Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

NiftyDigits

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

£3.48 Kalixa offer:
http://affiliate.kalixa.com/uk/kalixa-pay/kalixa-pay-50-discount-offer/?source=FD_3-12-229978-0

That may be discontinued. You'll have to go as far as entering it, in order to find out.

KD

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

£3.48 Kalixa offer:
http://affiliate.kalixa.com/uk/kalixa-pay/kalixa-pay-50-discount-offer/?source=FD_3-12-229978-0

I had a look at this link - has anyone used this for Iceland/Norway?

My 20 year old is going for a short trip in January to these 2 countries and we are looking for an efficient way to manage her travel money. She's unlikely to qualify for a credit card ( full time student- only intermittent part time earnings)

I have Fairfx card and thought about getting her one, but whilst it was great for Euros & Dollars I'm not sure about currency for Iceland & Norway

Any advice?

NiftyDigits

KD wrote: »

I had a look at this link - has anyone used this for Iceland/Norway?

My 20 year old is going for a short trip in January to these 2 countries and we are looking for an efficient way to manage her travel money. She's unlikely to qualify for a credit card ( full time student- only intermittent part time earnings)

I have Fairfx card and thought about getting her one, but whilst it was great for Euros & Dollars I'm not sure about currency for Iceland & Norway

Any advice?

Yes, with the caveat of her not using it for small withdrawals. Use it for purchases at every opportunity. Take a chunk of cash out at a time if she has to use the ATM.

sellis79

I just got back from Vegas and I had topped up a UKash card with $1500. Of course this lasted all of 2 days in Vegas, so I went to top up online.

For some unknown reason it wouldn't work and there was just an onscreen error saying that there was a security issue on their side.

I tried with 3 different cards, from 3 different devices, I also paid to use the hotel facilities and non worked.

I called them up and they said there was no block on my account and that it should work. They took details and assured me that it would be resolved ASAP.

This was 2 days into my 7 day holiday, I heard back once I landed back in the UK that my account should now be working :mad:

I so far have totalled £46+ in fees and I'm still waiting for the rest to be applied to my general uk debit accounts.

Patti27

I'm going to Amsterdam for 4 days in April & wasn't sure if I should get a travel credit card, pre-paid card or exchange cash before I go.

Not sure if I'd likely get a credit card at the moment as I'm a full time student working part time with an agency (so no guarantee of work), however I should have an excellent credit rating with the credit card I already have. The pre-paid cards sound like a good idea but I don't want one that you have to pay to get & that charge if you don't use it. The chances of me going abroad again this year are very slim but if I went somewhere next year then I could always use the card again. Exchanging cash would probably be easier but would I want to carry too much around with me.

Would anyone be able to offer me some advice?

NiftyDigits

Patti27 wrote: »

I'm going to Amsterdam for 4 days in April & wasn't sure if I should get a travel credit card, pre-paid card or exchange cash before I go.

Not sure if I'd likely get a credit card at the moment as I'm a full time student working part time with an agency (so no guarantee of work), however I should have an excellent credit rating with the credit card I already have. The pre-paid cards sound like a good idea but I don't want one that you have to pay to get & that charge if you don't use it. The chances of me going abroad again this year are very slim but if I went somewhere next year then I could always use the card again. Exchanging cash would probably be easier but would I want to carry too much around with me.

Would anyone be able to offer me some advice?

Perhaps Ukash Travel Money Prepaid MasterCard®, as you'll likely need cash in hand.

Caversham_Chalky

Hi,
I have a Santander Zero credit card which has zero foreign fee loading on purchases and cash advances similar to the currently available Halifax Clarity card. To avoid foreign cash advance interest I would pre-load the credit card by paying into it via BACS (their bill paying system wouldn't let you overpay by more than £100). This then gave me a positive credit on the card. When I arrive in country I would then get money out of an ATM ASAP or ensure that I had enough positive credit in order to pay a few bills prior to withdrawing money (I tended to leave a day or 2 between withdrawing cash and paying the normal bills). This obviously only works if you have enough money to cover you estimated cash needs and as Martin says you should pay off the total in full when your statement comes through. As I travel regularly it saves a significant amount of money.

PeacefulWaters

Caversham_Chalky wrote: »

Hi,
I have a Santander Zero credit card which has zero foreign fee loading on purchases and cash advances similar to the currently available Halifax Clarity card. To avoid foreign cash advance interest I would pre-load the credit card by paying into it via BACS (their bill paying system wouldn't let you overpay by more than £100). This then gave me a positive credit on the card.

Not a good idea on the Halifax Clarity Card though. It breaches the T&Cs and runs the risk of the account being frozen when you need it most.

As I travel regularly it saves a significant amount of money.

3p per day per £100 on a 12.9% APR.

YorkshireBoy

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

Not a good idea on the Halifax Clarity Card though. It breaches the T&Cs and runs the risk of the account being frozen when you need it most.

Likewise with Santander Zero. The relevant condition there is 17.7

At 27.9% APR, it's a little more expensive than Clarity at just under 7p/day/£100.

OIKY

I am looking to get a prepaid dollar card for a 4 month trip to USA which I want to use mostly for topping up to withdraw cash, let's say $100ish every few days.

I thought the best option would be the uKash prepaid mastercard but just looking on their website under fees (https://www.ukash.com/en-gb/products/ukash-mastercard/fees-and-limits/) it looks like there is now a $2 ATM withdrawal fee, I don't think that was there when i looked a few months back.

Anyway, i guess I need a new solution, A card that doesn't charge for ATM withdrawals. I've had a look around and for example i can see the caxtonFX but the exchange rate is worse than on a card that DOES charge for cash withdrawals (FairFX/Kalixa) so i'm not sure in the long run what will be the better option, i'd better get the calculator out... i'm sure both options are better than using a standard bank debit card for 4 months!

I already know that the best solution is the Halifax Clarity by the way, however I am unable to apply for one until april and my trip will have already started so I need to look elsewhere!

I have 2 credit cards in the Aqua Reward and the Nationwide Select which have no overseas fees which I am going to use for most purchases and hotels so I only need a means of withdrawing some dollars frequently in not so large amounts at minimal cost!
if anybody has advice it would be greatly appreciated