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Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

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  • Hello, wondering if anyone can help - does anyone know if it is possible to get a prepaid currency card that actually has TWO cards attached to the pot of prepaid money? I'm going away with my hubby and young son and inevitably we will not be together the whole time - we are going skiing so will alternate who is on duty with the little one, and could ideally do with a card each
  • Aaron
    Aaron Posts: 75 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    does anyone know if it is possible to get a prepaid currency card that actually has TWO cards attached to the pot of prepaid money?
    Q. I want to apply for a Caxton card for my child. How do I do this? » answer You may apply for an additional card for any family member as long as they are 13 years of age or over. When completing your application, simply click on the "add additional cardholder" section of the form and complete their details. There is a fee of £5 €7.50 or $10 for each additional card.
    Other cards may allow something similar.
  • Does anyone use the Thomas Cook Cash Passport? I'm reluctant to take too much cash with me to Oz and travellers cheques are a pain so I thought this might be a good idea. I'd appreciate feedback please.
    LBM February 2008. DFD March 2013 19 August 2011
    Debt at LBM £14,395.48. Debt Now £0
  • dzug1
    dzug1 Posts: 13,535 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Does anyone use the Thomas Cook Cash Passport? I'm reluctant to take too much cash with me to Oz and travellers cheques are a pain so I thought this might be a good idea. I'd appreciate feedback please.

    There's nothing wrong with it apart from the charges not being the lowest.
  • I have read and covered just about every page on MoneySavingExpert, which has proved very helpful, so thanks!

    That said, I still remain confused about what is best for me to use and when to use it on my Round the World Trip..Help would be appreciated

    Credit Cards
    Post Office Credit Card & Halifax Clarity are both free Cash withdrawals but come with high variable APR's. I applied for Halifax but was offered 21.95% p.a. for balance transfers, cash advances cheques and purchases. I think Post Office is around 19%.
    MSE says that I will be charged despite paying it off monthly. So if I withdraw £100 would I have to repay £121.95??
    I must be wrong because, withdrawing from a current account would therefore be cheaper. I have two of the 'cards from hell' HSBC Debit & Santander Debit, so don't want to be withdrawing on those.

    Prepaid Card.
    I plan on getting a Caxtonfx card for security and for low fee's with fixed withdrawal fees and no loading fees. But wonder if this is the cheapest way? I have heard that with a £ account costs are quite high.
    "A conversion fee of 2.50% is charged for each transaction as well as a transaction fee of £2.50. You'll also be charged a withdrawal fee of £1.50 if you use the card to take money out of a cash machine."


    I'm afraid i'm not the quickest of cats.. So in Lehmans terms..

    What card should i have for withdrawing cash at ATMS?
    What card should I use at Foreign Exchange Companies if I pre-order online?


    ***PLEASE HELP!!!***
  • KTF
    KTF Posts: 4,848 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 17 February 2011 at 6:12PM
    The APR is annual so for £100 withdrawn you would pay 1.82% a month (21.95%/12) interest so £1.82 interest.

    If you also have a Halifax bank or savings account you can reduce this by paying off the credit card via the internet banking as you see transactions appear on the account.
  • dzug1
    dzug1 Posts: 13,535 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Pselby2011 wrote: »
    I

    I'm afraid i'm not the quickest of cats.. So in Lehmans terms..

    What card should i have for withdrawing cash at ATMS?
    What card should I use at Foreign Exchange Companies if I pre-order online?


    ***PLEASE HELP!!!***



    For withdrawing cash at ATMs use a debit card from Metro bank, Cumberland BS, Norwich and Peterborough or Santander Zero - all no fees or loading. Not all of these are available to everyone.

    For paying for cash ordered from a UK BdeC online use your HSBC debit card - no charges.
  • Going to Honduras next month and would like to take some cash ready for when I arrive.
    Anyone know of the best places to go for exotic currencies. I can get it from the post office but have to order a minimum of £400's worth and I'm not too comfortable carting that much across the world with me.

    Thanks in advance.
  • I'm going to South America in 2 weeks and need to decide how I will carry my money. I'll be there for 2 months and will be going to many different countries (all with different currencies)

    Brazil - Brazilian real
    Bolivia - Bolivian boliviano
    Peru - Peruvian nuevo sol
    Ecuador - US dollar
    Colombia - Colombian peso

    I realise this has now become very last minute - up until yesterday I had assumed, based on the advice of a friend, that I would get the CaxtonFX dollar card. But reading posts on this website has made me reconsider.

    The CaxtonFX website says that "Please note that if you use your Euro or Dollar card outside the Euro zone or United States respectively there is a 2.50% charge on all transactions, including ATM withdrawals." -->but it also says that for the global cards there is a FX mark up of "2.5% of transaction amount where the transaction is performed in a different currency to the card" Surely the transactions are always using a different currency than the card - as the card is sterling and its main use is for TRAVEL? Seeing as this applies to both the global and dollar cards, it would seem that theres no advantage to a dollar over a global card - or vice versa.


    I checked out FairFX policy as well "If you were to use the cards in a country where Euros or Dollars are not the local currency, the exchange rate would be the wholesale MasterCard® market rate. FairFX do not take any further commissions or fees when you do this." This is what FairFX says about its global card: " From 1st March 2011, the charge will be reduced to 1.4% on usage at point of sale. ATM usage will incur a 1.4% charge plus £1." As I will be travelling after 1st of March i guess i will get hit up with that ATM charge. But does the superior exchange rate (i believe it is done by exchanging pounds to foreign currency at mastercard wholesale rate at POINT OF SALE) eventually save me more money?

    I have a Nationwide Flexaccount that I'd been hoping to use travelling, but as you know they changed the rules on that about a month after I got it. Bummer. However Nationwide website does state this -
    "Charge for non-sterling transactions :2.00% of the transaction amount
    Non-UK cash withdrawal charge (as well as the commission charge) £1 for each withdrawal (see note 2)"



    Based on all this information - is it unreasonable to think that i would be almost just as well off taking my debit card with me and using it at ATMS? I will want to pay for some hostels with my card but I am mainly looking for a reasonable way to withdraw cash in the currency of the country I visit. I guess the additional security of a back-up card is welcome too.

    Anyway if you made it to the end of this essay, thanks for reading.
    I'm in a bit of a bind, so any advice would be very appreciated!:)
  • dzug1
    dzug1 Posts: 13,535 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    You'll find in many if not all those countries there will be ATMs that give out $US instead of local currency. You may find they charge a $ or two fee. If you use these I would have thought FairFx and CaxtonFx would treat them as being in the US. But that's an assumption - not knowledge.

    Certainly when I used one with my Nationwide card (pre charging) I got the expected exchange rate, just for $101 instead of the $100 withdrawn.
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