Do you have to convert the currency beforehand with Wise or can I put GBP in and go tap it about in Spain?
Pay in GBP, any foreign spend is converted at the time of purchase. Or open a ‘pot’ for the currency and convert beforehand.
Same principle as revolut.
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A purchase just now… only a few pence difference between Wise and Chase but Wise is still cheaper for euros…
Monzo uses the Mastercard exchange rate with no fee
https://www.mastercard.co.uk/en-gb/personal/get-support/convert-currency.html
It’s usually among the best exchange rates and better than Visa’s. However, they are all usually so close it barely matters.
Just in case anyone ends up in this situation dont do the eligibility checker again within a 30 day period. It’s such a ballache.
I’m now waiting for postman pat to send me a form in the post to sign the T&C manually and send back to Lloyds to open the card, which is somehow still quicker than waiting.
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I mean, if you really wanted to, ring and complain, get them to do it manually. I did this because I do actually want the card, just got to wait for the snail mail to do its thing.
Upgraded to Perks for the Greggs mostly, I have a Vue nearby too so will make use of the ticket when Snow White comes out 
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Give us a shout if you’re taking someone. I’ve not got a Vue for miles so they could use my code.
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So far, I have stuck with this and hopefully will continue to do so:
Current Accounts
Santander Edge - most direct debits, purchases with cashback, foreign transactions
First Direct - Mostly unused now. Direct debit for the Gold credit card
HSBC Debit - Again, mostly unused. Has a direct debit going through it to keep it active.
HSBC Global Debit - Has sometimes used it for foreign transactions, plus it has a nice card
Bank of Scotland - Again, mostly unused. Has a direct debit going through it to keep it active. Account used to deposit money
Savings
Santander Edge Saver 7%
Santander Regular Saver 5%
First Direct Regular Saver 7%
HSBC Regular Saver 5%
Bank of Scotland Regular Saver 5.5%
YBS £50 Regular Saver 8%
YBS Christmas Regular Saver 5%
YBS Regular Saver 4.65%
YBS Easy Access 4.1%
Credit Cards
Amex Rewards
Barclaycard Forward
First Direct Gold
Investments
HSBC
I know I have so many accounts and I do feel like I want to close some as the regular savers mature, but at the same time, I don’t find it tricky to manage these in the slightest. The current accounts are mostly unused, but I like having a range of options available to me, plus it means I can still access the regular savers.
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Current Accounts
-
HSBC Student - The account where my student loan lands (and is immediately eaten by my overdraft).
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HSBC Global Money - I probably used it twice, before taking it out of my wallet.
-
Club Lloyds - Recently opened as part of a switch deal; I will use It to deposit my salary and pay my bills.
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Revolut - My go-to card for spending abroad. I also use it when I’m not travelling to make small purchases and to send money abroad.
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Chase UK - This used to be my spending account, but I stopped using it after the recent changes to the cashback earning criteria.
Future Accounts
- ING Belgium - In the process of opening the account, as I will be moving to Belgium for my exchange year. Similar to the French, most Belgian landlords prefer rent to be paid by from an account with Belgian IBAN - plus it could come in handy in the future
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HSBC current account
Bills and salary
Revolut
Day to day
Monzo
Cashback and Perks
Barclaycard
31 month 0% balance transfer card
HSBC credit card
Day to day
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This will be it now. I was with HSBC and happily so until they changed the eligibility for premier. Advance didn’t really offer me anything.
Apart from the redonkulous faff of getting the WE card opened I have no real regrets.
About as simple as it can get in the wallet now. Two cards, and a driving licence.
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I agree but apart from the 2000pt text on the bank and that they bend easily, the design itself I have to say is one of the nicest I’ve ever seen.
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I’ve heard you say that before 
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Metro would be a good bet. Only soft searched me
It won’t make any difference.
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I didn’t think mortgage providers typically did a search if you’re simply switching to a new deal, Nationwide don’t at least. You’re not borrowing more so there’s no need.
I think with any other high street bank if you’ve left them and want to return it’ll be a hard search
But for a remortgage I doubt one search will do much damage. For a product transfer it won’t be relevant
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Current provider won’t care about anything, they just move you over. If you’re switching to hunt down the best rate then they’ll do all the checks.
But opening a new account is going to register at a zero on the care-o-meter. If you’re opening a new account with AmEx and getting a £30k limit then that’s a bit different but a basic current account isn’t going to cause an issue. Affordability is the main thing they care about.
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Might appear later, but on switching from Nationwide mortgage to a Vrgin one, I don’t seem to have had a credit check, or at least not so far which is about two months down the line.
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