Prepaid Travel Cards guide

Kimmyhope11

How does a prepaid card work? Can I just load x amount onto it then use it as a debit card

EveryWhere

Kimmyhope11 wrote: »

How does a prepaid card work? Can I just load x amount onto it then use it as a debit card

Yes

..........

klint

I've just applied for a WeSwap card, to get euros, but it says that it charges 1% commission if I use the foreign currency in 7 days. On the MSE site, it says it's commission-free. Is this an error on the MSE site?

eDicky

klint wrote: »

I've just applied for a WeSwap card, to get euros, but it says that it charges 1% commission if I use the foreign currency in 7 days. On the MSE site, it says it's commission-free. Is this an error on the MSE site?

If you used the link to get £30 worth extra on a £500 exchange, it says that it's no longer commission free.

However I've never actually applied for this card, with the much simpler options available.

Ian_morrow

Do not use Revolut the customer service is terrible when something goes wrong. An hotel in Poland took a preauthorisation from my card on 7/7/19
I returned to uk on 9/919. The money has not returned despite providing Revolut with the evidence that it is with them . Their complaints team are not going to look at it till 19/8 and customer service is worse than useless
Best avoid Revolut

EveryWhere

Ian_morrow wrote: »

Do not use Revolut the customer service is terrible when something goes wrong. An hotel in Poland took a preauthorisation from my card on 7/7/19
I returned to uk on 9/919. The money has not returned despite providing Revolut with the evidence that it is with them . Their complaints team are not going to look at it till 19/8 and customer service is worse than useless
Best avoid Revolut

Your post is a mess. Did you bother to read it during or after posting?

You should never use a debit/prepaid card for deposits/authorisations.
https://www.revolut.com/business/help/transactions/card-payments/why-is-my-card-payment-still-pending

You have contributed to the problem in this case.

mgtaylor1978

I have the exact same issue after applying through the 1st link, i.e. NOT the additional £30 of currency.
Has anyone got any experience of using this offer?

EveryWhere

mgtaylor1978 wrote: »

I have the exact same issue after applying through the 1st link, i.e. NOT the additional £30 of currency.
Has anyone got any experience of using this offer?

Which link?

This one? https://www.weswap.com/en/moneysupermarket-multicurrency-lp/

https://support.weswap.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015169834

Have you asked WeSwap?

BlueberryBee

Hello

I'm travelling to Australia for 3 months from 2 November.

I have a Halifax Clarity credit card, and a Nationwide Select credit card, which I will use for most of my spending.

However, given the volatility of GBP, I'm considering buying a prepaid card now to lock into rates as an insurance against the pound weakening further.

MSE recommends WeSwap and seems to offer two options:
1) Load more than £50, get £10 free and (if I wait 7 days) pay no exchange fees for 6 months
2) Load more than £500, get £30 free, but pay exchange fees

I'm trying to work out which option would be better. Whilst option 2 gives an additional £20, I'm thinking that could easily be eaten up by exchange fees during my three months in Australia.

So I'm thinking about getting option 1, loading it with £499 and getting the £10 plus no exchange fees. Then loading more on to the card in intervals before I leave (but would this then mean I pay exchange fees because I've gone over £500?).

I'm a bit confused and would really appreciate others' thoughts on this before I go ahead.

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Kind regards

Bee

eDicky

BlueberryBee wrote: »

However, given the volatility of GBP, I'm considering buying a prepaid card now to lock into rates as an insurance against the pound weakening further.

How do you know that the pound will not strengthen by November? There's equal chance, the probabilities perceived by the market are already reflected in the current value of GBP.

Personally I would never use WeSwap, too complicated when there are simple solutions that convert your money without fees at the ideal rate when transacting. Get yourself a Starling Bank account on your phone to use alongside your Clarity card