Cheapest way to spend money abroad (when you live in HK)

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Happy Valley
    Posts
    57

    Cheapest way to spend money abroad (when you live in HK)

    Hi

    I've recently moved to HK and bank with HSBC here. I recently used my HSBC credit card to pay for a transaction in Macau and the exchange rate I got seemed to be about 2% less (i.e. worse) than the market rate for changing cash.

    Any advice on what the cheapest way is to pay for things when travelling abroad (in Asia and Europe)? Are there other credit cards that offer better rates for example?

    Thanks


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Posts
    6,745

    Why not open a bank account in good old EU,
    deposit a big chunk of money and enjoy free account
    and -compared to HK - low stock transaction fees?
    Credit card is also free, exchange rate was never an issue, fees for payments in foreign countries apply


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast Marina
    Posts
    17,934

    If you look at a site like oanda.com it gives you the exchange rates, and you can choose whether it's cash, credit cards or whatever. Credit cards are always more! Some banks charge you a fee; other cards just give you a crap exchange rate. At the end of the day, it's just a matter of how much savings you make vs how much hassle you are prepared to accept.

    Personally, for cash my choice is withdrawing from ATM's - if I can find an HSBC one so much the better, it not, c'est la vie. And credit card (master/visa) for most other transactions unless amex is all I have on me or they have a good offer on (amex rates are usually worse than master/visa).