hallii Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 I used a Caxton FX card in France Spain and Portugal this year. It failed to work for me in Lidl Portugal (in fact they refused any card with Visa on it!) It aslo failed on 24hr unattended fuel pumps mainly in France and also French tolls. It worked on some automatic "Aires" barrier machines but not all. It worked at every "hole in the wall" I tried. So not altogether perfect. I will continue to use it but will still take cash. My other cards both credit and debit are also Visa and it has made me wonder about a Mastercard or something, what has the best rates for use abroad? H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnerontheroad Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 With regards to Lidl/Aldi in Portugal they will not take any card except for certain local cards, nothing to do with Visa or Mastercard. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Strachan Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 If you visit France on a regular basis you can open a Credit Agricol "Britline" account. We did this about 5 years ago, and it has sorted all of the problems you describe. Simpy transfer money from your British account to it before you leave, this will be at the bank rate not the tourist rate! It worked in a Lidl in Spain but as yet we have not been to Portugal.The card has a Master Card symbol on it. Keep spending! Cheers Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 You will be out of luck in Portugal with any Credit Agricol bank card, they will not accept any of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Strachan Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Is that just in Lidl, or anywhere in Portugal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnerontheroad Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Lidl and Aldi will only take local cards, I have friends with a French card and they are not accepted but Continenti supermarkets will take any cards that's in Portugal. All the restaurants and bar here will only accept cash and won't give a receipt unless you ask, the last restaurant we ate at wrote the bill on the paper table cloth and no it wasn't cheap. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Strachan Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Thanks, If we go to Portugal, we will make sure we have some cash then. Had a similar experience of the bill being written on paper table cloth in Cannes, waiter wrote your order in his pad, then on the cloth, at the end of the night just tore the corner of the table cloth off took it to the till to add up, I thought it was a great idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawcara Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 hallii - 2013-04-28 10:09 AM I used a Caxton FX card in France Spain and Portugal this year. It failed to work for me in Lidl Portugal (in fact they refused any card with Visa on it!) It aslo failed on 24hr unattended fuel pumps mainly in France and also French tolls. It worked on some automatic "Aires" barrier machines but not all. It worked at every "hole in the wall" I tried. So not altogether perfect. I will continue to use it but will still take cash. My other cards both credit and debit are also Visa and it has made me wonder about a Mastercard or something, what has the best rates for use abroad? H I asked this question earlier in the year, when Caxton changed from Mastercard to Visa and people assured that there would be no difference. We used the Caxton last year in Lidl and it worked, but it was on Mastercard. So far we have been very pleased with it. I wonder whether Fairfax would be a better bet in the future. On the positive side the Pound/Euro is getting better. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnerontheroad Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Hawcara - 2013-04-28 5:49 PM hallii - 2013-04-28 10:09 AM I used a Caxton FX card in France Spain and Portugal this year. It failed to work for me in Lidl Portugal (in fact they refused any card with Visa on it!) It aslo failed on 24hr unattended fuel pumps mainly in France and also French tolls. It worked on some automatic "Aires" barrier machines but not all. It worked at every "hole in the wall" I tried. So not altogether perfect. I will continue to use it but will still take cash. My other cards both credit and debit are also Visa and it has made me wonder about a Mastercard or something, what has the best rates for use abroad? H I asked this question earlier in the year, when Caxton changed from Mastercard to Visa and people assured that there would be no difference. We used the Caxton last year in Lidl and it worked, but it was on Mastercard. So far we have been very pleased with it. I wonder whether Fairfax would be a better bet in the future. On the positive side the Pound/Euro is getting better. :-D I have a FairFX card and Lidl Portugal will not accept it. FairFX gives a better exchange rate than Caxton but there is a fee at the ATM 1.5euros but it still works out better than Caxton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 We tend to only use our Caxton card to withdraw cash from ATMs and use a credit card (Nationwide) to pay for stuff whenever it is accepted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wirralian Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Mel, thanks for passing on the info on how you use your caxton card. I have been contemplating obtaining a caxton card just for use at ATMs and use my Nationwide credit card for purchases. So I was wondering why l had not come across others who used caxton cards in conjunction with credit cards John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebishbus Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Yes I think you need to be prepared for what is accepted. Our choices are :- 1 My Travel euro cash card for ATM withdraws, ( no commission ) and purchases where accepted (1% cash back ). 2 Debit or credit cards where accepted. 3 Last resort, cash. Brian B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Wirralian - 2013-04-29 10:55 PM Mel, thanks for passing on the info on how you use your caxton card. I have been contemplating obtaining a caxton card just for use at ATMs and use my Nationwide credit card for purchases. So I was wondering why l had not come across others who used caxton cards in conjunction with credit cards John Hi John, we too use our Nationwide credit card in conjunction with the Caxton, we also have a Yorkshire Bank debit card for use in Germany where they can be 'picky' as to what they'll accept! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaleg Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 I read on the Caxton web site that it won't work on unattended fuel sites and toll booths, something to do with the way it takes the money off the card. