Prepaid Travel Cards guide

14445474950123

Comments

  • eDicky
    eDicky Posts: 6,547
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Forumite
    aidander wrote: »
    The app logged me out and has asked me to verify via text, due to my phone plan ( Three ) I don't get overseas data for free so I was stuck with WiFi back at the hotel. I've not been able to receive the text or top up, I had to resort to using my Barclays debit card incurring a fee.[/FONT][/COLOR]
    The text message with the login code is sent to the phone number that you have registered with Revolut. As long as your Three SIM was switched on and roaming you could receive it for free, nothing to do with data - what was the problem?
    Evolution, not revolution
  • kazzybabes
    kazzybabes Posts: 341
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post
    Forumite
    It doesn't charge for ATM withdrawals, only interest from the time you take the withdrawal. That's why you clear the balance as soon as you get home.
    The interest is around 2% per month on cash withdrawals. So if you clear the cash withdrawals or whole balance* after two weeks, without waiting for your statement, you'll pay around 1% over that period. That equates to a current exchange rate of 1.2365€ to the Pound. Purchases 1.249€

    *(Of course purchases don't attract interest if you pay the full statement amount)

    Thanks so much, that helps alot!! It might be more worth my while using it then :)
  • I got the Travelex Globe Cash Passport to travel to Dubai - I found it virtually impossible to use there and that some cashpoints were charging fees which left me with an "odd" amount still on the card, when I eventually found a cashpoint that would accept the card without charges I ended up withdrawing as much cash as I could and keeping it in the hotel safe. I also had various problems whilst attempting to register the card.
  • Hi

    Can anyone tell me if Revolut have got their act together now? I am in the USA from a week today and planned to use this as my main card with Nationwide credit card as a backup. I trialled it on a trip to Spain a couple of months ago and it was fine but now I'm looking at their Facebook page and there's some pretty disgruntled customers out there.

    It's too late to get another prepaid card now but I'm definitely thinking twice about loading a decent amount of money onto it.

    Cheers
    In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.
  • eDicky
    eDicky Posts: 6,547
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Forumite
    It's too late to get another prepaid card now but I'm definitely thinking twice about loading a decent amount of money onto it.
    As you can top up instantly with your debit card at any time, you can just load what you need, as you need it.

    I don't use Facebook, what are people complaining about? Revolut has been fine for me for nearly a year...
    Evolution, not revolution
  • Hi

    Can anyone tell me if Revolut have got their act together now? I am in the USA from a week today and planned to use this as my main card with Nationwide credit card as a backup. I trialled it on a trip to Spain a couple of months ago and it was fine but now I'm looking at their Facebook page and there's some pretty disgruntled customers out there.

    It's too late to get another prepaid card now but I'm definitely thinking twice about loading a decent amount of money onto it.

    Cheers


    Hi! I used to withdraw money in Brazil and it worked perfectly. No withdraw charges and great exchange rate.
  • JeM
    JeM Posts: 20 Forumite
    I'm going to a few different countries on the continent (mainly Spain, Italy and Germany) so I thought it would be a good idea to get a pre paid euro card rather than entice muggers and carry around many hundreds of euros with me. I was thinking this rather than a credit card or switching bank because it's the sort of thing that I can get fairly easily and at short notice.

    I was thinking either Revolut, ICE or the Post Office travel card, as I don't think any charge you an inactivity fee and they all have reasonable rates. Here's my main points:
    Rates - Obviously Revolut gives you the best rate but I understand your balance is held in GBP and converted at the current rate when you make a purchase?
    ATM fees - ICE and Post Office have similar rates but there's no ATM fee with the ICE card.
    Protection - I think Revolut has protection in case the company goes bust, but I've no idea about the others, I think ICE doesn't have any protection and I assume the Post Office Card is protected by the Post Office itself. Obviously none of them have Section 75 protection but I'm not too fussed about that.

    I would definitely go for Revolut but it seems that people have been having lots of problems with it lately, if not for this I probably would have just got one already. :D

    Basically, can anyone give some of their experiences/opinions on these cards?
  • NiftyDigits
    NiftyDigits Posts: 10,459 Forumite
    JeM wrote: »
    I'm going to a few different countries on the continent (mainly Spain, Italy and Germany) so I thought it would be a good idea to get a pre paid euro card rather than entice muggers and carry around many hundreds of euros with me. I was thinking this rather than a credit card or switching bank because it's the sort of thing that I can get fairly easily and at short notice.

    I was thinking either Revolut, ICE or the Post Office travel card, as I don't think any charge you an inactivity fee and they all have reasonable rates. Here's my main points:
    Rates - Obviously Revolut gives you the best rate but I understand your balance is held in GBP and converted at the current rate when you make a purchase?
    ATM fees - ICE and Post Office have similar rates but there's no ATM fee with the ICE card.
    Protection - I think Revolut has protection in case the company goes bust, but I've no idea about the others, I think ICE doesn't have any protection and I assume the Post Office Card is protected by the Post Office itself. Obviously none of them have Section 75 protection but I'm not too fussed about that.

    I would definitely go for Revolut but it seems that people have been having lots of problems with it lately, if not for this I probably would have just got one already. :D

    Basically, can anyone give some of their experiences/opinions on these cards?

    Metro Bank debit card or Revolut.
  • JeM
    JeM Posts: 20 Forumite
    Metro Bank debit card or Revolut.

    Thanks for the quick reply! I would go for a Metro card but unfortunately my nearest branch is about 70 miles away, and I'm going away in about 2 weeks otherwise I definitely would, they look very good.

    The only thing putting me off Revolut is the seemingly large amount of negative comments it has been getting recently, particularly regarding the app being buggy and cards being rejected/not working. But then other people seem to have no problems at all with it....
  • eDicky
    eDicky Posts: 6,547
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Forumite
    JeM wrote: »
    Obviously Revolut gives you the best rate but I understand your balance is held in GBP and converted at the current rate when you make a purchase?
    You can also convert your pounds at any time and hold a balance in euros (or dollars), and later convert back what you don't need.

    PO and ICE cards have no such versatility and are much worse value, forget about them. I've used Revolut for ten months in various parts of the world with excellent results - but don't rely on any single source of funds, always have something as backup even if it's your regular bank card.
    Evolution, not revolution
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards