I guess many people here would have encountered the same 'problem'.
When you visit your SO (or the other way around), there is always the thing with money, or more exact currency.
I guess in many cases the idea of the native person paying makes sense as this avoids exchanging money on which you lose some no matter what.
But in our case, my SO doesn't have a job so it's not possible for her to actually pay something when I visit her.
In the beginning (since we didn't really know each other that well yet), I would just open up my bank card and withdraw money over there.
I did do some research to see how much it would cost me and what the best way would be (given that I am a customer at multiple banks).
But even then, a bank will always take a fixed cost or percentage of the money you withdraw (sometimes even both).
So as time went by, my SO came up with a good idea. The idea was to just transfer money once to her account and do all of the conversions in one go.
Since it is a transfer and not a withdrawel other rates would apply as well.
And at first we did this again by using my bank, but then we discovered something else, something much better: TransferWise (other providers exist as well).
Transferwise allows you to transfer money with much less costs compared to a bank. I could explain to you how they can do it, but that's not really the point here.
If anyone is really intersted, I will tough.
Anyway, I have an account on there now, and if some of you want to check it out. I get a referral bonus if you sign up with this link: https://transferwise.com/invite/u/chrisv75
I can vow for them, as they are really professional and good at assisting you. I already used them often to send money.
But now there is even a next step. Since we have plans of getting married and my SO would move here with me in Belgium, it doesn't make sense to keep her bank accounts (if that is even possible).
So we will need another way to get money when we are there (either on holiday or visiting her relatives).
And I saw that TransferWise has a Debit card, which should allow you to transfer money as if it was a local account.
I don't know exactly how that will work out yet, since I didn't request the card yet, but I will do so soon.
Moreover, I contacted them asking about it since it is registered as a mastercard how that would work.
As I know for a fact that those pre-paid mastercard cards are not accepted in many placing since they are missing a CVC code.
But they assured me that the card has a CVC code and can be used to book hotels, cars, etc.
So this might even be a good way to get a free Mastercard as well.
A Mastercard or Visacard is not that common and thus not often used here in Belgium, I only use it for booking hotels and flights.
So I feel it's a bit stupid to pay for it each month if you don't use it.
I will keep you all up to date.
But long story short, save money by avoiding stupid transfer rates and comissions charged by banks or exchange offices and just use TransferWise (or something similar).
When you visit your SO (or the other way around), there is always the thing with money, or more exact currency.
I guess in many cases the idea of the native person paying makes sense as this avoids exchanging money on which you lose some no matter what.
But in our case, my SO doesn't have a job so it's not possible for her to actually pay something when I visit her.
In the beginning (since we didn't really know each other that well yet), I would just open up my bank card and withdraw money over there.
I did do some research to see how much it would cost me and what the best way would be (given that I am a customer at multiple banks).
But even then, a bank will always take a fixed cost or percentage of the money you withdraw (sometimes even both).
So as time went by, my SO came up with a good idea. The idea was to just transfer money once to her account and do all of the conversions in one go.
Since it is a transfer and not a withdrawel other rates would apply as well.
And at first we did this again by using my bank, but then we discovered something else, something much better: TransferWise (other providers exist as well).
Transferwise allows you to transfer money with much less costs compared to a bank. I could explain to you how they can do it, but that's not really the point here.
If anyone is really intersted, I will tough.
Anyway, I have an account on there now, and if some of you want to check it out. I get a referral bonus if you sign up with this link: https://transferwise.com/invite/u/chrisv75
I can vow for them, as they are really professional and good at assisting you. I already used them often to send money.
But now there is even a next step. Since we have plans of getting married and my SO would move here with me in Belgium, it doesn't make sense to keep her bank accounts (if that is even possible).
So we will need another way to get money when we are there (either on holiday or visiting her relatives).
And I saw that TransferWise has a Debit card, which should allow you to transfer money as if it was a local account.
I don't know exactly how that will work out yet, since I didn't request the card yet, but I will do so soon.
Moreover, I contacted them asking about it since it is registered as a mastercard how that would work.
As I know for a fact that those pre-paid mastercard cards are not accepted in many placing since they are missing a CVC code.
But they assured me that the card has a CVC code and can be used to book hotels, cars, etc.
So this might even be a good way to get a free Mastercard as well.
A Mastercard or Visacard is not that common and thus not often used here in Belgium, I only use it for booking hotels and flights.
So I feel it's a bit stupid to pay for it each month if you don't use it.
I will keep you all up to date.
But long story short, save money by avoiding stupid transfer rates and comissions charged by banks or exchange offices and just use TransferWise (or something similar).
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