Exchange rates

[maccasa]

I was just checking the cost of transferring some money to PT - Apart from paying £17 for t/t £ to CVO, I checked the conversion rates as an option - HSBC wants to convert £-€ at 1.1567, the current FT rate is shown as 1.243. Santander - Totta in CVO will convert into my account there at "over the counter rate" currently at 1.22 + €7 admin charge for any amount. No prizes for guessing what I shall do.

[EMM]

Something wrong there, we get at least E1.21 from HSBC and no charge ???
Cash in our local high street also E1.21.

[maccasa]

check the travelex web site - it give high st banks rates as well

[EMM]

Is this the same Travelex who are probably giving E1.10 at the airports.
One of the biggest rip offs around.

[James Faro]

Is this the same Travelex who are probably giving E1.10 at the airports.
One of the biggest rip offs around.

Spot on! At London City Airport on Friday I wanted to cash in £2,000 in Euros before I land in Dublin ,and they were quoting €1.09 I assumed it was €1.19 when looking at their exchange board. The departure lounge was packed out and nobody using the Travelex!

[maccasa]

Just checked the "high st" rates on http://www.travelex.co.uk/uk/ and it says €1.19 to the pound from travelex - but that's not at the airport where they have you by the soft and tenders.

I was very fortunate during my globe hopping times to have my ex travel agent as the travelex office agent at b'ham airport - I always seemed to get a much better rate than on the board..........

[carolyn]

We have a Millennium account and transfers are free from any UK bank (via HSBC) - we have been getting 1.23 ish over the past few months and no charges..
See this thread for more info:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21270&hilit=millennium

If you are with Totta - might even be worth changing bank.
Another option are PremFX who usually offer good rates - we used them before Millennium started their offer.

[EMM]

Before we go into our local branch does anyone know if Abbey Santander has a similar reciprical arrangement with Santander in Portugal ??

[ron5000]

No, it is Santander-Totta here, there is a branch in King William Street, London and is the only one. I transferred £4478.00 on Thursday from there to a UK account and was charged £47.00.

[Bruce Wallis]

Set up an FXS account with a currency dealer.

I get top spot rate, minus 1 and a quarter, ie 1. 24 euros for a spot rate of 1. 2525. Anything over 5K or over transferred to my Portuguese bank account free, under that a spot payment of £10

[James Faro]

Just checked the "high st" rates on http://www.travelex.co.uk/uk/ and it says €1.19 to the pound from travelex - but that's not at the airport where they have you by the soft and tenders.

Once bitten twice shy, except the thieving baskets didn't get my money! Still, I wonder if is worth reporting them as an unfair trading practice. Worth a try!

[widge]

Set up an FXS account with a currency dealer.

I get top spot rate, minus 1 and a quarter, ie 1. 24 euros for a spot rate of 1. 2525. Anything over 5K or over transferred to my Portuguese bank account free, under that a spot payment of £10

Sounds good Bruce, please let me have the name of your dealer.

[ANDY]

Was given this from my SANTANDER bank here in Carvoeiro a while back when enquired about depositing UK cheques in my account here and transferring moneys from the UK:

Dear Mr/Mrs
I am writing to introduce you to our service of transferring funds to Portugal free of charge utilising
the services of our London Branch.
If you wish to make regular payments simply instruct your bankers in the UK to set up a Standing
Order quoting the following details:
Account Name:
Account Number:
Sort Code: 40-62-32
Bank Name: Banco Santander Totta S.A.
Branch: London - 18 King William Street, London EC4N7BP
Furthermore, if you have access to Internet Banking with your local bank in the UK you can use this
service to make one-off payments using the above details. Alternatively, you can go to the counter and
request a BAGS payment to our London Branch. This system takes 5 working days to be credited to
your account in Portugal. Please note, however, that if you request an urgent payment you will get
charged by your UK Bank.
You can also send Sterling cheques to our London Office with instructions to pay into your account in
Portugal.
Finally, If you require any further assistance you may contact our colleague in the UK who represents
our branches in Portugal:
Luis Almeida
Banco Santander Totta S.A - London Branch
18 King William Street
London
EC4N 7BP
Tel: +442076212652
Fax: +44 20 7929 4243
Mob: +44 7771 6266002
E-mail l.almeida@santandertotta.co.uk
Yours sincerely,
Sergio Rosa

[maccasa]

Now that is useful - will save me several £17 transfer fees each year

[Bruce Wallis]

Was given this from my SANTANDER bank here in Carvoeiro a while back when enquired about depositing UK cheques in my account here and transferring moneys from the UK:

Dear Mr/Mrs
I am writing to introduce you to our service of transferring funds to Portugal free of charge utilising
the services of our London Branch.
If you wish to make regular payments simply instruct your bankers in the UK to set up a Standing
Order quoting the following details:
Account Name:
Account Number:
Sort Code: 40-62-32
Bank Name: Banco Santander Totta S.A.
Branch: London - 18 King William Street, London EC4N7BP
Furthermore, if you have access to Internet Banking with your local bank in the UK you can use this
service to make one-off payments using the above details. Alternatively, you can go to the counter and
request a BAGS payment to our London Branch. This system takes 5 working days to be credited to
your account in Portugal. Please note, however, that if you request an urgent payment you will get
charged by your UK Bank.
You can also send Sterling cheques to our London Office with instructions to pay into your account in
Portugal.
Finally, If you require any further assistance you may contact our colleague in the UK who represents
our branches in Portugal:
Luis Almeida
Banco Santander Totta S.A - London Branch
18 King William Street
London
EC4N 7BP
Tel: +442076212652
Fax: +44 20 7929 4243
Mob: +44 7771 6266002
E-mail l.almeida@santandertotta.co.uk
Yours sincerely,
Sergio Rosa

That sounds fine....but what sort of an exchange rate do they offer? Many banks give a rate between 3 and 5 cents below daily spot rate.
Give a less than top exchange rate, they can afford to offer you free transfers and other benefits.