Cuba - Which Prepaid Travel Card?

Beanynut2

Hi

My daughter is off to Cuba for the first time on a holiday in October. When she has been away before, she has taken her FairFx Travel card - which I load up if she runs out of money (as she usually does :cool:.

I've discovered that the Fairfx isn't valid in Cuba because of the relationship between Cuba and the US. Does anyone know of a similar sort of card that can be used over there?

thanks
Jill

gem75

Any card with connections to a US Bank are not accepted. Other cards can be accepted but a lot of places don't take cards at all. They also add an additional 12% onto card transactions so unfortunately the best option is to take sterling and change it on arrival at the airport. You can't get Cuban currency in advance in the UK so that really is the only option.

Beanynut2

Thanks Gem.

She is a bit of a dolly daydream so I'm just worried about her a) losing her money or b) running out of money and needing it for something crucial.

Is there a way of getting money to her over there if things go pearshaped??

Jill

gem75

We went on an 8 day tour of Cuba and were recommended to take cash, as ATMs are few and far between and may not work and may not accept your card. Think there were some ATMs in Havana. It's not ideal and anywhere else I would not entertain taking that much cash, we only did it because it seemed like there was no other reliable choice.
Not sure how things are at the tourist resorts, may be easier to use credit cards there as we went to see the "real" Cuba.

budgetflyer

ATMs will be no good as tourists have the "Tourist Peso" and the locals their own "Peso"

inmypocketnottheirs

For the record both Visa and MasterCard are US based and I haven't ever had any problem in paying for services using either in Cuba to pay for services such as tours, car hire or restaurants. I have been twice, but always took cash, a mixture of sterling and some low denomination US$ for tipping. Cubans don't care if they get dollars, it's all money to them!

I wouldn't rely on ATMs for withdrawals. Take cash and change at the hotel reception, there is only 1 exchange rate.

If staying all inclusive, there isn't really much to spend money on other than cheap local trinkets. As I say turs, restaurants and the like can all be paid on a card.

All that they dont like is a card issued by an American bank, I.e Citi, Chase Manhatten etc. Or American Express . I have used Capital One, MBNA (US banks!) though without a problem. Cuba is a land of many contradictions and these petty rules aren't set in stone.

The thing to do is to take a mixture of cards so you have a back up.