Prepaid cash cards

[OstKurve Hibs]

Oright folks, i need a wee bit off assistance. I am goin travelling in nov to thailand Oz and S. Africa for a yr. I dont really fancy carrying cash or travellers cheques about so was thinking about one of those credit cards where you can only spend the cash you load onto it.
Basically i was wondering if anyone else had used these cards and your opinions on them.

Cheers

[goosano]

I have a fairfx card and have used it on holiday in Europe-the exchange rate is better than you can get in banks/on the high street. I loaded it with euros-one point to watch out is that you are charged a euro for each withdrawal so probably best to take out a reasonable wedge each time

Your one problem may be that most of the cards will only let you load up in dollard or euros. The Post Office one can be loaded with sterling-they charge you if you withdraw in another currency. So if you are travelling round a number of countries it may not be worth it. I used this site (http://www.compareprepaid.co.uk/prepaid-cards/travel/travel-cards.html) when choosing my card

[duncs]

Try this, the Tuxedo (http://www.tuxedo-eccount.co.uk/) card

It's a pre-paid Mastercard which basically means it is accepted everywhere but is a debit rather than credit card.

[OstKurve Hibs]

Checked out both sites, like the look of the caxton global traveller card. It says free transactions abroad and free atm withdrawals. Im a bit wary tho cos there must be some catch as they wouldnt be making money.
Unless they rely solely on atm charges within the uk?

[goosano]

Checked out both sites, like the look of the caxton global traveller card. It says free transactions abroad and free atm withdrawals. Im a bit wary tho cos there must be some catch as they wouldnt be making money.
Unless they rely solely on atm charges within the uk?

Well you're effectively lending them your money whilst it sits on the card. They make money on the foreign currency transaction and if you are out of the eurozone/dollarzone then they charge 2.5% per transaction. It is only available in dollars or euros so might not be suitable for your travels.

[OstKurve Hibs]

Well you're effectively lending them your money whilst it sits on the card. They make money on the foreign currency transaction and if you are out of the eurozone/dollarzone then they charge 2.5% per transaction. It is only available in dollars or euros so might not be suitable for your travels.


aye c wot u mean there, glad you noticed that. Al jus av to keep lookin around for the best deal.

Does anyone know of a card that doesnt charge for transactions abroad, or is that wishfull thinking?

[RyeSloan]

I must be a bit silly but what's wrong with a normal credit or debit card?

[Removed]

I must be a bit silly but what's wrong with a normal credit or debit card?

Nothing, but the OP may not have one. Prepaid cards good for security and/or aid self control if you have a big card limit or are on a budget

[hibsboy90]

I must be a bit silly but what's wrong with a normal credit or debit card?
In lots of other countries, if you can do the signature of the cardholder, you could buy whatever you would like.

So buy having a prepaid card, that you top up, then if you lost your card, and didnt act quickly, your account won't get cleared out.

[goosano]

I must be a bit silly but what's wrong with a normal credit or debit card?

They are generally a fair bit more expensive

[Steve-O]

I must be a bit silly but what's wrong with a normal credit or debit card?

You would get charged everytime you took money out, which is what the OP is trying to avoid, given how long he's expecting to be away :agree:

Nationwide used to have an account with free overseas withdrawals, alas they withdrew it with immediate effect one day, nice of them eh! :grr:

Don't American Express do a card now that effectively works the same as travellers cheques??

[ArabHibee]

You would get charged everytime you took money out, which is what the OP is trying to avoid, given how long he's expecting to be away :agree:

Nationwide used to have an account with free overseas withdrawals, alas they withdrew it with immediate effect one day, nice of them eh! :grr:

Don't American Express do a card now that effectively works the same as travellers cheques??

Steve-O, are you sure about this? I've got a Nationwide card account and pretty sure I don't get charged for overseas withdrawals?

[Speedy]

Steve-O, are you sure about this? I've got a Nationwide card account and pretty sure I don't get charged for overseas withdrawals?

I'm pretty sure it's free in the EU but there's a 0.83% Visa charge outside the EU.

[Steve-O]

Steve-O, are you sure about this? I've got a Nationwide card account and pretty sure I don't get charged for overseas withdrawals?

Yip, they sent me a letter about 4 months ago saying they were no longer facilitating the free overseas withdrawal. The way the letter read it was for everyone with that account, not just me.

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/current_account/foreigntransactions.htm

Seems it is still free in the EU, but nae good to me anymore.

[Hibs Class]

You would get charged everytime you took money out, which is what the OP is trying to avoid, given how long he's expecting to be away :agree:

Nationwide used to have an account with free overseas withdrawals, alas they withdrew it with immediate effect one day, nice of them eh! :grr:

Don't American Express do a card now that effectively works the same as travellers cheques??

Amex withdrew their prepaid cards around last Autumn, and repaid balances held to cardholders. I had one in $ and one in €, and replaced them both with Caxton cards - no problems with them, and when I found myself a bit short of € on my last trip I was able to top up by text and have funds available immediately.

[Jack]

Has anyone got one of these ...

http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/jump2?catId=19300207&mediaId=26800661

Apart from sounding like what you're after OstKurve Hibs it can also be used to avoid the ridiculous charges Ryanair made when you book with them.

[Woody1985]

When I looked at these cards what I found was that the most convenient ways for topping up were the most expensive i.e online incurred a 5%/10% top up charge but sending a postal order was free.

I also felt that they were another way to make more money out of poorer people who can't handle their finances well.

[Hibs Class]

When I looked at these cards what I found was that the most convenient ways for topping up were the most expensive i.e online incurred a 5%/10% top up charge but sending a postal order was free.

I also felt that they were another way to make more money out of poorer people who can't handle their finances well.

Before I got the Caxton card I got a Post Office card and got hammered in top up fees. Caxton debit my visa debit card and there is no fee. As far as I can see the exchange rate is pretty reasonable as well

[givescotlandfreedom]

You would get charged everytime you took money out, which is what the OP is trying to avoid, given how long he's expecting to be away :agree:

Nationwide used to have an account with free overseas withdrawals, alas they withdrew it with immediate effect one day, nice of them eh! :grr:

Don't American Express do a card now that effectively works the same as travellers cheques??

Amex withdrew their prepaid cards around last Autumn, and repaid balances held to cardholders. I had one in $ and one in €, and replaced them both with Caxton cards - no problems with them, and when I found myself a bit short of € on my last trip I was able to top up by text and have funds available immediately.

I don't know if the current Amex card's the same but when I had the previous one my dad tried to sent me money from my Scottish account and they refused it saying I have to write to them to say I wish to accept a pay in into my account so not much use in an emergency. I wasn't exactly going to say no to someone giving me money!