Kalixa Pre Paid Credit Card

The_Boffin

I am curious to know why MSE doesnt make any mention of the Kalixa Prepaid CC?

A few years ago I started to use a this Credit Card based upon a recommendation from MSE. I find it great for use overseas having used it it in USA, Canada, Spain and recently Hungary. On all occasions the exchange rate I have received has been near if not the same as the rate published at xe.com (commercial rate). There has been no usage/surcharge charge so it has proved to be much cheaper than using a normal CC or taking currency bought in the UK.
To me this is an excellent card to use but MSE never makes reference to it when talking about the best pre-paid credit cards. This week MSE is recommending Lebara Money but having looked at it I dont see that it is any better than Kalixa.

Does anyone know why?

grumbler

Maybe it's because the cards mentioned in the main article are better?

• Cheap Travel Credit Cards

I searched the email from 14 May 2014 for 'lebara' and haven't found anything.

Also, it's worth saying that MSE belongs to Moneysupermarket now and their recommendations can be driven sometimes by commercial interests.

Tixy

Lebara is mentioned on the prepaid cards article for being the best buy for spending in the UK. Not ATM withdrawals and not overseas.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/prepaid-cards (its also worth mentioning that it does say this article is not necessarily up to date).

I guess the reason they consider it better than kalixa for spending in the UK is that the Lebara initial fee is waivered if you load more than £20 (£6.95 for kalixa).
Both are free to reload by bank transfer. Both are free for spending in the UK.

Whilst Lebara isn't classed as a best buy for atm withdrawals in the UK if you do use it for that at £1.50 it is cheaper than Kalixa's £1.75.

MSE currently recommend fairfx, caxtonfx and travelex for overseas spending, rather than Kalixa. I guess they have calculated that these are usually cheaper than kalixa overall (presumably having compared the actual exchange rates on all in detail).

reclusive46

Tixy wrote: »

MSE currently recommend fairfx, caxtonfx and travelex for overseas spending, rather than Kalixa. I guess they have calculated that these are usually cheaper than kalixa overall (presumably having compared the actual exchange rates on all in detail).

Kalixa actually uses the MasterCard exchange rate, I've always wondered why its never recommended as well.

onerickylambert

The cheap travel credit cards are better and if you really need a prepay card cashplus is cheaper to get and can help build/repair a credit rating, which Kalixa doesn't.