Spending in Australia

[gra001]

Guys, I`m not a frequent traveller so somewhat clueless on this subject. Off to Australia for 4 weeks later this year and trying to decide the best way to take funds/pay bills. I`ll take some sterling and Oz dollars but not sure about the pros and cons of travellers cheques, credit/debit cards etc. Also, where is best to change my sterling to dollars (UK, Oz, post office, airport etc etc) Thanks for all help given.

[Matt..]

When i go away i get approx £250 in whatever currency needed, and take a credit card.

It's the easiest way.

If you are concerned over charges (they are small), then get one of the zero rated credit cards.

I would not use a debit card, and travellers queues are too much of a hastle.

[zac510]

Australia is a long way away and as yet the concept of currency has not yet reached the country.

Locals trade using pebbles and shiny rocks and the more impressive the rock the more you will get in return. If you have some rocks you can take them with you and see what you get. A beer can cost up to 6 or 7 rocks and a meal in a restaurant can be 20-30 rocks.

GBP can be transferred into pebbles too but in the interest of enjoying one's holiday and not worrying about the GBPebble exchange rate the best place to change currency is the one most convenient to yourself.


Seriously I don't even know what a travellers cheque looks like. Just take your debit/credit cards and use them as and when you need. You don't need anything else or a large cash wallet. It is the same as UK.

[mattcov]

I'd just take £500 worth of AUS $ from the place you can find the best exchange rate over here (which is p*** poor at the moment). Just get anymore over there from a cashpoint and buy anything on credit cards. Bear in mind your bank may charge ~£1.50 for each withdrawal so do largish withdrawals, but the exchange rate will probably be fine.

[audidoody]

Yes there are two or three ATM's in Australia. But the electricity takes so long to travel to the bank's computer in London and back that the exchange rate can fluctuate in the time it takes between inserting your card and waiting for the money to come out.

[Colonial]

At least one major bank will be aligned with a UK bank.

I'm with Westpac. They have an arrangement with Barclays that you can withdraw money at a barclays ATM without incurring a fee. Check with you bank who they have that agreement with.

Then, use cash. Cash is good.

[moles]

Use credit card for all transactions and take $500 au dollars for small purchases, I've been travelling around aus/NZ for 3 months now and only taken cash out twice. Be prepared to have a large bank account though everything costs a fortune compared to uk except electrical items for some reason (apple laptops/computers about 15-20% cheaper. Beer and food costs are awful.

[anonymous-user]

I spend about 8 weeks a year in Australia and I have a fairfx card, you top it up using your own banks debit card and then use it to withdraw cash. You get charged £1 per withdrawal plus a 1.4% transaction fee but the exchange rate is excellent compared with the high street.

[Google [bot]]

If you have 50kGBP you can get an HSBC Premier Account. This enables you to set up a mirror Australian account which enables you to transfer between accounts at a preferential rate and use your 'Australian HSBC account' with no fees. If you can blag/justify it.

Tall order, and not borne of personal experience.

[thetapeworm]

I've used the Cash Passport cards in the past:

http://www.cashpassport.com/

(But not in Australia)