Travelex Supercard

adindas

Are we talking about the fee here or poor exchange rate from PayPal?
I have bought a few items which are priced in foreign currency mostly in US$, from eBay and pay by PayPal using either of my Zero fee for foreign transaction cards. There is no fee added, and the conversion is done by either Master or Visa.

glentoran99 wrote: »

but you will if you pay in a foreign currency (depending on the card of course)


Or you pay in sterling and paypal rip you off in the conversion

glentoran99

adindas wrote: »

Are we talking about the fee here or poor exchange rate from PayPal?
I have bought a few items which is priced in foreign currency mostly in US$, from eBay and pay by PayPal using either of my Zero fee for foreign currency transaction cards. There is no fee added, and the conversion is done by either Master or Visa.

Both I presume, if you don't have a zero fee card then you either loose out on paypals exchange rate or fees on foreign transaction on your card

katiesam

glentoran99 wrote: »

Both I presume, if you don't have a zero fee card then you either loose out on paypals exchange rate or fees on foreign transaction on your card

Yes, in my case, purchases made in foreign currency usually come from buying something on ebay. Paying with Paypal then gives me the following choices: a) have the payment come directly from my bank account and use Paypal's exchange rate, or b) have the payment charged to my credit card in euros/dollars, using the credit card's exchange rate, which incurs a fee for the foreign transaction when I get my credit card statement.

Basically, I was hoping that the supercard would allow me to add it to Paypal so that I can still use my original credit card but avoid the fees.

I'm pleased to read from glentoran99's experiences that this is possible.

Although I'm more than a little concerned about all the bad experiences other people are reporting so I'm rather undecided as to whether it's a good idea or not.

glentoran99

katiesam wrote: »

Yes, in my case, purchases made in foreign currency usually come from buying something on ebay. Paying with Paypal then gives me the following choices: a) have the payment come directly from my bank account and use Paypal's exchange rate, or b) have the payment charged to my credit card in euros/dollars, using the credit card's exchange rate, which incurs a fee for the foreign transaction when I get my credit card statement.

Basically, I was hoping that the supercard would allow me to add it to Paypal so that I can still use my original credit card but avoid the fees.

I'm pleased to read from glentoran99's experiences that this is possible.

Although I'm more than a little concerned about all the bad experiences other people are reporting so I'm rather undecided as to whether it's a good idea or not.

I don't think there has been anything overally bad, certainly nothing that couldn't happen using a different card

aeronickuk

Having used the card in Portugal last week, I can report, as others, that the time taken for transactions to actually get debited is somewhat erratic. In every case where the actual charge to the linked account has happened, the cost has been more than the app has showed, varying from 0.37% to 1.03% more, or put another way, costing from 5p to £1.09 more on the transaction.


I also used the Halifax clarity card and the rates were spot on, close to inter-bank rates for the dates concerned, so I think that the delays, different costs, poor service etc make the Supercard a poor alternative to a straight "best exchange rate" card

Northern

glentoran99 wrote: »

I don't think there has been anything overally bad, certainly nothing that couldn't happen using a different card

I do disagree to an extent. Having a debit taken from a card that wasn't linked to the Travelex Supercard at the time of the transaction is pretty bad in my opinion (as happened for my transaction). That's not the sort of issue you could see with a less complex product. I think with the Travelex Supercard it is a case of there being enough gripes (increased likelihood of card rejection, inconsistent delays in debiting from linked-card, inconsistent reporting of transaction amounts, relatively poor front-line customer service agents etc etc) that add-up to a product that should be used very cautiously at the moment. That said, I am sure it will be working brilliantly for some people.

adindas

Are you linking a fee free Creditcard, if so there should not be any fee ...

I bougth a few items priced in US$ (but not recent e.g. over a year ago). I link my fee free for foriegn trasaction on my PayPal account, I do not rememebr ever got charged neither fee on it. The conversion is done by Master/Visa card ...

What about other people experience. Did you get charged for paying using fee free reditcard linked to PayPal for item priced in foreign currecncy nowadays ??

katiesam wrote: »

Yes, in my case, purchases made in foreign currency usually come from buying something on ebay. Paying with Paypal then gives me the following choices: a) have the payment come directly from my bank account and use Paypal's exchange rate, or b) have the payment charged to my credit card in euros/dollars, using the credit card's exchange rate, which incurs a fee for the foreign transaction when I get my credit card statement.

Basically, I was hoping that the supercard would allow me to add it to Paypal so that I can still use my original credit card but avoid the fees.

I'm pleased to read from glentoran99's experiences that this is possible.

Although I'm more than a little concerned about all the bad experiences other people are reporting so I'm rather undecided as to whether it's a good idea or not.

adindas

There is no way you could control when the trasaction appears on your Claritycard either. It could be on that day, it could be a few days after the transaction.

aeronickuk wrote: »

Having used the card in Portugal last week, I can report, as others, that the time taken for transactions to actually get debited is somewhat erratic. In every case where the actual charge to the linked account has happened, the cost has been more than the app has showed, varying from 0.37% to 1.03% more, or put another way, costing from 5p to £1.09 more on the transaction.


I also used the Halifax clarity card and the rates were spot on, close to inter-bank rates for the dates concerned, so I think that the delays, different costs, poor service etc make the Supercard a poor alternative to a straight "best exchange rate" card

eaton

All of my holiday transactions have now appeared on my Tesco cc statement. The longest was one of the first - cash withdrawn (200 USD) at an ATM in LA on 10th June posted on 13th July.

Going through the list of transactions on the supercard vs when they posted on Tesco online billing as a transaction has an average delay of 6-7 days, with the longest this 200 dollar amount above.

One benefit of this is 5 weeks interest free period on top of the interest free days or grace period of the card, helping spread the cost of funding the holiday.

olip74

I just tried to use my card for the first time in France and it was twice declined in an Intermarche. Just as well I had cash! However I was then able to withdraw at a nearby cash machine. A bit embarrassing and alarming that the card didn't work as I haven't seen anyone reporting issues like this.