Currency exchange while traveling: why do some still carry wads of cash? (page 3 of 28)

Hi there,

Just a heads-up that none of my bank cards cost me a single cent.

I can’t afford to have 5 banks like Tatra does ;)

Michel

What kind of cards do you have? With what benefits—at least international withdrawals?

Hi, Which banks and cards are you talking about? Thanks.

Otherwise, I like to take the cash I need for the day when traveling and not carry my credit card around, risking it being stolen and finding myself in deep trouble..

But you risk losing or having your cash stolen just as much, right? And then, you lose everything. Not just a useless piece of plastic.

I’m stuck in some stupid bank with high fees outside the eurozone

Can’t you take the leap either? So it’s not a generational thing since you’re not that old.

I’m with La Banque Postale, and I’m opening an account with Boursorama because La Poste is really annoying me with their fees... plus, at Boursorama, I can get a Visa Premier with no fees!

I take the cash I need for the day. So at worst, I don’t lose much if it’s stolen.

There’s still the risk of being robbed when arriving at the airport, of course. You do what you can.

Usually, I have both. The credit card just in case and some cash. But in Malta, for example, I didn’t take my credit card out.

Hello,

You’re quite curious 🙂. Boursorama Premier, ING Gold, Fortuneo Gold, BforBank Premier, and a trash card with AXA.

Hello, What are these banks and cards? Thanks.

Michel

Good evening,

I didn’t bother looking for cards with no withdrawal fees; they all charge around 2% for payments and the same for withdrawals outside the eurozone. I’m fine with that.

What kind of cards do you have? What benefits do they offer, at least for international withdrawals?

Michel

Are all the Golds free?

Flights?

Are all flights free?

Michel

I’ve corrected it—the golds and so-called artificial intelligence, if you don’t proofread 😕

The only one that's free only if I spend enough is AXA’s. All the others—two Premier, two Gold—are free. Sometimes, though, you’ve got to remember to use them once a month; for example, I use one to pay my Free mobile subscription for 2 € every month.

Michel

No minimum balance required on the account?

There’s a minimum monthly income requirement when opening the account, I think; after that, no, I don’t think so—I’ve never heard of that.

No minimum balance required on the account?

Michel

Thanks for the info, Michel.

Of course. I’m happy to answer any questions. My salary isn’t anything spectacular, just so you know; it’s some special circumstances that led me to have so many bank cards, all with online banks. I switched my last traditional bank about fifteen years ago; it was BNP Paribas.

Thanks for the info, Michel.

Michel

Hello,

You’re quite curious 🙂. First Boursorama, Gold ING, Gold Fortuneo, Premier BforBank, a trash card with AXA.

Hi, What are these banks and cards? Thanks.

Michel

I’m interested.... Thanks.

Given my income, I can’t get a Premier account—I can only request one because I have some savings to deposit in my Boursorama account.

By the way, La Banque Postale offered to give me one, but it was paid, so no way. Given their fees outside the eurozone, no thanks.

I’m not against opening other accounts with online banks. It’s always good to have multiple options.

To avoid fees, there’s also Revolut now. No exchange fees, and it works like a digital wallet, so you only load what you need for your trip, I think.

My trips outside the eurozone aren’t that frequent. During my two stays in Russia, Mr. Souris handled payments with his online bank card if needed, but we preferred using cash.

Now I’m planning to go back to London, but I didn’t have the funds to get pounds at a good rate in Paris...

I didn't bother looking for cards with no withdrawal fees; they all charge around 2% for payments and the same for withdrawals outside the eurozone.

I wrote this post precisely because some banks have now reduced those less-than-2% fees to zero.

You no longer have any fees.

That’s the game-changer.

Yeah, okay. I thought about switching my Boursorama Premier card to an Ultim one, but I’ve got to admit something: I’m super lazy when it comes to paperwork—I can’t stand it. 😏 So, yeah, laziness wins.

You won’t have any fees anymore. That’s the big news.

Michel

A trip to Puglia in Italy requires a large amount of cash since you can easily get a discount of 10 or 20 € on the price of a room. I can’t recall any other place with such a parallel financial circuit.

Hi Attila,

a useless piece of plastic.

Yes, that "piece of plastic" can become useless... Didn’t it occur to you that the chip in your card might have been damaged, making it inoperable? That’s happened to me before, which is why I always carry a backup card. Or maybe it’s the only ATM in the area that’s broken, or the terminal at the only gas station within 150 km that’s out of service. That’s why I’m glad I can rely on my euros!

And try showing up with just your card in Iran or in remote places like Chocó in Colombia or northern Patagonia in Chile... 😛