higher.
This caused some difficulty, as I'd planned on taking out larger amounts fewer times so I wouldn't get hit with my bank's foreign fee withdrawal. Some of our accommodations would only take cash, so we were at the ATM daily during some periods with the accompanying fees. So for this trip, I changed my chequing account at the TD to a chequing select service. If there's a $5000 balance, you don't pay those fees, at least that's what the bank told me....we'll see when we get home! Also, your PIN needs to be 4 numbers, not 3. When we were in Provence a few years ago, we had an absolute nightmare of a time getting TC's cashed. At the stores- forget it. The bank - closed over lunch, and then there was only one person who could manage it, and he was out of the bank that day. The Post Office - you'd have thought we were trying to suggest an indecent act - the kerfuffle that ensued was so ridiculous that my sister and I laughed about it for months afterward. Phoning this person, phoning that person, what ARE we going to do with this cheque!!! Too funny. |
$5 to withdraw your own money from an ATM is such a ripoff.
I've had no problems using my credit union ATM card all over Europe. No transaction fee and the conversion rate is only the system 1% over the interbank rate. |
I am bringing some chickens, wheat and a little bit of gold. It would be way easier to barter and trade.
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You'll have to put the chickens in quarantine. The gold in your suitcase will likely make your luggage go over the weight limit, so you'll have to pay an extra fee to the airlines. And wheat is even less popular than Travelers Checks because of the difficulty of finding a good miller nowadays.
Consider taking a case of shiny fake watches, and maybe some deeds to famous landmarks (Brooklyn Bridge, etc). |
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am bringing some chickens, wheat and a little bit of gold. It would be way easier to barter and trade. <<< Nylon stockings, chocolate and cigarettes would be easier to carry! LOL |
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