blaven Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 This has probably been done to death but any tips please to avoid having to carry wads of cash to nip into the local supermarkets in Holland? We were there last year and soon realised paying by uk credit card was not an option in many outlets. Are there any UK based pre-charged cards acceptable universally there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickt Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 I have a Fairfx euro card which I load before I go. Works mostly ok but not on French autoroutes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinM50 Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 Mickt - 2018-04-06 10:06 AM I have a Fairfx euro card which I load before I go. Works mostly ok but not on French autoroutes +1, to quote the man from Ronseal, does what it says on the tin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 We never had any problem carrying cash and I don't see what the big deal is? Anywhere in any country can sometimes refuse to accept a UK card and nine out of ten times another card would work and on the tenth time cash always worked. Saga and Nationwide cards were least troublesome for us but as with life itself there are no guarantees! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaven Posted April 7, 2018 Author Share Posted April 7, 2018 Tracker - 2018-04-06 11:11 AM We never had any problem carrying cash and I don't see what the big deal is? Anywhere in any country can sometimes refuse to accept a UK card and nine out of ten times another card would work and on the tenth time cash always worked. Saga and Nationwide cards were least troublesome for us but as with life itself there are no guarantees! Tracker. I thank you for your opinion, but it does not really contribute anything concrete to my question. Paying by card is preferable for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 blaven - 2018-04-07 11:30 AM Tracker - 2018-04-06 11:11 AM We never had any problem carrying cash and I don't see what the big deal is? Anywhere in any country can sometimes refuse to accept a UK card and nine out of ten times another card would work and on the tenth time cash always worked. Saga and Nationwide cards were least troublesome for us but as with life itself there are no guarantees! Tracker. I thank you for your opinion, but it does not really contribute anything concrete to my question. Paying by card is preferable for me. Paying by card was more convenient for us too most of the time but far from being an opinion I quoted my actual experience of being in Holland, and many other countries as a viable solution. There were times that the easiest or indeed the only way forward was to use cash so why not just carry some and make life easier? We tried several credit cards over the years and none were perfect but some were consistently better than others. I really didn't see it as a problem, because I always carried the solution in my wallet, and it was just part of being away from home - c'est la vie! Whether you take anything from my experience is up to you of course and it matters not to me one way or t'other, but others might and that is the joy of a forum where experiences can be shared and we each take what we will and leave the rest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 We paid with cash wherever possible. Knowing what we actually paid at the time of purchase was far better we found than trusting the add on calculations weeks later. And with small owner cafes and similar shops we found the service was better. How the owners dealt with the cash after didn't concern us. We may be heading for a cashless society (to suit business) but cash will always survive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 This experience is limited to passing through the Netherlands via Amsterdam en route to northern Germany. Our experience with a Visa credit card in 2014 was that, like the Germans, the Dutch preferred Mastercard credit cards to Visa. This was especially true of supermarkets, with even a large central Amsterdam Albert Heijn supermarket refusing Visa. Buying fuel was generally OK, and for restaurants in Amsterdam, but I think I'd be inclined to revert to cash which is universally acceptable - except the 1 Euro cent coins which the Dutch have officially abandoned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgnbuk Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Limited experience in Holland, but our Tesco Mastercard has worked for fuel (manned & automated pumps) & at the Delftse Hout & Hoek van Holland campsites. Nigel B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Just use one of the cc’s that allow free use out of the UK. Simples Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laimeduck Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Just checked my Visa spending in Holland in 2013.Used the Saga card everywhere for fuel, campsites, restaurants, bars.I don't recall having any problems and I didn't spend anything on my other 2 Mastercards, Tesco & MBNA. I also use a FairFX Cash card, so as long as a machine is close I can withdraw cash at the flat rate of €1.5 per withdrawl. (So to minimise cost withdraw reasonably large amounts) I always carry sufficient cash to cover whatever we spend anyway, so it really isn't a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJB Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 We visit Holland most years, sometimes a day or two and sometimes a week or two and have never known our Barclaycards (Visa) to be refused. Since time immemorial! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RapidoGuys Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Many merchants in the Nethelands (especially smaller /restaurants but also including Dirk, Albert Heijn, Coop and Spar supermarkets) and many campsites do not accept Credit Cards AT ALL and only accept Dutch Debit cards. I have no suggestion of a prepaid card which they will accept. Credit Cards are OK at petrol stations, "Jumbo" supermarkets and clothes stores. Anywhere else suggest having cash available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carebear Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 I tried to use Tesco MasterCard, and Nationwide Visa and was refused both when I tried to make a purchase. Was pleasantly pointed out an ATM over the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 We used a Caxton card preloaded with Euros for campsites and most other expenditure, and at ATMs to get cash for those rare occasions when cash was only option. Fuel was sometimes a nuisance as unmanned pumps would take a hefty “deposit”, ok with manned pumps, otherwise it would take a few days for deposit to be resolved. Regards, Snowie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daviddwight Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 We were told by several Dutch people that it cost too much for the use of Visa cards most shops etc use Mistro cards it appears the charges to them are less than Visa. They prefer Cash most of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.