Where to get a VISA Electron card?

NonGeographicalMan

shona wrote: »

Do any of the accounts offering electron cards have a decent rate of interest r some other perk, does anyone know? thanks

Visa Electron cards are targeted at non creditworthy customers so are unlikely to pay top rates of interest due to the other high costs associated in servicing poor credit risks. For instance the balance on a typical Visa Electron account will no doubt be very low and the customers probably tend to ask a lot more questions to customer services than the financially well healed.

Surely saving the Ryanair ripoff card fee is a very valuable perk. Why do you need more?

grubscuttle

I wonder if anyone has any idea why Ryanair refuses to recognise my Visa Electron card issued by a French bank? If I try to pay using this card I get a message saying I have either selected the wrong type of card, incorrectly input the card number or given the wrong user name, none of which apply!

biophys

With regards to the problem of the French card I think they cover themselves with a caveat that the card you purchase with has to be domestic with respect to the currency you are purchasing your flight in. Therefore - to purchase in GBP you need to have a British visa electron. I have an Italian friend who uses their Italian visa electron but they always buy their flights through the Italian website and buy in EURO.

So maybe give that a go!

geoff_s---r

I assume Ryanair can't legally advertise a £10 flight if you can't buy it for £10. So until they find a card that yet more obscure than Electron, it will continue to be free

>Quote Ryanair - "Visa Electron - As a special offer to Visa Electron card holders, Ryanair, for a limited period only, will not apply a Debit Card charge." Root Entry

roses

I bought a Visa Electron Barclay gift card and paid with my Mastercard. I got an interest charge applied to my credit card because of this and when I called up Mastercard to enquire, they told me Barclays put this through my card as a "cash withdrawal" transaction. So be warned about this as I don't remember any warning about this when I bought the card!

milfordmadness

roses wrote: »

I bought a Visa Electron Barclay gift card and paid with my Mastercard. I got an interest charge applied to my credit card because of this and when I called up Mastercard to enquire, they told me Barclays put this through my card as a "cash withdrawal" transaction. So be warned about this as I don't remember any warning about this when I bought the card!

Technically talking, a gift card (cash) is a cash withdrawal...... didn't think Mastercard would have to advise you, nor barclays...... its the same as taking cash out the ATM in my opinion.....

thefenman

forzaviola wrote: »

I haven't read the whole forum so forgive me if this has been mentioned, however you can get a 'virtual' card at www.entropay.com, which is accepted on the RyanAir website as an Electron. I was booking two flights last night for £10 each return including taxes, onto which RyanAir were going to carge £5 each person each way, thus doubling the cost. I know the flights are cheap, and I've always just paid it, but I was slightly drunk and this time it really annoyed me out of principle.

I signed up for Entropay and after their thorough security checks was successfully registered. It does work, just completed the transaction. The transfer fee on Entropay means that the cost of the £25 I transferred was a little over £1.20, so well worth the effort if you book Ryanair frequently.

Best advice I've seen for some time - thank you.

I think I will go for one of these but have first asked them if, when I use my "normal" HSBC debit card to top up the "virtual card", the funds are credited instantly. I wouldn't want to find a bargain on RyanAir only for it to get away while I waited for funds to be credited - I wouldn't want funds just to be sitting there on the off-chance.

dereksuton58

Just be aware that bookings made with an Electron card are not insured in any way while those made with a credit card allow you to reclaim your cash if something happens like the company going bump.

It's expensive insurance though - and an annual travel policy is much cheaper.

Hint - when booking a holiday, why not pay the deposit by credit card and the balance by electron (or cheque)? The whole amount is then covered by the credit card comapny.
Amazing but true.:beer:

savagej

It will be covered by Visa's chargeback scheme which covers any card issued with the Visa logo.

rb10

dereksuton58 wrote: »

Just be aware that bookings made with an Electron card are not insured in any way while those made with a credit card allow you to reclaim your cash if something happens like the company going bump.

Only where the flight is over £100. Many are under that threshold.