Which prepaid Travel Card to use

m2787

Hi all

I've looked through the advice on carrying money abroad and have decided to take some in cash and some on a prepaid card. Does anyone have experience of these cards? Would you recommend one and if so which one? I thinking either the Fairfx card or Travelex Cash Passport.

Thanks.

PeteDoff

m2787 wrote: »

Hi all

I've looked through the advice on carrying money abroad and have decided to take some in cash and some on a prepaid card. Does anyone have experience of these cards? Would you recommend one and if so which one? I thinking either the Fairfx card or Travelex Cash Passport.

Thanks.

Or kalixa. I load with a visa debit card (for free) and spend at an unbeatable rate on any pre-paid card with no fee. I don't use it to withdraw cash but if I did the overall cost would still be excellent for a prepaid card.
Card can be obtained free, top-up, spending and balance notifications (SMS or e-mail are free) with a minimum top-up of £10
Which PRE-PAID card beats that?

Kernow666

the travelex card can be bought at any ASDA/SAINSBURYS/TESCO that has an instore travel bureau , if you want the personal touch then thats always an option , i have one from sainsburys just handy to have in your pocket
you can also apply for it online and collect instore

just there are some people who like to see what they are getting before they part with there hard-earned

i know the usual suspects will bamboozle with exchange rates and figures but its what your happy with at the end of the day

NiftyDigits

Kernow666 wrote: »

the travelex card can be bought at any ASDA/SAINSBURYS/TESCO that has an instore travel bureau , if you want the personal touch then thats always an option , i have one from sainsburys just handy to have in your pocket
you can also apply for it online and collect instore

just there are some people who like to see what they are getting before they part with there hard-earned

i know the usual suspects will bamboozle with exchange rates and figures but its what your happy with at the end of the day

Do you mean that if one is too thick to understand that with one card you'll have more to spend than the other?
It's as simple as that.

Exchange rates and figures?? "That is the whole point. Duuh!

The card the gives the best exchange rate and has the lowest fees...is the best card.

If you are happy to get less for your money that's your lookout. But we won't let you get away with trying to 'bamboozle' others into accepting less than they are due. Personal touch? You mean pay someone to give you less?

Now you go on a have a nice day.

JoseChungsDoomsday

I have a caxtonfx $ card and find it great. Not the top exchange rate (maybe second or third) but no ATM fees makes it a bargain.

Things I took into consideration -

Is there a non 0845 number you can ring
Social media presence
What kind of online banking do they offer
Pin retrieval (Caxton will give you it over the phone)

NiftyDigits

JoseChungsDoomsday wrote: »

I have a caxtonfx $ card and find it great. Not the top exchange rate (maybe second or third) but no ATM fees makes it a bargain.

Things I took into consideration -

Is there a non 0845 number you can ring
Social media presence
What kind of online banking do they offer
Pin retrieval (Caxton will give you it over the phone)

Not necessarily. It depends on the pattern of your usage. Lots of relatively small withdrawals is to what this card is suited.
It's also limited in the way that you can fund it.
Also the fact that your money is now tied up in US$.
This is fine if you have done this to lock in at an unusually high rate.
All of the decent cards have a geographical or Freephone number.

Personally, if I were to choose a card, I would go for Kalixa Pay. Free here.
Unbeatable for purchases anywhere. No exchange rate fee at all.
If using at an ATM, take a decent chunk out. The equivalent of £100 will cost out at 2.25%. £200, 1.5%, £300, 0.75%
Considering that other currency cards shave 2% to 3% off the exchange rate, it's easy to see that you can match or better them when it comes to cash withdrawal value. The others can't compete at all when it comes to purchases.
But I would not choose to leave large amounts of money on a Prepaid card at any one time.

m2787

I now have a Kalixa card. One question. Do I need to convert it as the amount in my account is in pounds or do I just use it and the equivalent in euros will be spent or withdrawn? And so do I need to watch the rate everyday? There doesn't seem to be an option to convert my money

m2787

Bump bump bump

PeteDoff

m2787 wrote: »

I now have a Kalixa card. One question. Do I need to convert it as the amount in my account is in pounds or do I just use it and the equivalent in euros will be spent or withdrawn? And so do I need to watch the rate everyday? There doesn't seem to be an option to convert my money

Just use it for spending, it will be converted to whatever at the prevailing rate. Don't forget to sign up on the web-site for free alerts that will e-mail you or send you a text (or both) with a summary of your spending and your remaining balance after each purchase, usually whilst you are still in the shop.

nikki299

Can i ask how you are getting on with the card as i have seen a lot of very bad reviews online.
I nearly bought one but now i'm not sure. I don't want a lot of hassle verifying my id, faxing and scanning things etc.

NiftyDigits

nikki299 wrote: »

Can i ask how you are getting on with the card as i have seen a lot of very bad reviews online.
I nearly bought one but now i'm not sure. I don't want a lot of hassle verifying my id, faxing and scanning things etc.

Where are these bad reviews?