Travelling for 6 months, What card do I take?

callum9999

kieranyeh wrote: »

N&P are no good for me as you need to have a minimum of £6000 a year gross income.

I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in the world that's having this problem at the moment. My circumstances are so unique.

Says who? The website, as far as I can see, just says you have to pay in £500 a month or pay a £5 charge. It doesn't say that £6000 a year has to come from income.

I guess the credit card would be out of the question due to income, so I would get the N&P card and then whatever pre-paid card is best. Presumably the Kalixa that NiftyDigit recommends, but if you'd prefer to have frequent small withdrawals then maybe something else is actually better.

NiftyDigits

callum9999 wrote: »

Says who? The website, as far as I can see, just says you have to pay in £500 a month or pay a £5 charge. It doesn't say that £6000 a year has to come from income.

I guess the credit card would be out of the question due to income, so I would get the N&P card and then whatever pre-paid card is best. Presumably the Kalixa that NiftyDigit recommends, but if you'd prefer to have frequent small withdrawals then maybe something else is actually better.

I suggest to take both Caxton Global and Kalixa Pay. But the OP seems to think that everything on the trip will go to plan.

callum9999

NiftyDigits wrote: »

I suggest to take both Caxton Global and Kalixa Pay. But the OP seems to think that everything on the trip will go to plan.

And so everyone has to be as fastidious as you or they're some kind of thick air-head? Why not take 3 pre-paid cards? Why not 4? What if a tsunami hits and washes away all their stuff - should they have a suite of virtual cards ready to access online?

Things do indeed go wrong, but each individual has to make up their own mind as to how strongly they want to prepare for it. The odds of both cards not working at the same time, while the third one would, are rather slim. If they end up incurring a few quid in fees on a normal debit card then you'll just have to sit there smug knowing you were right. You can't force people to act the same way you do, and if they choose not to then you can't abuse them until they do!

alwaysskint96

Mytravelcash Anywhere card has fee free withdrawals worldwide i believe Was happy using mine recently

http://www.mytravelcash.com/travel-money-products/multi-currency-card/

callum9999

alwaysskint96 wrote: »

Mytravelcash Anywhere card has fee free withdrawals worldwide i believe Was happy using mine recently

http://www.mytravelcash.com/travel-money-products/multi-currency-card/

No, 2.99% - similar to many normal debit cards.

kieranyeh

callum9999 wrote: »

Says who? The website, as far as I can see, just says you have to pay in £500 a month or pay a £5 charge. It doesn't say that £6000 a year has to come from income.

I guess the credit card would be out of the question due to income, so I would get the N&P card and then whatever pre-paid card is best. Presumably the Kalixa that NiftyDigit recommends, but if you'd prefer to have frequent small withdrawals then maybe something else is actually better.

Part way through my application it came to the income screen which wouldn't let me continue until I'd outlined my income followed by the source. I'll call them today and try to explain over the phone..

NiftyDigits wrote: »

Seriously?

Indeed, you could use the Caxton exclusively for ATM withdrawals. But not all of your transactions will be in cash.
Plus if you wish to withdraw the equivalent of £100, Kalixa Pay is cheaper at £2.25 as compared to £2.75 for Caxton.
If you buy online, pay at a Supermarket, pay for accommodation you save at least £2.75 per £100 as compared to the Caxton.
You have more than a single good value card on which to depend.
You'll have both a Mastercard and a Visa card.
If you have a temporary problem with the Caxton, you won't need to depend on your poorer bank cards..
Always have a backup plan.

If you are going to keep your cards in the same wallet...there really is no hope for you.

I wont be no, I'm very good at keeping track of my things and I'm a big lad so I should be fine holding on to my stuff.

Did a little googling and I can't work out where you've got your figures? Not saying they're incorrect but how do you know exactly what Caxton charge to withdraw? (edit: Just seen on MSE that they mention the global travellers card is 2.75% on each withdrawal)

My friend has done travelling similarly to myself and she's just recommended the Caxton FX, the ease of use, app and straight forward website is a selling point for me. They even have a facebook page that they regularly post on, so it seems easy to keep track of my money and there's plenty of reviews around for them. So looks like a good backup card, I'll get on to Kalixa Pay and N&P today

NiftyDigits

callum9999 wrote: »

Some people just don't like using cards abroad... Many don't even in the UK. And those who do use cards often use debit/credit cards with no reward schemes, so are just throwing away money!

I fully understand why you get irritated when people don't take your advice, but there's no need to fly off the handle and start abusing them over it. This forum is drastically less friendly than it was just a year ago, which puzzles me as I don't quite understand how you can be so rude to people yet also have such a strong desire to help them (especially as you do such a good job of it!)!

