[Ged]

We're of to asturias/picos on the ferry in a few weeks woth the kids. First time abroad since 2019. My question is, what do I need to know about being on the continent post brexit?

Weve got the ghic cards or whatever they're called. Will of course get travel insurance.

Money, expect to get badly stung by fees and exchange rate? Is it worth getting some sort of prepaid foreign money card? Avoid cash machines?

Driving, do I need anything special license wise? Anything other than the usual hi viz and warning triangles?

Phones, is data roaming still and thing? Expect to get sting for using phones? (I'm with EE)

Food, is it as expensive in Spain as here? More? Less? Does the combo make it worth stocking up on staples to take with us or won't I really notice the difference?

Diesel, fill up before getting on the ferry or coast into the port on fumes and fill up with cheap diesel on the other side?

Thanks in advance

Ged

[tk421a]

Money: I use Halifax Clairty credit card for spending and Monzo for cash. Both no fees. Other current account options also work. Or revolut.

O2 have no EU roaming fees. Maybe get a pay as you go sim?

[James Malloch]

Money: I use Halifax Clairty credit card for spending and Monzo for cash. Both no fees. Other current account options also work. Or revolut.

O2 have no EU roaming fees. Maybe get a pay as you go sim?

Clarity card also lets you withdraw cash abroad for free 👍🏻

With EE will depend on your contract. Mine still allows roaming as it’s an old contract, new ones do sometimes (if theres and offer) but it’s not normally standard. Though i think it’s only £10 to add on a month of roaming so it’s not like the bill will go crazy. Though i guess you need to do this before you go.

[Bradders]

On my EE contract the best option was a £15 (I think) per month add on which meant I could access my normal data allowance. Otherwise it was something like £2.50 per day, so on a long trip it made sense.

Diesel was surprisingly expensive most places I've been recently (Ireland, France, Germany and Austria). I seem to remember it always used to be cheaper, and it was in Ireland, but not on the continent. It's come down massively from the high point though, I saw £1.34 per litre in a local station (West Yorkshire) at the weekend!

Money / card fees were no different from pre-Brexit in my experience.

[mrjonathanr]

+1 for Halifax Clarity.

Plusnet mobile and Giffgaff don’t have roaming charges in EU so data costs are same as in UK

[36chambers]

Another option for data is to get an eSIM. I used Ubigi for recent trips to Japan and Switzerland and, for my iphone, I just needed to download an app and tweak a few phone settings. For Spain, it looks like they do 10 GB for £15, 3 GB for £7, as well as various other options.

[spidermonkey09]

Most of the newer banks don't charge fees. Starling, Monzo etc. First direct don't either if you have their current account. Starling cards will arrive in days if you order one now.

Isn't the data issue different in Swiss to everywhere else? I'm with giffgaff and have always just used my usual data allowance in France and Spain.

You don't need anything special for driving.

I thought food was about the same. Some stuff cheaper, some stuff more expensive. Beer and cheese are cheaper.

[tk421a]

Money: I use Halifax Clairty credit card for spending and Monzo for cash. Both no fees. Other current account options also work. Or revolut.

O2 have no EU roaming fees. Maybe get a pay as you go sim?

Clarity card also lets you withdraw cash abroad for free 👍🏻

With EE will depend on your contract. Mine still allows roaming as it’s an old contract, new ones do sometimes (if theres and offer) but it’s not normally standard. Though i think it’s only £10 to add on a month of roaming so it’s not like the bill will go crazy. Though i guess you need to do this before you go.

Halifax Clarity charges interest from the day that you withdraw draw (https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/travel.html). It ends up being around 1-2% by the time you pay it off or so (varies depending on when you withdrew cash in the month of the statement). So best to put spending on Clarity and if you need any cash use Monzo, Starling etc etc.

GiffGaff use the O2 network so probably why they also don't charge roaming. Just checked they limit it to 5GB. O2's cap is 25GB - helpful when you've got signal at a hut and want to watch Disney+....

[sdm]

On cards, it is worth noting that feeless does not necessarily mean you get a good rate.

On our recent trip to France, I checked the rate of my 2 feeless cards. Chase use the Mastercard rate, which was typically ~1.5% worse than the interbank rate used by Revolut. There are some countries where the situation is reversed.

Even factoring in the greater cashback rates with Chase, it would still have been bad value. Not going to break the bank on a short trip, but worth considering.

If you use Revolut, it is worth remembering that you never want to exchange currencies on a weekend (when they DO add a fee) but there should never be any need to.

