Currency Issues 2008

[Noopsy]

I usually take £-Sterling TC's and I usually change them in the Alianthos, I find the staff very agreeable  , and no they do not charge any commision  . The rate on the board is what you get!


george g...

You're lucky,George.  If I remember correctly the Alianthos always charged me commission even though my T/Cs were in Euros, and even though I was actually staying there.

Noopsy

[greekblue]

For several years I have bought € at the Post Office as they didn't charge commission and the rate was good. They are still commission free but the rate is now very poor. My bank (Barclays) is now commission free and offers a much better rate. On the day I bought € it was €1.1994 against €1.1741. With the recent decline in the value of the £ we need all the help we can get!

For those with a Nationwide credit card (which also charges no commission for purchases abroad) I found their rate (which is the commercial rate rather than the tourist rate) was about €0.07 better than buying € in the UK. If you do use a CC abroad make sure they charge you in €, because if they convert to £ the rate they use is likely to be poor.

This thread could also be used to share experiences of the ATMs in Plakias, should anyone wish to do so.

Mike

We went to Paros in June and I took €100 with me which I got from the Post Office at the pathetic rate of 119 to £. I then used my N/wide debit card to withdraw cash for the whole holiday and got between 127/129 to £ in Greece. Now, thanks to those who replied to my earlier query about ATMs in Plakias I'll take my leftover €s from June for the 1st day or so and draw all my cash there. If you use a N/wide credit card in an ATM you will get the same rate of exchange without any transaction charge but you will pay interest from the date you draw it out until you pay it off.

[John R]

If you use a N/wide credit card in an ATM you will get the same rate of exchange without any transaction charge but you will pay interest from the date you draw it out until you pay it off.

Might be a good idea to top the card up in advance with the amount of cash you intend withdrawing - then you won't pay any interest.

John R

[Mike G]

If you use a N/wide credit card in an ATM you will get the same rate of exchange without any transaction charge but you will pay interest from the date you draw it out until you pay it off.

Might be a good idea to top the card up in advance with the amount of cash you intend withdrawing - then you won't pay any interest.

John R

Interesting John; do you know this works? I was under the impression that with a CC they charged interest from the withdrawal day under all circumstances. Fortunately I haven't had to use a CC for obtaining cash, but it is always useful to have in an emergency.

Mike

[John R]

If you use a N/wide credit card in an ATM you will get the same rate of exchange without any transaction charge but you will pay interest from the date you draw it out until you pay it off.

Might be a good idea to top the card up in advance with the amount of cash you intend withdrawing - then you won't pay any interest.

John R

Interesting John; do you know this works? I was under the impression that with a CC they charged interest from the withdrawal day under all circumstances. Fortunately I haven't had to use a CC for obtaining cash, but it is always useful to have in an emergency.

Mike

Yes, if you over pay a credit card so that your account is in credit rather than debt  - they won't give you any interest (except for Egg Money Mastercard) but when you spend against that credit bringing the credit down to say zero there is nothing for them to charge you interest on. This doesn't work of course if your card is permanently in debt for other reasons. They will then charge interest from day one on any debt when you use an ATM etc.

Egg Money mastercard is actually designed for this purpose in that they actually give you interest on any positive credit you have on that account and charge interest as per any other credit card when in debt. Other cards will actually work in the same way except they won't give you any interest on your positive credit. Most  (all ??) cards do charge a foreign currency transaction charge except for the now famous exception which is Nationwide. So the perfect answer is probably to top up a Nationwide card with positive credit before setting out.
 

John R

[Mike G]

In April I reported that the exchange rate for € at the Post Office was markedly inferior to Barclays Bank (my bank) and both are commission free. The difference is even more marked now. LloydsTSB had an even better rate but was commission free for their customers only. In previous years I have found the PO to offer a good rate.

I have never changed money in Plakias. Is the rate better than in the UK and is commission charged? I would be reluctant to use an ATM in Plakias as I have heard too many examples of ATMs not working or "swallowing" the card and would prefer to keep cards for emergency use.

When in another Greek resort last summer I bought € at a Post Office and the rate was no better than that obtained in the UK, once commission had been taken into account. The speed of service was leisurely to say the least!

Mike

[Graham_and_Karen]

We only use ATMs but look at the rates when strolling along the front. Last year (so probably also this year) I'm certain the rates in Plakias were better than you could get in the UK but maybe someone who changes money in resort can confirm this.

[George]

We only use ATMs but look at the rates when strolling along the front. Last year (so probably also this year) I'm certain the rates in Plakias were better than you could get in the UK but maybe someone who changes money in resort can confirm this.

Will do, I was going to change some money last week at 118 so text Pete and Dawn who are out there now. It's flutuating a lot, 125 at one time, but only went down to 119 out there!

george g...

[Noopsy]

I usually take £-Sterling TC's and I usually change them in the Alianthos, I find the staff very agreeable  , and no they do not charge any commision  . The rate on the board is what you get!


george g...

You're lucky,George. If I remember correctly the Alianthos always charged me commission even though my T/Cs were in Euros, and even though I was actually staying there.

Noopsy

George,

To check if my recollection was correct I've just changed E100 at the Alianthos, and they charged me 2 percent commission (whilst remaining "very agreeable").    So you must have PP status with them...

Noopsy

[greekblue]

I usually take £-Sterling TC's and I usually change them in the Alianthos, I find the staff very agreeable  , and no they do not charge any commision  . The rate on the board is what you get!


george g...

You're lucky,George. If I remember correctly the Alianthos always charged me commission even though my T/Cs were in Euros, and even though I was actually staying there.

Noopsy

George,

To check if my recollection was correct I've just changed E100 at the Alianthos, and they charged me 2 percent commission (whilst remaining "very agreeable").    So you must have PP status with them...

Noopsy

I've just returned from Plakias and apart from taking some €s left over from our June holiday I only used my (Nationwide) debit card to obtain cash. As a result of my query on the forum when I established there were 4 ATMs along the front I used my card on several occasions (you can only draw €300 at a time) and never had any problems. There was an ATM only a few steps from where we were staying and although on 1 occasion it was empty I used another a little further down the road. On checking my account on return to the UK I found I was getting between €1.25/26 to the £, a much better rate than at home and no handling charge or commission. I've never had any difficulty with this method (touch wood) anywhere in Greece over the years.

greekblue

[Graham_and_Karen]

I've just returned from Plakias and apart from taking some €s left over from our June holiday I only used my (Nationwide) debit card to obtain cash. As a result of my query on the forum when I established there were 4 ATMs along the front I used my card on several occasions (you can only draw €300 at a time) and never had any problems. There was an ATM only a few steps from where we were staying and although on 1 occasion it was empty I used another a little further down the road. On checking my account on return to the UK I found I was getting between €1.25/26 to the £, a much better rate than at home and no handling charge or commission. I've never had any difficulty with this method (touch wood) anywhere in Greece over the years.

greekblue

Same here - no problems, good rate and no charges. The ATM outside one of the car rental places had a notice saying that if the ATM swallowed the card to let them know in the office which implies that they could get the card back out of the machine or, at least, knew the procedure to get it back.

[Mike G]

At the end of Sept I found "exclusive rate" coupons for Thomas Cook and Thomson online and printed them off. Thomson said it didn't give me a better rate than their rate on the day of 1.15€ per £!!! However, at TC their normal rate was also 1.15€ but the coupon entitled me to 1.21€. On the same day Barclays were offering just over 1.20€ and the Post Office (who used to offer a top rate) just over 1.17€.

Like Graeme I take € with a significant amount of £ plus two credit cards for emergency use.

Mike