Daz1982 Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Hi there! I am visiting Oz for the first time after Christmas, I am spending a month there and was just wondering if anybody had any advice on what to do for money. I am not sure yet how much cash I will spend on my trip in Australia, so I am thinking of taking travellers cheques. Ideally, I would like to use my Natwest bank card, but have heard they charge for foreign transactions, however I don't seem to be able to find out how much they charge. If any one has any advice it will be greatly appreciated. Many thanks, Daz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Travellers cheques are out dated and would be a pain in the neck I think. If I were just going on holiday to Australia I would just bring my regular bank card and visa and maybe get a couple of hundred dollars out at the fx counter in the airport. In fact this is what I do for majority of holidays. There are no money exchange charities, everyone charges a fee.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BasiaUK Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 My advice would be to check with your Nat West branch here to see if they have a reciprocal agreement with a Bank in Australia that will give cheaper fee/no fee for any cash withdrawals you make over there. Last time I visited Australia my UK bank had an agreement with a bank in Australia (Westpac I think) for free cash withdrawals which was great. It's worth checking out as I agree, travellers cheques are outdated and there really is no need to bring lots of cash with you if you can withdraw it once over in Oz, for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellyk666 Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Another option would be to apply for one of these credit cards that don't charge for purchases abroad and then pay it all back as soon as you return to avoid any interest charges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samc Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 I went to australia for 3 and half weeks last year, I took some cash with me and but mainly just used my natwest debit card from a cash machine the rest of the time and paid for hotels using it, dont remember them charging too much but here is what the website says for charges http://www.natwest.com/personal/current-accounts/g4/cards/abroad.ashx at the bottom of the page click see foreign transactions and debit card charges. hope that helps sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debz101 Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 I used one of those cash passport cards, pre loaded with dollars. Used to pay for things on the internet, as a debit card in shops and got cash out with it. Think you can add more to it if you get access to internet banking. Got mine from Tescos. have a look see how it can be used. http://www.cashpassport.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MelanieLouisw Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I'm not sure about other UK banks but Halifax charge a conversion fee of 2.99% of the transaction amount and a service fee of 1.50% - the minimum charge is £1.50. I wouldn't travellers cheques. Have you looked at travel cards? The post office do them. Just load them up with however much you want and then use like a debit card whilst over in Aus. You can top them up if you need to as well online. If you decide to take cash, take a look at ICICI - they tend to have pretty good rates - http://www.icicibank.co.uk/personal/australian_dollars.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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