Holiday Truths Forum

I don't know about the inside of a bank but here in Albufeira there are several ATMs which allow you to make two successive withdrawals of €200; ie €400 in all in one day.

SPENDING ABROAD:Just read an article in "Which" magazine regarding spending abroad, it states Nationwide Gold Visa, Post Office Platinum Mastercard & Thomas Cook Visa charge no foreign-exchange loading fees, wherever you use them to make any purchases. Saga Visa is free if you are in the EU but charges elsewhere. It does also state that all four of these cards are not good for borrowing so pay off your bill when you get home. All other credit cards add a charge of 2 to 3 per cent for making purchases abroad. Cheers Jayjan

Be aware that the going rate in Albufeira today is €1.31 - €1.32 = £1!

€1.30!!

Not sure what to do at the moment.Seeing that the rate in UK is 128 today.Is it worth it to find somewhere in Albufeira to change money for that extra 2-3 cents.

It's gone down even more - I have some surplus UK pounds to change today and I doubt I will get even €1.28.

Worth visiting if changing £500 or more in UK, is American Express.They are offering 132 no commision at the moment.Marks and Sparks only 128.5.

€1.276 = £1 it was here yesterday.

The best rate we saw last week was 1.30 but as Cubsur says it was down to 1.276 when we left yesterday.
We used our Nationwide debit card for our money and got 1.359 euros for a £1.
It paid for a few extra beers

Hi can anyone tell me what the exchange rate for pounds to euros is in Portugal, the rate in the UK is rubbish at the moment

Rubbish here as well - €1.26 = £1

Exchange rate update - Monday it was €1.206 in the change shops down town. It was too wet to venture forth yesterday but if anything it will be even lower now.

At the weekend the rate in the cambios was 1.19 At the ATMs it was 1.26.

Yesterday it was €1.183 to £1 in the exchange shops.

Hi

Do people still use travellers cheques these days? If so how easy (and/or expensive) are they to cash?

I am reluctant to use ATMs (not sure why really!).

Thanks

Lisa

Lots of exchanges charge commission for changing travellers cheques.Some also give you a lower exchange rate than if you used cash. If you do use the ATMs check the machine first to see if anything as been added on the front face,which they use for cloning cards.

Exchange rate yesterday in the change shops of Albufeira was €1.217 = £1. €1 therefore just over 82p.

That is a couple of cents better than a few days ago.

Thanks for keeping us updatee Cubsur.
(Hopefully the rate is on the up now....)

Hi guys. I am from the London area and am heading to Albufeira next week which I am really excited about. I was just wondering if anyone who goes lots has any tips on where to exchange my money. I normally do it at the Airport but have become aware recently that better rates are available elsewhere which seem to make the Airports ones look bad.

The Post Office & Marks & Spencer are giving the highest rates at the moment. The airport exchanges are a rip off and I wouldnt touch them with a barge pole. The rates in the resorts dont seem to be as good as the UK at the moment.