Kandersteg help please

[kira]

our treasurer is being really good and looking into different cards we could get, apparently the ones me and our EL have are the worst to use abroad!

[Neil Williams]

Originally Posted by MountainGirl

I've always been told (by parents who have lived abroad half my life) that you should use a debit card for cash withdrawals (but making sure that you take out a decent sum each time - £50-£100 minimum) and credit cards for all purchases/accommodation etc...

That's exactly what I do for personal travel, FWIW. Credit card these days is a cheap, easy, convenient and well-accepted way to pay for things when travelling. Debit cards can be used to draw cash, again pretty much the world over. (Beware of quirks of some countries, though - Japan was the oddest - ATMs are normally in small phone box style enclosures and close quite early, 8pm I think).

These days I normally don't bother changing money before I travel and just draw it out on my debit card, except Euros where I always seem to have some lying around spare.

By the way, Swiss ATMs default to giving out big notes - but don't worry about this - they won't bat an eyelid generally at CHF 200 notes being handed over for a few quid's worth of groceries, for instance. As it's a country with a very low crime rate, I get the impression that most Swiss people just draw out the cash they'll need for the month on pay day and keep most of it in their wallet.

Also, I will second Neil's comment about certain types of card breaking atms abroad. Do check first.

I found it was an issue with PDQ machines in shops with my cards, not ATMs - but about 6-7 years ago I did have an issue with ATMs in Belgium which at the time wouldn't touch UK-issued chip cards. I imagine it's fine now.

Best trick seems to be to carry cards from more than one bank, or both a Visa and a Mastercard - it's rare for at least one of them not to work. I have identified an issue with Smile Visa credit cards from the Co-operative Bank, though - if you have one of these I almost guarantee you it will not work properly in Switzerland. FWIW, Scout Association MBNA Visa cards do work fine, and (the Association will be pleased) as a result, until I got a corporate card, I ran 2 grand's worth of expenses a month through it for the first few months of this year...

I think the difficulty is you can't really check first as such (though do advise your bank to avoid embarrassment and hassle of having your card stopped as potential fraud), but as I mentioned having more than one card should cover you fine.

Neil

[big chris]

OH... nb that the medical centre need paying there and then. That was V expensive. We had our treasurer's credit card. No idea how other people manage it.

[podders]

The best Card to use abroad is a nationwide one, its still free for using it aborad in most european countries. Its still free to use in ATMs and transactions in Switzerland as i used it in June.

Also when paying your bill by card they should ask at reception (in KISC) whether you want to be charged in swiss francs or sterling. I think its cheaper to be charged in sterling.

[mattbarnett]

Ah, but it is not that simple...

Just because there is no fee or commission doesn’t necessarily mean you are getting a better deal – it depends on the exchange rate offered by the credit card, bank or bureau de change as well. And, of course, any fee imposed by the seller for your chosen method of payment.

This is further complicated when using AmEx, because their foreign currency claims are covered via US dollars, e.g. CHF -> $US -> GBP or EUR -> $US -> GBP. Despite this their overal rate + fee (on a corporate card) is generally better than my personal MasterCard.

If you want to be sure of the best deal you’ll have to do lots of maths, knowing all the exchange rates on the day (which is hard, if not impossible). Personally, I can’t be bothered with this and generally follow the approach of mountain girl – cash from ATMs via debit card and everything else on credit card. I do like to have some cash (say GBP100) before I go as well, only small amounts so I don’t shop around too hard, usually I find the post office as easy as anywhere. (I'm usually travelling on business though, so it doesn’t actually bother me (claims are made for the GBP amount supported by exchange receipts, credit bills etc. including fees).)

On the upside – there is still “proper” duty free available in Switzerland!

[Neil Williams]

Originally Posted by podders

Also when paying your bill by card they should ask at reception (in KISC) whether you want to be charged in swiss francs or sterling. I think its cheaper to be charged in sterling.

Check the rate they give you - normally I find the complete opposite and always opt by default to be charged in local currency (and get very annoyed when presumptuous businesses default to using Sterling, and if they do they get made to void it and do it again properly, offering me the choice).

Charging in Sterling does not avoid much in the way of charges, and the exchange rate is often poor. The only benefit of it is that you know exactly what the amount is when you pay it rather than having to wait for your statement.

Neil