Erste Bank und Sparkassen: 10 tips for your holiday money

The holiday season is just around the corner and thus much is also revolving around money. "Especially when travelling outside the Eurozone, you should be informed about the exchange rate and pay attention to the payment methods you use. This helps protect against currency exchange and expenses traps, "says Ertan Piskin, Head of Erste Bank's card business. To prevent customers falling into such a trap, experts from the Sparkassengruppe summarize the most important tips that will save you money when on holiday:

Tip 1: Mix cash and cards
While staying abroad, a combination of different payment methods is recommended. Some cash, a debit card and a credit card should be included in everybody’s holiday wallet. One should have some cash on them for paying drinks, snacks and taxi rides and tipping the staff. As a money reserve for "cases of emergency", there are also rechargeable prepaid cards.

Tip 2: Change money in your house bank in your home country
One should get some foreign currencies before going on holiday - best at the house bank. The reason: exchange offices in holiday destinations usually exchange currencies at less favourable rates and charge high expenses. Moreover, one should inform themselves about the exchange rate and possible fluctuations before the holiday starts.
With the Exchange Office App, Erste Bank und Sparkassen offer the possibility to order the required currency via smartphone into the desired branch and pick it up there.

Tip 3: Avoid cash withdrawals with credit cards
Credit cards are recommended for their security. If the credit card is lost or stolen, the bank will be liable for the damages in the event of misuse if the owner has not acted negligently. Moreover, many credit cards contain travel insurance packages. In addition to this protection, the Visa card offered by the Sparkassengruppe includes a free travel insurance. Apart from that, the PIN for Erste Bank und Sparkassen credit cards can be easily changed to a PIN of one’s own choice. However, Visa cards and similar cards are not intended for cash withdrawals and should only be used in an emergency case for cash withdrawals due to the relatively high fees.

Tip 4: Prepaid money card as cash substitute
Prepaid cards are recommended on holiday as a “nest egg”. These VISA cards, loaded with credit, are worldwide a useful travel companion in card format that will provide you with an additional money reserve and are suitable for example for shopping or restaurant visits.
The s Prepaid Cards offered by the Sparkassengruppe can be recharged quickly and conveniently in George or with the App CardControl and can be blocked at any time in case of loss or theft.

Tip 5: Make payments free of charge with the MaestroCard (debit card) in Euro-countries
In EU member countries with the Euro as a currency, the payment with debit card is free of charge.

Tip 6: Cash withdrawals outside the Euro area are cheapest with the debit card
Cash withdrawals in holiday countries outside the Eurozone are cheapest if one uses a MaestroCard. However, caution is required in some countries, for example in Germany. In some cases, extra costs are charged there by the operator if money is withdrawn at an ATM – however, this must be pointed out prior to the withdrawal. In addition, some cash machine operators offer settlements in the currency of the user’s home country. This variant can be expensive because it can lead to conversion charges of up to 6 percent.
In countries where Erste Group is active, customers of Erste Bank und Sparkassen can withdraw money at all concern-operated cash dispensers free of charge.

Tip 7: In non-Euro countries pay in the national currency
Caution is required with card payments in countries that do not have the Euro as their national currency. In these countries it is strongly recommended to pay in the national currency. Because if payments are made in Euros, the exchange settlement will be pretty unfavourable in most cases.

Tip 8: Check debit and credit card limits
If a trip is to a country with high crime rates, the card limits should be checked and adjusted if necessary.

The CardControl App of the Sparkassengruppe can be used to increase the limits of bank cards or to activate or deactivate payment methods in real-time. The cards can thus be flexibly adjusted and controlled as required. In addition, deactivation of GeoControl is possible by the tip of a finger. If a money card is actually lost or stolen, it can be blocked and re-ordered in an uncomplicated way. Also, the Watchdog or sms service is used to notify the owner of transactions, that is when the individual cards where used.

Tip 9: Check GeoControl
GeoControl is activated in destinations outside Europe. Cash withdrawals are thus automatically blocked for certain regions outside Europe in order to prevent card misuse. GeoControl can be suspended for the duration of the holiday, which means that cash withdrawals are possible all over the world by means of the bank card. At Erste Bank und Sparkassen, one can unlock the card in George, via the CardControl App, by telephone or can have it unlocked by the customer support staff.

Tip 10: Create an online-backup of the most important documents
Travel documents should be stored safely. It is also recommended to store them online in a secure system.
In George, our digital banking solution, copies of flight tickets, passports, or booking confirmations can be safely stored and are thus quickly and easily available in an emergency.