Use my UK debit card, or transfer money into my Aus NAB bank account?

Not long till i leave for Australia, just wondering though, is it recommended to transfer all or even just bits of my money from my UK debit card Nationwide flex account or into my NAB account or just use my debit all the way until i start earning money into my NAB account? sorry if these sort of questions get asked a lot. my girl friend is opening up a Halifax clarity credit card to take, but i didn't advise it being a credit card because they are always bad news.

I'd transfer a bit. I've always found better rates using a forex company and you only pay one fee. I know my uk accounts always charge a transaction fee each and every time and te rate is never as good.

hmm yeah I see, I'll have to nose around the web for a good trusting money transfer company

I have used tntforex from uk to Aus and ox forex from Aus to the uk.

Ok thank you, I'll check them out

I think moneycorp do free transfers for PIO members. Have a look in the finance section of the forum.

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/money-transfer-ask-moneycorp/197057-moneycorp-launches-fee-free-australian-currency-service-poms-oz.html

Nationwide don't charge you for overseas withdrawals do they? If they don't, don't bother transferring and just use your card here. If they do charge you for overseas withdrawals, transfer before hand. You get charged something like £20 for £3k and £20 is easily adde up if you get charged each time you withdraw.

My N&P account doesn't charge here and gives a great rate so I've never lost out on the transfer fee and only use the Aus account for wages. Even a 'free' transfer won't be free as you get a worse rate.

Check money supermarket for info on the best cards to use abroad. Some are horrendous such as Natwest, HSBC and Amex.

I think the nationwide card has changed and you do get charged! I looked into the N & P card and looked perfect, its just you gotta maintain £5000 in your bank for the use of overseas transactions, no? i could be wrong, maybe I misread it? i would only transfer bit by bit anyway.

I just rang my bank up or building society if we're gonna be precise, and they said to withdraw money out from an ATM its a 2% charge and a base £1, and to use my card in shops, resturants etc its just a 2%, that's an awful lot and will add up a lot by the end of it, hmm

Yes, N&P has to be a minimum of £5k balance an a certain amount of deposits/withdrawals or you get charged £5 monthly.

If you can keep over the 5k happy days but even if not, you may benefit in getting the rate on the day, it's been great for me as the exchange rate has gone up since we got here so if I'd have transferred I'd have lost out. That's another thing to consider - the exchange rate if transferring.

It's all a bit if a game. Are you going to get a better rate withdrawing cash here and paying it in here and paying 1% or going with the rate they give you and paying to transfer. (Or £5 a month with daily exchange rates)

You're, averagely, going to be spending most likely a min of £1k/ month if you're in hostels doing a bit of traveling so all the fees etc really are a drop in the ocean. Though, based on £5k I will have benefited $500-$1000 from the exchange rate increase. Worth £20-25 of potential charges but it could have gone the other way.

Have a look into a cash passport, just google it, its owned by travelex. You can transfer money onto the card from your uk bank account for free and then use it as you would any mastercard, plus you can draw from most ATM's for free and use it in any shops for free too and its a mastercard so any shop that accepts MC will accept the cash passport. Just check the exchange rate with travelex first as it is normally abit lower than most exchange rates.