Euro Weak against the £
- Thread starter Mr Bump
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I use my Virgin money debit card or Santander debit card when away, both provide cash from bank machines at bank rate, or when paying by debit card, earlier this month in Italy I got cash at around €1.18. Done this for some years using machines at banks avoiding those machines that charge for withdrawals.
Nationwide debit services may be similar, check first.
Nationwide debit services may be similar, check first.
lindsay
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I get my German state pension paid into my Starling Euro account, which sits alongside my sterling one and is free of charges.
I guess I won;'y be transferring any of my pension into £ at present then! Mind, it is handy for if/when I drive over the border into the RoI (Ireland).
I guess I won;'y be transferring any of my pension into £ at present then! Mind, it is handy for if/when I drive over the border into the RoI (Ireland).
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Mr Bump
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We use Revolut all the time now and have a euro account for when at the GC house, I chucked 2k over into it for our xmas new year 2 month visit and got 1.1916
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Mr Bump
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yep you will not getting any advantage from my deal, sorry
although you could send £ to Euro and wait to see if the rate falls and do a FOREX
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The official rate is €1.19 and I can now get €1.17.28 online with Tui. The Post Office is €1.13. I think Tui will be about that too, instore. I just order online and collect in town and there's no commission and I use my free bus pass...Lol. I can see the rate ..the official rate,getting to €1.20. Re the US$ ..online ,it's $1.31 16 with the official rate at $1.33.93.
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There was a time when my dad said to me the '10 bob note' in my birthday card was the same as a dollar i.e. 2 USD to the Pound.
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Mr Bump
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I am getting 1.1965 to the pound on my revolut app , i just threw another £1k over the fence yesterday
, no brainer for me. just checked now and still same rate..
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ancient_mariner
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In the mid 2000s it was 2USD to the pound: I bought used guitars in the states and because I was travelling there regularly, brought them back on the flight home. One trip I ended up with 2 guitars, with a Mexican strat for our son for just 200 dollars=£100.
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Ah! though I am talking of some few decades before the mid 2000's
NB just looked that time period up......and it seems it was $2 per £1 in 2007 i.e. before the pneumonia of the 2008 US crash
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That's good. We're off to Costa Adeja on Saturday.. .I think sterling will increase in value so I'll wait. I've got €300 at the moment but we're in a hotel so won't spend much. We're booked in Funchal..Riu hotel..in April...it's all inclusive..just leaves the whale/dolphin trip(s)...(Magic Dolphins) We have a 10% off voucher from last May. You seem to go there a lot.
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Mr Bump
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you use cash wow lol
only joking but i can't remember the last time i used case in the UK or GC.
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We take cash for the taxi tip..We've stopped getting the coach from the airport even though it's included because twice we've had to sit on the coach waiting for a flight from Bristol or Glasgow,then drop-offs at other hotels which is ok if your hotel is amongst the first few. Then everyone piles off into reception. It's been lovely the last few times getting ahead of the crowd. We use Solhop and book it from here. ..but..we always get the coach on the return to the airport because if there's a hold-up..roadworks or an accident..and I've seen a few of them,then if we are on the coach we are covered if we miss the flight..not so if we go by taxi.We always give the room cleaner a decent tip,too. They work so hard. With my 'socialist' mindset..ie look after the working people,I feel a tinge of guilt..lol.I shouldn't feel guilty, really, because the hotels give so much employment to locals.Most times we get the same waiters throughout so we give them a tip,too and they really appreciate it. I don't think they're paid much .
I see there were bad floods in Tenerife south earlier in the week and thunderstorms forecast for Monday/Tuesday. Good-oh..Lol..We're in Lanzarote in February..have you been there from your Gran Canaria home ?
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Mr Bump
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our house is in an area called sonnerland nr maspalomas, we are in a small collection of bungalow villas about 16 i think which share a common pool, we are a bit up the hill so don't see much of the rain. further down there is a huge rain gully that sometimes goes mad it empties into the sea near the dunes.
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I use cash all the time where possible, often don’t carry a plastic and had to reject purchases because they wouldn’t take cash, a lot of big money purchases-new car, hifi bits- I do bank transfer, why pay card fees when I don’t have too, plus can’t spend my way into debt as folk do with cards, if I don’t have it, I can’t spend it.
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We’ve been visiting maybe 8 years now, mostly twice a year as a birthday pressie to each other-March and October-, only hiccup this time was passport control* why I was in Italy for only two days recently, had to explain it was a trip with the rugby club, he laughed when I showed him a photo of me and the Parma mascot, a fella in a 6’ Zebra costume.
*Auto machine couldn’t get my fingerprints so I had to go through manual check, wife succeeded at the machine though, a sign things are improving.
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You can get cards without fees - much easier. In fact as my cards are on my phone I dont even take cards out with me 99% of the time. Only have when abroad as backup. Just because you have the credit does not mean you need to go into debt with it
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All my cards(debit and credit)are free, I can negotiate a discount in some places if I don’t pay by card as retailers aren’t then paying a fee, I don’t always carry my phone or have any payment methods on it anyway, I’m happy paying by cash and there are always stores happy to take it, if some don’t then it’s their loss.
I hate being in a shop queue and someone is buying something say under a fiver and causes a hold up while they fanny about with a watch or phone trying to get a connection. I had a sign on my desk in the garage, minimum card payment £10.00, if a car needed say a 84p bulb we fitted it with no charge except for the bulb, no cash, fitting charge then £9.16.
I hate being in a shop queue and someone is buying something say under a fiver and causes a hold up while they fanny about with a watch or phone trying to get a connection. I had a sign on my desk in the garage, minimum card payment £10.00, if a car needed say a 84p bulb we fitted it with no charge except for the bulb, no cash, fitting charge then £9.16.
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Mr Bump
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I haven't even considered the whole cash vs card for years , for me as soon as the tech opened up i jumped at it.
I am more than happy with people fumbling with cash/change while i tap and go in seconds,
however the main reason i use contactless is because its not about the buyer its about me and my convenience i don't go and get cash out of an atm in GC
not a chance not to save the shop/bar 5p nope.
I am more than happy with people fumbling with cash/change while i tap and go in seconds,
however the main reason i use contactless is because its not about the buyer its about me and my convenience i don't go and get cash out of an atm in GC
not a chance not to save the shop/bar 5p nope.
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There is a fee, but many business are charged a fee for cash deposits. Add in risk of theft from staff, robbery, storing money, taking it to the bank... it all becomes a bit of a pain. Software means all electronic payments mean you can automate accounts.
It's a lot quicker to pay electronically than cash, take out phone (no connection needed) and tap. Done in seconds. So much quicker in a pub for example that waiting for someone to dig out cash and the staff to get the change
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Mr Bump
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for me also the bigger risk with cash is getting mugged or with chip and pin someon eyeballing your pin and cloning your card
but to be fair my view is cash is just a bit s*** in 2026 lol
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I know. Because my phone is my car key and has everything on I always have it with me (bar a run). Do I miss the days of coming back from the pub with £8 in loose change, not at all!!
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My car is old, it needs a physical key, but I don’t take it to the pub, nor my phone, I like to talk to the folk I meet not stare at a small screen like many I see there, pocket full of change, just use it to buy your last drink! Although £8+ would get me 2 pints.