Best Pre-paid visa/mastercard??

andy_H_4

Having searched through forum i decided to start a new thread.

With Christmas on its way and only having a cash card I am looking at getting a pre pay card.

Does any one have experience of any? or advice?

I have looked at Travelex card which seems to be free of charges except for ATM withdrawals, but minimum top up is £100. Top up at coop travel shop or Going Places (Details here)

Also looked at https://www.credecard.com which says debit card coming soon and can top-up at PayPoint
So does any one have experience or advice?

Many thanks

lynzpower

I looked at these a while ago when having a chat with them with another MSEr. All I can say is watch out for the charges, particularly if you want to draw the money off.

Say you set aside 100 for Xmas prezzies, but savviness is you get all your presents for 40 quid. Theres 60 left on the card. if you want to draw that money ( IE YOUR money) then charges seem to be everywhere with these.

poppy52

I have a mycashplus mastercard. You top up at post offices or by standing order, plus a few other locations. Initial fee is about £10, then you either pay a flat fee of abut a fiver per month or £1 per transaction. I pay the latter as I don't use it a lot. You can check your balance on the internet. Fees for withdrawing cash are high, but don't think many people would use it this way.

rog2

I looked at this a couple of months ago as I travel a lot and was often asked for a credit card to be swiped on arrival at hotels, even though I would usually pay by other means. The charges put me off as, in my opinion, they have YOUR money and should be earning interest on that whilst they hold it. Okay - a one-off fee for the card is fine, but since you can not spend any more than the balance, I saw no point in giving them the money.
Now, if a hotel insists on a credit-card swipe I vote with my feet.

kuohu

andy_H wrote:

Having searched through forum i decided to start a new thread.

With Christmas on its way and only having a cash card I am looking at getting a pre pay card.

Does any one have experience of any? or advice?

As others have intimated, the costs with these cards can outweigh the benefits. What exactly do you want a pre-paid card for? And can you not get a debit card from your bank?

the_taws_family_of_7

kuohu wrote:

As others have intimated, the costs with these cards can outweigh the benefits. What exactly do you want a pre-paid card for? And can you not get a debit card from your bank?

Ideally noone wants to have to pay for the use of a card but i agree when things have got that bad that a bank wont give you a debit card(not even a crappy solo card)this is a last resort me and oh have been looking at getting one even for match betting and most things on quidco and pigsback require a debit card only point is tp ourchase the pay as you go credit card you need a cc or debit card to purchase?Wheres the logic in that!

flaura

i've got a cash plus mastercard too.. I can't get a debit card from the bank and with 5 defaults on my credit file can you blame them . When they're gone in three years time then things will be different, but you'd be amazed how difficult it is to go through life paying with that funny old stuff we call cash.

When i wanted to pay some extra off a bill i called up for bank details so i could transfer the funds via t'internet ! i was told i could only pay by a debit card i said i didn't have one and i got a response "how do you pay for things then" i told him i used the stuff that you get out of the whole in the wall with the queens face on. don't think he got it ! - and spoke to his supervisor and managed to get the bank details.

anyway ! i use mine for ebay and internet and they're a godsend for holiday you can stock up on it and use it when your away without taking wads of cash for spending money.

i didn;t need a debit card to get the cash plus card you don't even need a bank account

andy_H_4

kuohu wrote:

As others have intimated, the costs with these cards can outweigh the benefits. What exactly do you want a pre-paid card for? And can you not get a debit card from your bank?

I have a basic account with barclays (no card )

But it seems travelex may be best option (no fees!)

just now i use my sisters or mums cards when needed, which nay be a better option

pennylane99

there is a talksport prepaid card.....

https://www.talksportcard.co.uk/index.php

and also extremecred....

https://www.extremecred.com/index.php

skintasusual

they sound much cheaper for fee's than mycashplus

might get me one of them!!!

excellent!