Currency Card Reload Abroad

colloq

Hi,

I will be working in America for 3 months this summer and was looking at getting a travel card.

However, every travel card seems to be "reloaded" exchanging Sterling at a poor rate from a UK Bank Account.

Are there any Cards which I can load with my Wages (Dollars) while over there (e.g. go into walmart and reload using dollars) to prevent me having to carry around large sums of dollars?

Many Thanks

benjus

Why not open a local bank account or get an American prepaid card, like one of these: http://www.nerdwallet.com/prepaid/ ?

Incidentally, for accessing your Sterling funds from the US it's actually cheaper to use a (good) card denominated in Sterling that converts currency as you use it, than to get a USD denominated card. Kalixa is probably the best overall prepaid card for travelling.

colloq

Thanks, Im not too interested in accessing my sterling funds.

I am not sure I can open a bank account while there as I am not a resident but maybe I should look into that.

Also when looking at american prepaid cards you need a social security number, I didnt get one last summer, should I request one this summer?