Prepaid Travel Cards guide

Coastbev

Just an update for those referring friends to Revolut, unless your link is used and topped up in 10 minutes by your friend, then you won't be entitled to your £5 referral fee. I chased mine up to be told it's no longer allowed to be added manually.

Just something to bear in mind.

jeremy2012

Hello,

Looking best option re travel money for holidays in Thailand for backpacking playing the tourist.

Just order the Halifax Clarity Credit card.
Realised that I have the Santander Zero credit card too.... Did not realised I had it before I order the Clarity one.

My friend I am going with recommend me the Kalixa prepaid card.

I rather be safe and add additional card with me in case one does not go through...

Should I get it too? the 6.95 joining fee is a bit of a pain really...
as well as using it once every so often to keep it free....

What do you think?

Thanks,

eDicky

jeremy2012 wrote: »

Hello,

Looking best option re travel money for holidays in Thailand for backpacking playing the tourist.

Just order the Halifax Clarity Credit card.
Realised that I have the Santander Zero credit card too.... Did not realised I had it before I order the Clarity one.

My friend I am going with recommend me the Kalixa prepaid card.

I rather be safe and add additional card with me in case one does not go through...

Should I get it too? the 6.95 joining fee is a bit of a pain really...
as well as using it once every so often to keep it free....

What do you think?

Thanks,

I think you are making the right choices, and fortunate to have the 'Zero' still.

You get a fiver knocked off the Kalixa Pay initial fee if you can obtain a referral from a current user (not me).

Otherwise look at the Revolut, totally free (for at least the first year) and amazingly versatile.

You are unlikely to find an ATM in Thailand that does not charge a fee using a foreign card, so make a substantial withdrawal instead of several small ones, or try to use your card(s) over the counter at banks.

eDicky

riw200 wrote: »

I've got a bill to pay for ski passes for my holiday, with the charge in EUR. However the merchant adds 2.5% fee for paying by credit card (free for debit card). Does a pre-paid card attract the credit card fee, or will the merchant see it as a debit card? Given I'm talking about £1800 worth of ski passes for the group it's worth a little effort in avoiding the charges.

It feels a bit like a trap that is impossible to escape from where I'm going to end up paying a fee somehow. I also have a Nationwide Flex Plus account debit card (no fee free for ATM withdrawls in EUR, but unfortunately charges 2% on purchases) and a Nationwide Select Credit Card (no fee for purchases, but will get the 2.5% fee added from the merchant!).

Any suggestions?

Unfortunately most prepaid cards are going to attract the credit card fee from the merchant, who will need to pay the interchange fee to the card company. The only ones (AFAIK) that behave as a true debit card are not suitable for overseas use (high charges). You can open a Metro Bank account in the London area and get an immediate debit card with no charges for European use, or open a N&P BS account (much lengthier process) to get their card with free usage worldwide, if you really want to avoid your trap and have a good card for further use while abroad.

jeremy2012

eDicky wrote: »

I think you are making the right choices, and fortunate to have the 'Zero' still.

You get a fiver knocked off the Kalixa Pay initial fee if you can obtain a referral from a current user (not me).

Otherwise look at the Revolut, totally free (for at least the first year) and amazingly versatile.

You are unlikely to find an ATM in Thailand that does not charge a fee using a foreign card, so make a substantial withdrawal instead of several small ones, or try to use your card(s) over the counter at banks.

Thanks so much Dicky for the information provided.
A quick question you mentioned fortunate with the Zero... any particular reason?

thanks so much for the tips re revolute card. did see it, but as it said that "This is a new, untested card to us". I thought I will await it get further feedback.

Great card just ordered, and like the way i can top up from an app. much easier than going online! :-)

eDicky

jeremy2012 wrote: »

A quick question you mentioned fortunate with the Zero... any particular reason?

The Santander Zero CC is no longer available for new applicants so you should consider yourself lucky to have one and try to keep it going.

a1i.c

The only reason I got this card is because I wanted to take out a Caxton card as I've a euro card, but as I live in Jersey, my post code no longer works for them. So it's bye bye to that !

Got a Revolut card a while ago, without issue, including the verification. I have put a bit of money on it, which was really easy, and tx to dollars. I have even paid for sports events I'm going to when I'm out there with the card online before I got my physical card, which came within a few days.

I did have a couple of issues with the inapp support not getting back to me. However recently I have had a quick response. One thing I found annoying though - I have text my family as my brother's off to France, my sister is heading to US too (different trip). My sister's husband took a good look at the card (he's an accountant and is particular about money) and very quickly realised it's potential and got a card - I got the £5 credit. However my partner took an age to go through the text link and sign up. I didn't get the £5. Turns out, when we asked the inapp support, that the text needs to be acted on within 2 days.

I've not yet done my travelling, but I'm really pleased I've looked here as I will now ask for the magnetic strip to be activated tomorrow. Pity it's not 1- automatically on 2 - detailed anywhere in documentation that the extra step is needed.

Finally, I am disappointed that I'm now reading that they may start charging after a year; however I do understand that things need to make a profit nowadays.

ashteadgirl

Got a Revolut card a little while ago and used it extensively throughout Malaysia- worked in all ATMS like a dream. Certainly does what it says on the can. Speed of updates on use on app are amazingly fast so know exactly what is going on. Can not recommend enough. :)

kaydee

a1i.c wrote: »

Finally, I am disappointed that I'm now reading that they may start charging after a year; however I do understand that things need to make a profit nowadays.

It is clear in the FAQs on their site -
What happens after 12 months?

We reserve the right to change our pricing structure after the first 12 months of using the Revolut service, however, we do not expect there to be a significant change. Revolut was launched with the ambition to offer a fair and transparent alternative to foreign exchange with no hidden fees and we fully intend to live by that philosophy.

We would never charge our customers without clearly explaining the changes and asking their express permission to sign them up on a subscription basis.

Wickzter

Revolut - USA Holiday Success

Just back from WDW Florida, used the Revolut card almost exclusively for payments and some cash from ATM. Topped up from debit card at home and whilst away (I initially didn't want to load with too much £££ in case there were any issues). The rates seemed really good, averaging $1.53 to the £ vs my JL Partnership card $1.46.

Had my phone hooked up to WiFi in most places, within seconds of using the card the app pinged and the transaction was visible.

Best of all I got home knowing exactly what we had spent and no nasty surprises on the credit card bill. I can't recommend this enough.