Nationwide Flex Accounts - Reduce your ATM costs

[pc4854]

Some time ago, in the days of Cyprus 44, there was a lot spoken about Nationwide introducing charges for customers using ATM's overseas because up until that point, it had been free. It has been quite an expensive change for me as a regular user of ATM's abroad, here and other places adding some £6 in charges to each £250 cash withdrawal. However I have found a way to reduce these charges and thought I would share it with you. In the first instance you will need to either go to UK or get someone coming out to bring the necessary paperwork for you to sign, as you need to obtain a Nationwide Select Credit Card, the application can be done on line but a signature is required on the application when it is sent to your home address in UK. When applying you should select the "set up standing order to make FULL repayments" on the form. This is the good bit, any purchases made overseas on this card are free of bank charges, so use your card in all the shops, restaurants and petrol stations, thus greatly reducing your ATM requirements and in turn reducing your charges. You might still need some cash for some items. Then in your online banking you will see that you can transfer money instantly from your Flex Account to your credit card and if you were to forget, the standing order will do it for you. There are another two advantages to this system. The first is that any purchases in sterling gives you a small cash bonus, since February when I started to use this system I have £15 of cash bonus and secondly booking things on line like plane tickets, you get not only the cash bonus but the insured protection of the credit card in case the airline or whatever goes bust. This is really easy to do and I recommend it to all Nationwide customers.

[compass]

There is another very simple way to save costs on a Nationwide a/c.... I guess most Nationwide users will know this but for any that don't.

Withdraw your money from the hole in the wall over here, in Sterling with your Flex a/c card and it is completely free................. As far as I know there are only 3 machines in Girne which dispense sterling, the one next to the Dome Hotel, the main HSBC one and also TEB bank next to Mr Pound.

Then go to a change shop and swap for lira............

Every little helps.

Compass