[csl]

If you want an account for spending in different currencies with a transparent rate + low fees then I can recommend https://wise.com/

Disclaimer: I work for them, but already used them for spending overseas before I joined

[IanP]

On cards, it is worth noting that feeless does not necessarily mean you get a good rate.

On our recent trip to France, I checked the rate of my 2 feeless cards. Chase use the Mastercard rate, which was typically ~1.5% worse than the interbank rate used by Revolut. There are some countries where the situation is reversed.

That's a bit strange , I though the MasterCard rate uplift was significantly smaller than that.  It's surprisingly difficult to find actual numbers but this:

https://www.metrobankonline.co.uk/help-and-support/exchange-rate-calculator/

Seems to indicate 0.15% for 100 euro transaction.

[tk421a]

On cards, it is worth noting that feeless does not necessarily mean you get a good rate.

On our recent trip to France, I checked the rate of my 2 feeless cards. Chase use the Mastercard rate, which was typically ~1.5% worse than the interbank rate used by Revolut. There are some countries where the situation is reversed.

Even factoring in the greater cashback rates with Chase, it would still have been bad value. Not going to break the bank on a short trip, but worth considering.

If you use Revolut, it is worth remembering that you never want to exchange currencies on a weekend (when they DO add a fee) but there should never be any need to.

That's interesting, as of right now Revolut is cheaper if you're buying GBP using EUR by about 0.2%. The spread is about the same. I guess it's because MC fix the daily rate and Revolut give a live rate.
You can check mc rates on https://www.mastercard.com/content/mastercardcom/global/en/personal/get-support/convert-currency.html

I'll probs still stick to credit cards to not have to top up + have the credit card benefits.

[Adam Lincoln]

Money: I use Halifax Clairty credit card for spending and Monzo for cash. Both no fees. Other current account options also work. Or revolut.

O2 have no EU roaming fees. Maybe get a pay as you go sim?

Clarity card also lets you withdraw cash abroad for free 👍🏻

With EE will depend on your contract. Mine still allows roaming as it’s an old contract, new ones do sometimes (if theres and offer) but it’s not normally standard. Though i think it’s only £10 to add on a month of roaming so it’s not like the bill will go crazy. Though i guess you need to do this before you go.

Halifax Clarity charges interest from the day that you withdraw draw (https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/travel.html). It ends up being around 1-2% by the time you pay it off or so (varies depending on when you withdrew cash in the month of the statement). So best to put spending on Clarity and if you need any cash use Monzo, Starling etc etc.

Id watch out taking cash out on a CC. Its a big no no in UK and effect credit rating.

[James Malloch]

Money: I use Halifax Clairty credit card for spending and Monzo for cash. Both no fees. Other current account options also work. Or revolut.

O2 have no EU roaming fees. Maybe get a pay as you go sim?

Clarity card also lets you withdraw cash abroad for free 👍🏻

With EE will depend on your contract. Mine still allows roaming as it’s an old contract, new ones do sometimes (if theres and offer) but it’s not normally standard. Though i think it’s only £10 to add on a month of roaming so it’s not like the bill will go crazy. Though i guess you need to do this before you go.

Halifax Clarity charges interest from the day that you withdraw draw (https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/travel.html). It ends up being around 1-2% by the time you pay it off or so (varies depending on when you withdrew cash in the month of the statement). So best to put spending on Clarity and if you need any cash use Monzo, Starling etc etc.

GiffGaff use the O2 network so probably why they also don't charge roaming. Just checked they limit it to 5GB. O2's cap is 25GB - helpful when you've got signal at a hut and want to watch Disney+....

Right you are (on the cash withdrawals part). Just checked my statements from our trip last year and there’s some interest every month - always less than a fiver but I’d never noticed it before.

[36chambers]

Isn't the data issue different in Swiss to everywhere else? I'm with giffgaff and have always just used my usual data allowance in France and Spain.

aye, I was just giving some examples of where I used it, I also used it in France whilst driving through. My EE deal was updated too recently so I can't use any of my data abroad anymore

[Fultonius]

Id watch out taking cash out on a CC. Its a big no no in UK and effect credit rating.

I'm not sure that's wholly accurate:

How a Cash Advance Impacts Your Credit Score
A cash advance doesn't directly affect your credit score, and your credit history won't indicate you borrowed one. The cash advance balance will, however, be added to your credit card debt, which can hurt your credit score if it pushes your credit utilization ratio too high. This ratio reflects how much of your available revolving credit you're using. A high ratio can hurt your credit score, especially once it climbs above 30%.