What are you going on on about? Have you actually read the OP's request?
The OP wants to use cards abroad. The issue for them was which cards.

In fact, if you could read, the OP has taken my advice. But I have suggested that the always have a backup card and to keep it elsewhere.
There are travelling for six months to multiple countries, lots can happen and having both a Visa and a Mastercard is sensible advice.

No one has flown of the handle, apart from the person(you) who simply hasn't understood what the thread was about.

I don't think that you should be posting here at all, if you cannot understand such a simple premise.

NiftyDigits

kieranyeh wrote: »

Part way through my application it came to the income screen which wouldn't let me continue until I'd outlined my income followed by the source. I'll call them today and try to explain over the phone..



I wont be no, I'm very good at keeping track of my things and I'm a big lad so I should be fine holding on to my stuff.

Did a little googling and I can't work out where you've got your figures? Not saying they're incorrect but how do you know exactly what Caxton charge to withdraw? (edit: Just seen on MSE that they mention the global travellers card is 2.75% on each withdrawal)

My friend has done travelling similarly to myself and she's just recommended the Caxton FX, the ease of use, app and straight forward website is a selling point for me. They even have a facebook page that they regularly post on, so it seems easy to keep track of my money and there's plenty of reviews around for them. So looks like a good backup card, I'll get on to Kalixa Pay and N&P today

Kalixa Pay also have an alert system(email/SMS) that notifies you of each time that it is used and for how much. So it is also easy to keep track of your money that way too.

Of course if you are able to get the N&P account, then you would perhaps need only one backup card. But because of your time constraints, it's a good idea to have everything to hand. Less stress for you.
As an aside, I'm travelling around the same time, to the same region....though only for three months.

Even though I have other zero fee cards, I keep a Kalixa Pay as a back up.
Caxton Global wasn't as good for me, as it meant that I already spent 2.75% of my cash before even utilising the card and as I already have cards for smaller withdrawals, Caxton Global didn't fit with my needs.

A couple more things....don't try to withdraw cash over the counter with your Caxton card. They impose hefty fees for such a transaction.
Kalixa Pay don't appear to have rules for this at the moment, so you might be able to use this method by popping in to a bank in Thailand, to avoid the unpleasant 180 baht fee imposed by ATMs in Thailand. I'm guessing that you won't want to do lots of small withdrawals there. (I tried to save you from the long explanations )
You didn't mention Vietnam, but if you go there, use Techcombank ATMs, as they didn't charge when I was there.

NiftyDigits

If you are one of those Northerners....
The Cumberland Plus current account is a better value option than the N&P Gold Classic, as the penalty for not meeting the funding requirements is just £2 per month and the funding requires are easier to meet.

The charge will not be applied if the average balance of your account during a calendar month is £1,000

The caveat is that you need to live in the catchment area to be able to apply.
Once again, get your prepaid backups in place. If one of the bank account applications work out, the prepaid cards are still useful as backups and also to separate funds for different kinds of transactions.
For example, it is not unusual for fraud to take place whilst travelling. A Skimmer for instance. So you should not keep large amounts on any card or account that will have direct contact with your travel.

Many can avoid this issue as they will have credit cards such as the Clarity. But since you will have only debit cards, limit your exposure.
Local SIMs are inexpensive and by the looks of it, you have an iPhone(Is it unlocked/SIM Free?) so you should be able to top up wherever you may be.

Voyager2002

kieranyeh wrote: »

Hi all, New to the forum,

I've been saving to go "travelling" on December 15th and I've only just realised I've probably got to sort a card out for use over there.

I currently have 3 current debit accounts with Lloyds HSBC and Halifax.

I've looked in to it and they all charge to withdraw cash abroad, which is the main way I intend to look after myself when I'm out there (they seem to be around 2% with a minimum fee of £2 each) not to mention the exchange rate, which I assume is organised by Visa themselves rather than the provider?

I'll be away for a good 6 months and I'll be in many different countries including Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, etc. Most of SE Asia.

I've searched the site and looked through this website with the following extension

/travel/cheap-travel-money#halifax

but it's all a bit irrelivent..

I'll be taking a good £5k+ with me, and I'm not concerned on earning interest on my money or saving when spending in stores, I just want to have a card that allows me to withdraw my hard saved money as cash, as I wish, for free or as little as possible


Knew this would be the place to come, and hope you can help :j

I have read the opening of this thread, and I have to ask, what kind of post-grad are you? I mean, how can any half-decent university admit someone who cannot understand fairly simple information, and comes back repeating half-digested recommendations that are not actually applicable to your circumstances? The best possible advice was given near the beginning: further discussion is futile.