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted May 3, 2013 Author Share Posted May 3, 2013 breakaleg - 2013-05-03 1:12 PM I read on the Caxton web site that it won't work on unattended fuel sites and toll booths, something to do with the way it takes the money off the card. Pete You are right Pete, it doesn't work on most (but not all) unattended fuel pumps. I don't know about toll booths, I avoid them! The problem seems to be that some transactions will take a "ghost" amount in addition to what you have spent. They then pay it back in ten days or so. How the hell they manage to pull that stunt I don't know. It's all done without you knowing about it. Much the same when you book a hotel and they ask for your card details, they do a "ghost" transaction with you knowing about it. Then when you come to spend the last few € the "ghost" transaction can leave you with a refused card because of a "hold" is on some of your money. Maybe someone with more banking knowledge can throw more light on this? It's a bit like how someone can draw money out of your account without you signing or authorising anything, the first you know about it is when you read your statement, (Wonga etc). I asked my bank to not allow any transaction I haven't specifically authorised. The reply was "We can't do that".. I said "It's my money and you are supposed to keep it safe Still no joy! I do carry a selection of cards and cash, my problem is that all my cards are Visa in one form or another. I will have to get another sort, maybe Mastercard. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 Quite apart from whether a Caxton card, or any pre-payment cash card (PPCC), would work at a Toll both or fuel station etc, the fact that sometimes a 'ghost' amount is 'suspended' for 10 days totally undermines the point of having a PPCC in the first place! 8-) I have a PPCC so that I have EASY ACCESS to the cash I've put on it AT ALL TIMES (through an ATM), and certainly do NOT want to worry if some of it has been temporarily 'held hostage' and try to ensure that I still have enough left on it for my immediate needs. The only way to work with it this way would be to put on more money than I wanted in the first place to allow a buffer for this, which negates the 'safety' aspect of not overloading it with too much dosh. *-) IMV if you use your PPCC when you KNOW there is a chance of some of the money being 'unavailable' to you for up to 10 days then you are just daft ... use a flipping credit card and keep the PPCC for just that which it was probably mainly wanted for ... cash! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 Mel It does say up to 10 days, in reality it has never been more than 2 days for me. The same 'Ghost payments' are applied to credit cards but you never see them unless you are up to to your credit limit, in which case the card would be rejected just the same. I always leave some euros on my Caxton card anyway just in case I need to buy something online in Euros. I much prefer using the Caxton Card than my credit card as I always know what I am actually paying in GBPs without having to wait till the statement comes in. It is just a matter of preference, it does not make me a bad person or 'daft'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 Cliffy - 2013-05-03 9:58 PM It is just a matter of preference, it does not make me a bad person or 'daft'. Oh yes it does! ;-) We're all daft to a greater or lesser extent ... why else would we buy 'boxes' on wheels and sit around in them in far-flung places when we could be waited on hand and foot in posh hotels and the like whilst lazing around the pool ... B-) On second thoughts, I think the people who do the pool lazing are daftest!!! (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 I tried to get the ICE cards yesterday but unfortunately as we don't have a land-line phone it wouldn't accept my on-line application! :'( I'll have to give them a ring. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 The two credit cards that are considered "best" are Halifax Clarity and Santander Zero if you clear the balance monthly. Santander debit cards are ok (ie no charges) at Santander ATM's in Spain. You could try Norwich and Peterborough BS cards as I understand these work rather like Nationwide used to! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 starvin marvin - 2013-05-04 6:45 PM The two credit cards that are considered "best" are Halifax Clarity and Santander Zero if you clear the balance monthly. Santander debit cards are ok (ie no charges) at Santander ATM's in Spain. You could try Norwich and Peterborough BS cards as I understand these work rather like Nationwide used to! I would not trust Santander with my personal details let alone a penny of my cash even if they paid me to use their services . They have a very poor customer service record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildge Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Mel B - 2013-04-28 9:58 PM We tend to only use our Caxton card to withdraw cash from ATMs and use a credit card (Nationwide) to pay for stuff whenever it is accepted. Been following these comments with interest . About to go for a pre-paid card to enable cash withdrawals.. Are the ATM machines easy to use........hope they're not in French :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Fortunately we speak some French so ATMs aren't a problem for us but from memory I think they have a 'language' option anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 starvin marvin - 2013-05-04 6:45 PM The two credit cards that are considered "best" are Halifax Clarity and Santander Zero if you clear the balance monthly. Santander debit cards are ok (ie no charges) at Santander ATM's in Spain. You could try Norwich and Peterborough BS cards as I understand these work rather like Nationwide used to! Unfortunately the Santander Zero credit and debit cards are no longer available so no good for anyone who hasn't already got one. As for the Halifax Clarity card - it doesn't make any charges for use abroad for purchases, however interest is charged for cash withdrawals. The Santander current debit card does allow fee free cash withdrawal at Santander cash machines in Spain for adult current account customers paying in at least £500 each month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Cliffy - 2013-05-04 8:23 PM I would not trust Santander with my personal details let alone a penny of my cash even if they paid me to use their services . They have a very poor customer service record. I believe they used to have a poor customer service record, however things have changed, see comments on the 'moneysavignexpert' website: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts Santander are listed 3rd and it says the following about customer service feedback: In our February 2013 poll, Santander's 123 account was one of the best rated, with 63% saying they got great service. The account's fairly new, so we split it out in this poll, but Santander's results have improved overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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