A cash advance could also ding your credit if taking on high-interest credit card debt makes it harder to stay on top of your bills. On-time payments are a major factor in your credit score; falling behind on payments could have a significant negative effect.

Source: https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/what-is-a-cash-advance/

I did it for 4 years living in France, and my credit rating is top-notch. Just make sure you're not maxing it out and missing payments.

[Adam Lincoln]

Id watch out taking cash out on a CC. Its a big no no in UK and effect credit rating.

I'm not sure that's wholly accurate:

How a Cash Advance Impacts Your Credit Score
A cash advance doesn't directly affect your credit score, and your credit history won't indicate you borrowed one. The cash advance balance will, however, be added to your credit card debt, which can hurt your credit score if it pushes your credit utilization ratio too high. This ratio reflects how much of your available revolving credit you're using. A high ratio can hurt your credit score, especially once it climbs above 30%.

A cash advance could also ding your credit if taking on high-interest credit card debt makes it harder to stay on top of your bills. On-time payments are a major factor in your credit score; falling behind on payments could have a significant negative effect.

Source: https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/what-is-a-cash-advance/

I did it for 4 years living in France, and my credit rating is top-notch. Just make sure you're not maxing it out and missing payments.

Depends which google page you trust.

Equifax seem to disagree with you

https://www.equifax.co.uk/resources/loans-and-credit/how-credit-cards-work-how-they-may-affect-your-credit-rating.html#

[abarro81]

I have a barclaycard where everything is free abroad (transactions and cash) so just use that. Ironically taking out cash in the UK would not be free with it.

I'd never heard of it being something that can affect credit score, but it does look like it can:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/withdrawing-cash-abroad-credit-record/
But then who gets much cash out nowadays anyway?!

[James Malloch]

Id watch out taking cash out on a CC. Its a big no no in UK and effect credit rating.

I'm not sure that's wholly accurate:

How a Cash Advance Impacts Your Credit Score
A cash advance doesn't directly affect your credit score, and your credit history won't indicate you borrowed one. The cash advance balance will, however, be added to your credit card debt, which can hurt your credit score if it pushes your credit utilization ratio too high. This ratio reflects how much of your available revolving credit you're using. A high ratio can hurt your credit score, especially once it climbs above 30%.

A cash advance could also ding your credit if taking on high-interest credit card debt makes it harder to stay on top of your bills. On-time payments are a major factor in your credit score; falling behind on payments could have a significant negative effect.

Source: https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/what-is-a-cash-advance/

I did it for 4 years living in France, and my credit rating is top-notch. Just make sure you're not maxing it out and missing payments.

Depends which google page you trust.

Equifax seem to disagree with you

https://www.equifax.co.uk/resources/loans-and-credit/how-credit-cards-work-how-they-may-affect-your-credit-rating.html#

It will very much depend on the Credit Bureau and the characteristics in their models. Also a bank will generally use a Bureau Score as a predictive characteristic within their own scorecard so they may decided to include such a characteristic in there too. Cash Advances also include things like using a credit card for gambling, so they are definitely considered higher-risk transactions vs. normal purchases.

I asked Halifax on their online chat and they said that using it for a small number of cash transactions won’t have any negative impact on your score, but obviously they don’t publish their scorecards. Any variable like that will generally be divided into buckets (e.g. no. Of times cash withdrawn in last Xm) and will be one aspect of your score, so if you’re not using it much then the hit would likely be minor.

So whilst it could have an effect, as long as you’re paying off the card on time and not going crazy then I think the risk to scores would be minimal (mine didn’t go down last year despite using it for all transaction over 6 months in Europe).

If I was about to take out a mortgage and my score was a bit borderline then I’d maybe be a bit cautious but otherwise I personally wouldn’t worry.

[Paul B]

+1 for Halifax Clarity.

There's loads now (Metrobank for instance) plus First Direct DC have even waived fees on payments & cash. This of course happened (as did the removal of interest charges for cash by Halifax on the Clarity CC) after I'd applied for Metro Bank. I've never seen Martin Lewis (/MSE) mention damage to your credit rating for cash withdrawals abroad and it's been MSE I've relied on for decades now.

Both extended trips (EU and USA) I relied heavily on CC spending and maxed it out once (in Vegas  ) and haven't had any issues!

N.B. that some mobile providers don't include e.g. Switzerland in their roaming packages.

It's possibly very obvious to everyone but if your passport has been gathering dust, check it's in-date (with at least 6 months on it after your return date). I had a rather quick dash to Liverpool and paid the idiot tax the first time travelling 'post-pandemic'. Also, make sure you get a stamp in/out.