šŸ‡¬šŸ‡· Monzo in Greece [Discussion]

Hi @phildann ,

Iā€™ve moved your post here as thereā€™s been chat about Greece previously :slight_smile:

Some of the posts are back when Monzo was a pre paid card and thus the acceptance will have improved since then.

I hope you enjoy your travels :airplane:

Iā€™m travelling to Crete soon and Iā€™m unsure of the fees. So if I pay by card do I get charged any conversion fee? And also if I withdraw cash do I get charged anything? Its apparently free for 30 days? I donā€™t really understand the T&Cs Iā€™m afraid and it doesnā€™t help that this will be my first time abroad so not sure about banking abroad.

If you spend anywhere using the card make sure you pay in Euroā€™s. Youā€™ll get the best rate possible that way :raised_hands:t3:.
Regarding ATMā€™s the first Ā£200 withdrawn every 30 days is free, after that there is a 3% charge. Be aware that some ATM operators charge you an additional fee to use them, so keep an eye out for ones by banks which are more likely to be free to use.

Thank Jack. Could you clarify the withdrawal bit. So if I withdrew Ā£200 in Crete It would be free. But say I withdrew 50 the following day I would get charged?

Exactly that

Thanks. And say I bought a couple drinks or food etc while on holiday, would I get charged any conversion fee or would it only be the cost of the actual product I bought?

You donā€™t get charged a conversion fee, itā€™s just the cost at MasterCard rate which is very good

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It ends up looking something like this in your feed:
image
From my Oz trip :sunglasses:

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FWIW I have tried to withdraw cash today from a Piraeus Bank ATM and after I declined the DCC I was explicitly told there is a 3 EUR fee for this transaction.

This is the first time to have come across this. I guess Piraeus Bank have decided to no longer play along.

Tried a National Bank of Greece ATM as well only to be asked for 2 EUR fee this time.

Sneaky. Presumably there isnā€™t anything in the MasterCard rules to prevent thisā€¦ :thinking:

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This non-DCC withdrawals fee is a relatively new thing, very unfortunate for us traveling to Greece often. Try the Alpha Bank ATMs, I think theyā€™re the only ones not charging it, though I have a feeling itā€™s just a matter of time.

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My experience in Cephalonia matches this.

The only ATM that I could find that charged no fee was an Alpha Bank one. Frustrating as carrying cash is (unfortunately!) a necessity as a lot of places do not accept card payments.

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Reading through the comments quite a few users had no issues while in Greece regarding card payments. Itā€™s a pity if I have to withdraw Euros and then convert whatā€™s left back over to Pounds and get charged a large fee

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Iā€™m off to Zante next year. Which part of the island did you have the good experience with?

Tsilivi or Planos as its called on google maps.

Happy to provide tips and stuff :slight_smile:

Thatā€™s good news then as weā€™re going to Alykynas, which is next door, so hopefully our Monzo experience is good. Iā€™ll report back in June 2019 when weā€™ve been. Sure, Iā€™d be happy to hear some tips :slight_smile:

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A bit off topic for the thread, but itā€™s good advice for all to Zante :smiley:

It depends what you largely plan to doā€¦

Shipwreck cove is weather dependent and a boat trip will pretty much run you a day of your holiday. If the water is too choppy, the boat stops far out and you may need to swim in.

Way around thatā€¦ hire a car and see it from above! Thereā€™s an official view point and an unofficial view point. The unofficial view point is better. If you arrive at the right time, tour guides will go off track.

The speed limit on the island is 30mph/50kmh and is reasonably safe to drive (thereā€™s a few points of driving along a cliff edge). If youā€™re going in June, hire a car with a solid roof and AC (We hired a convertible Jimnyā€¦ big mistake). Can recommend Euro Alfa in Tsilivi (a lot cheaper than Tui - if thatā€™s who you are travelling with).

Turtle spottingā€¦ we did ours with Tui, guide was very experienced, ex-military guy named Trevor, very knowledgable and we spotted loads of turtles. Donā€™t hire a boat to do this yourself, apparently turtle accidents and tourist boats are quite common.

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Thank you for those tips!

Just taken a look into car hire and the pricing is pretty reasonable, so hopefully will give that a go and will make things easier as I do prefer exploring the culture rarher than chilling on the beach! Food too of course haha!

Weā€™re going with Thomas Cook for flights only and doing accomodation separately, so may have to look into other options for guides.

Thanks again!

One important tipā€¦when youā€™re coming home, arrive at the airport early, especially if youā€™re flying with Thomas Cook/Tui

Oh and thereā€™s a decent gift shop after security

Hi has anyone been to Greece more recently? Is Monzo readily accepted? Thanks loads