Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

omar7875

hi all... i wondered if any one knows if its just as good to change sterling in the states as it is in say spain, turkey etc.. you always seem to get a better rate when there..does this also apply to usa ??? thanks for any help mick

cascaid

Hi, I am planning a trip to Italy in September and was wondering if anyone had any experience with the Travelex Cash Passport? Just wondering if it would be worth me getting one as I used to use my Nationwide flexaccount but they have started charging for foreign transactions and withdrawals. I liked the idea of this card as it's not a credit card (already have a Halifax One card and don't really want anymore credit!). Any help or advice would be great!

dzug1

Which Travelex cash passport - there are several, some good, some not so good. If you get one of the latter you might just as well have used your Nationwide card.

The Global card is probably the best.

cascaid

I was thinking of the Mastercard Prepaid Currency card, is this no good? I looked at the Global one but it didn't seem right for me as it suggests it for regular travellers...

stilltheone

cascaid wrote: »

I was thinking of the Mastercard Prepaid Currency card, is this no good? I looked at the Global one but it didn't seem right for me as it suggests it for regular travellers...

Save yourself a headache, just get the Globe.

jicms

Hi
If using cash to top up these cards, e.g. at the Post Office or Phones4U can you only deposit Sterling even if it's a dollar or euro card?

park_gate

stilltheone wrote: »

You post is misinformed at best. Read the T&Cs of the respective products before posting this nonsense. There is little excuse, as it has been explained to you time and again. In addition, your 'synopsis' for existing Nationwide customers is completely wrong.

I have an old Nationwide gold card and the previous post looks about right to me; although after nearly switching to Nationwide I've now gone back to Santander due to Nationwide's changes to their foreign currency. So I don't use my Nationwide card much now.

Pre-paid are OK if you can't get credit but you take a hit on the exchange rate and the charges are higher. Don't take my word for it but checkout MSE:

http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/

I would suggest trying to switch your main bank account to Santander or Halifax then apply for their credit cards. Talk to them before to see what you need to do to be successful.

I was rejected by Halifax but accepted by Santander so I would recommend start with Santander. They had problems with their computer systems after the take over but I would say their customer service is not too bad now.

Also it looks to me like employees of the pre-paid cards are trying to talk them up so be wary of some of the posts here.

Terry

dzug1

jicms wrote: »

Hi
If using cash to top up these cards, e.g. at the Post Office or Phones4U can you only deposit Sterling even if it's a dollar or euro card?

Yes - you have to pay in sterling whatever card it is

nikkilou1984

I'm travelling to Lanzarote on sunday - going AI so won't need alot of cash and don't want a cash card of any sort, but where's the best place to get it from at the moment? Will be buying my Euro's tomorrow or thursday probably.

Thanks for any help.

Nosmo_King_2

Going to Spain in a week or so, I have got a Clarity card but ideally would prefer to also have an alternative too (eggs in one basket and all that)
(Although we will have our Nationwide Flex A/C cards, they are intended for emergency use only these days) Will probably opt for the Fairfx card as it's exchange rates are around 1% higher than Caxton or Travelex but only if withdrawals are of approx 200eur, much less then the atm charge would cancel out the better exchange rate. At the end of the day if your holiday spend is going to be around £1500/£2000 I don't think there would be much to choose between these prepaid cards and a Clarity card (I suspect you would be looking at pence rather than any massive saving)