Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

Maggie

Hi All,
My 16year old is on a school trip to Borneo next month. I would like to get him a prepaid card to take for an emergency back up. He is taking cash ,but just in case I thought I would get him a pre paid card. (One of his friends got pick pocketed in Barcelona aged 11 !) However, it seems that most companies do not issue them to people under the age of 18. This seems bonkers as he has a cash card on building society account and can have a bank account with a card. It is after all a pre paid card and can't be over spent so we are not talking about credit card! Any clue how to get around this- apart from lying about his DOB or getting it in my name and giving it to him. Are there risks with choosing to do the latter?
I don't think this has already been covered but apologies if it has..
Margaret

fund_manager

Of the prepaid cards, I dislike the fact that there is no certainty as to the relative competiveness of the exchange rate. Although I note Canton helpfully has a fixed 2.5 percent below the interbank rate, it is itself not competative. Having reviewed them all, despite the £2.25 withdrawal fee on Kalixa, the exchange rate for euros, for example, is unbelievably good (1.236). Am I missing something? Why would anyone go with anyone else?

TakeThis

fund_manager wrote: »

Of the prepaid cards, I dislike the fact that there is no certainty as to the relative competiveness of the exchange rate. Although I note Canton helpfully has a fixed 2.5 percent below the interbank rate, it is itself not competative. Having reviewed them all, despite the £2.25 withdrawal fee on Kalixa, the exchange rate for euros, for example, is unbelievably good (1.236). Am I missing something? Why would anyone go with anyone else?

The withdrawal fee and the card cost, but it is in the top two Prepaid cards, alongside the Cash Passport Globe.

fund_manager

I mentioned the withdrawel fee - its hardly a problem, since being charged 2 quid to draw out, say 400 isnt much and the cost is minimal too.

Why is Martin recommending the fairfx and canton, then?

TakeThis

fund_manager wrote: »

I mentioned the withdrawel fee - its hardly a problem, since being charged 2 quid to draw out, say 400 isnt much and the cost is minimal too.

Why is Martin recommending the fairfx and canton, then?

Slow down. Take your time. You writing is becoming a jumble.

Maximum 24hr ATM Withdrawal £300

Nevertheless, not everyone is going to withdraw £300 each time.

In general, I recommend Kalixa for larger withdrawals and Cash Passport Globe for those likely to make a lot of smaller withdrawals.

The article on Prepaid cards is.....not that good.

TakeThis

Maggie wrote: »

Hi All,
My 16year old is on a school trip to Borneo next month. I would like to get him a prepaid card to take for an emergency back up. He is taking cash ,but just in case I thought I would get him a pre paid card. (One of his friends got pick pocketed in Barcelona aged 11 !) However, it seems that most companies do not issue them to people under the age of 18. This seems bonkers as he has a cash card on building society account and can have a bank account with a card. It is after all a pre paid card and can't be over spent so we are not talking about credit card! Any clue how to get around this- apart from lying about his DOB or getting it in my name and giving it to him. Are there risks with choosing to do the latter?
I don't think this has already been covered but apologies if it has..
Margaret

If you choose to give your Prepaid card to your son, that is up to you. No need to lie about anything.
Cash Passport Globe via TopCashBack is good value. Read here before purchase.

Catel

I need to load my French bank account with enough cash to pay bills for my holiday home when I am in the UK. There doesn't seem to be a cheap way of doing this? Normally I take out 300 Euros from the ATM two or three times and am hit with costs of around £5 to £6 pounds each time on my Nationwide debit card. Transferring from one bank to the other costs £25 and if a large amount then the French bank add in a charge as well, also the exchange rate is not always good. I spend enough on my Nationwide credit card to give me free foreign use on all my other purchases, and I find the exchange rate is usually good. Just need to load my French account and have a little bit of cash for small puchases and am looking for the cheapest options. I don't live in London and the other recommended debit card options requirements doesn't look like it would be cheaper. Also a bit unsure of the safety and rates on the currency companies! Any suggestions?

delphinus_2

Be careful not to get caught out like I have been.

I needed Danish Kroner (DKK) for a work trip and went into a local Thomsons. They didn't have enough but said they could quickly order more. I was sold what they had and paid in advance for the rest (£200). As the transaction was being finalised it was suggested that I didn't take what they had because I may end up paying two guarantee fees (to exchange it back). I'd been at the counter a lot longer than I planned so agreed.
They didn't call me to collect the money for a week, a lot longer than I was expecting. Then their rate had changed dramatically and they did the new rate for the whole amount. I was suspicious but thought it must be correct because it was done through the computer. The cashier did a song and dance about improving the rate which I thought was odd (I didn't know they had any discretion on rates in-store).
When I got home and checked the rate was hugely different to their rate on-line and quite different to the one when I'd walked in and paid the week before. I had no time to go back before I left for Denmark.
Be Aware:
Thomson's on-line rate is totally different to the in-store rate.
Don't pay in advance as it does not get you the rate at the time you paid.
When they say 'a day or so' it could easily be a week.

Additionally, when I went to collect there were 2 staff and no other customers but they kept me waiting for 15 minutes as they were 'doing the banking'. It took another 15 minutes to complete the transaction (and I had already paid).

My husband spoke to the manager and was told their on-line rate is nothing to do with the shops.

TakeThis

Catel wrote: »

I need to load my French bank account with enough cash to pay bills for my holiday home when I am in the UK. There doesn't seem to be a cheap way of doing this? Normally I take out 300 Euros from the ATM two or three times and am hit with costs of around £5 to £6 pounds each time on my Nationwide debit card. Transferring from one bank to the other costs £25 and if a large amount then the French bank add in a charge as well, also the exchange rate is not always good. I spend enough on my Nationwide credit card to give me free foreign use on all my other purchases, and I find the exchange rate is usually good. Just need to load my French account and have a little bit of cash for small puchases and am looking for the cheapest options. I don't live in London and the other recommended debit card options requirements doesn't look like it would be cheaper. Also a bit unsure of the safety and rates on the currency companies! Any suggestions?

The Norwich & Peterborough's Gold Light account is the best option for you.

TakeThis

delphinus wrote: »

Be careful not to get caught out like I have been.

I needed Danish Kroner (DKK) for a work trip and went into a local Thomsons. They didn't have enough but said they could quickly order more. I was sold what they had and paid in advance for the rest (£200). As the transaction was being finalised it was suggested that I didn't take what they had because I may end up paying two guarantee fees (to exchange it back). I'd been at the counter a lot longer than I planned so agreed.
They didn't call me to collect the money for a week, a lot longer than I was expecting. Then their rate had changed dramatically and they did the new rate for the whole amount. I was suspicious but thought it must be correct because it was done through the computer. The cashier did a song and dance about improving the rate which I thought was odd (I didn't know they had any discretion on rates in-store).
When I got home and checked the rate was hugely different to their rate on-line and quite different to the one when I'd walked in and paid the week before. I had no time to go back before I left for Denmark.
Be Aware:
Thomson's on-line rate is totally different to the in-store rate.
Don't pay in advance as it does not get you the rate at the time you paid.
When they say 'a day or so' it could easily be a week.

Additionally, when I went to collect there were 2 staff and no other customers but they kept me waiting for 15 minutes as they were 'doing the banking'. It took another 15 minutes to complete the transaction (and I had already paid).

My husband spoke to the manager and was told their on-line rate is nothing to do with the shops.

You've been a member of this website for more than two years and you buy your foreign currency from a travel agent??