Prepaid Travel Cards guide

eDicky

Magnolia said:

eDicky said:

Forget other prepaid 'currency' cards such as Caxton with their fees and exchange rate margins.

There are no fees with caxton black card.

You pay up to 3% markup on exchange rates with the Caxton Black card, avoiding this with the Red card costs £5 monthly.

Cool_McFinn

Does anyone know what's going on with the AA Travel Currency Card?

I haven't used mine since I was last abroad in early 2019 and quite frankly forgot about it during the pandemic. There's a reasonable balance remaining so this morning I tried to check my account online and found that I was blocked. I rang their customer service who told me that they've blocked everyone's accounts and said my balance would be refunded into my bank account if I were to email him a pdf version of my bank statement.

I am uncomfortable sharing sensitive personal info with total strangers and was wondering whether there is any way of getting my balance refunded.

I can see on the AA's website that cardholders can withdraw cash from ATMs but when I tried, I got a message that the transaction was not allowed.

Does anyone have advice on what I should do to get my balance back?

Am I being unnecessarily cautious not wanting to email a copy of my bank statement to the travel card's customer services? 

hantscolin

I am looking for alternatives to Revolut. I've used them for years.

We are traveling around Ireland at the moment.

Though I can use the account via GooglePay, they have just disabled my physical card as there are "under the hood" improvements.

Not much use to us as we can no longer use ATMs.

They won't re-enable the card and that I need a replacement.

Reading between the lines there is a security issue as the card is (possibly)less than a year old and due to expire in 2024.

So, the moral of the story is don't just look at the best value but also how reliable the service is.

Toooldforthis1

I haven't been abroad since the days of Travellers Cheques, but am going on holiday to Portugal next week.
I've just received a Revolut card, which I intend to use for supermarket and restaurant purchases.
Occasionally, I will need to use it to withdraw cash to use for small purchases in cafes, bars etc.
Do I "load" this card with sterling or Euros?

eDicky

Toooldforthis1 said:

I haven't been abroad since the days of Travellers Cheques, but am going on holiday to Portugal next week.
I've just received a Revolut card, which I intend to use for supermarket and restaurant purchases.
Occasionally, I will need to use it to withdraw cash to use for small purchases in cafes, bars etc.
Do I "load" this card with sterling or Euros?

You would transfer GBP from your UK bank account to your GBP account details given in the Revolut app. You can then either convert some of that to euros, or simply let the conversion take place when you use the card. (Never pay in pounds if offered the choice, or accept 'conversion' by an ATM.)

I suggest that you make sure your account is fully verified and familiarise yourself with how it functions, everything is explained in the help FAQs, to avoid having to ever deal with their customer services.

Take some backup, such as a Starling Bank debit card (much simpler) or even your regular bank debit card, despite fees.

hantscolin

I suggest that you get a Virgin Money debit card.
No fees abroad plus reliable

Blade200

Hello. I’m going to USA in couple weeks and I’m just wondering is it possible at the end of my stay to pay with a pre paid travel money card? I have the post office Mastercard travel card. I think on check in it’s best to use an actual credit card as the holding payment incase I wreck something lol but on check out can I use my travel card to pay? Thanks