Prepaid Travel Cards guide

Anthorn

eDicky wrote: »

This would explain the current waiting list for new applications. Non European applicants were excluded since early this year, so they presumably had to reconcile existing users from other countries.

One wonders why the story of exclusion which broke in November 2016 happened "earlier this year". Are we in a time warp? Please explain.

In any event exclusion from countries previously supported doesn't do a lot for Revolut's track record. Personally, I'll continue to avoid Revolut.

smidcelt

I am heading to Bangkok and Phucket in January and was wondering which is the best card to take for restaurants, ATMs etc. We plan on taking a certain cash amount but do not want to take all cash for obvious reasons. Went to Thomson travel agent where they recommended loading a money card in Dollars then using abroad but with 3% transaction charge each time which does not sound like great value, but, may be the way to go ... Thanks in advance

eDicky

smidcelt wrote: »

I am heading to Bangkok and Phucket in January and was wondering which is the best card to take for restaurants, ATMs etc. We plan on taking a certain cash amount but do not want to take all cash for obvious reasons. Went to Thomson travel agent where they recommended loading a money card in Dollars then using abroad but with 3% transaction charge each time which does not sound like great value, but, may be the way to go ... Thanks in advance

That's a bare-faced false pretence sales tactic on the part of Thomson to try and sell you a USD denominated card for use in Thailand. First they gouge you on the exchange rate to dollars, then again on using the card in Thai baht. Outrageous! The pity is that many people are gullible enough to fall for it on the strength of their being a high street reputable name.

Stick to the MSE recommendations, found here (and related links for prepaid etc.):

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/travel-credit-cards

eDicky

Anthorn wrote: »

One wonders why the story of exclusion which broke in November 2016 happened "earlier this year". Are we in a time warp? Please explain.

In any event exclusion from countries previously supported doesn't do a lot for Revolut's track record. Personally, I'll continue to avoid Revolut.

I'm not constantly monitoring and I don't use social media, so you can check details for yourself. Originally, Revolut was open to anyone virtually regardless of where they live worldwide, quite extraordinary and unique as far as know I know for a financial entity issuing cards, perhaps a little too ambitious with various national regulations etc. Anyway, whatever the reason, but at some point in the first half of this year they restricted new applications to residents of European countries and this became one of the FAQs:

"Where is Revolut available?

Revolut is available to legal residents of the following countries: Aland Islands, Andorra, Austria, Azores, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Ceuta, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jan Mayen, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Martinique, Mayotte, Melilla, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, R!union, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands, Spain, St. Barth!lemy, St. Martin (French Part), Svalbard, Sweden, United Kingdom and Vatican City.

In the future we aim to become available worldwide!"

In July Revolut users resident outside Europe (I know a few) could no longer top-up from a non European bank account, but otherwise they could still use their accounts. Now it seems that Revolut has been required by their card issuer Paysafe, according to the somewhat sensationalized reports you have noticed, to 'tidy up' and close down these non European accounts, which were probably not being used much on a legitimate basis any more anyway.

Meanwhile the rest of us, including most readers here, can carry on using Revolut as usual. The waiting list situation is unfortunate - I can imagine that there are a few obstacles involved in obtaining a licence to globally issue a MasterCard that bypasses all bank fees.

Anthorn

@ eDicky: I'm not constantly monitoring Revolut either. I look at news related to Fintech and the Revolut stories just came up. I don't believe the stories are sensationalised: Revolut tells users in countries outside the EU to move their funds from their Revolut cards to their bank account or lose those funds without any prior notice and that's reported as a "shock development". Fair enough.

You are speculating on the outcome of Revolut looking at issuing its own card worldwide. Such a card would be unproven and will not have a track record. All we will have is Revolut's own track record - move your funds or lose them!

Lastly, Revolut's silence about this "shock development" on its own website says more about them than cash ever can!

lambosx150

I'm unsure on this matter. All I can say is I applied and transferred money to FairFX no problem but applied for a Revolut card and the phone app does not recognise me.
There has to be something going wrong

lambosx150

All I want to know is what is the best card I can pre load so as to be able to go to an ATM in the USA and take money out to have in my pocket.

My FairFX card will take care of the spends at restaurants etc

Bonnym

Hi Folks, Has anyone used the CaxtonFX? How would it compare to Revolut? I have applied for the latter for a trip to India but not sure if Ill get it on time as on a waitlist...Thanks Bonnym

Usually_puzzled

Hi Bonnym

Having found that Revolut seems to have closed down while it sorts its payment system out (how long will that take? Can't they say?), I tried to get a Caxton fx card this very afternoon. I tried twice but before I could put any money on the card, I spent 15 minutes staring at a screen which says "We are processing your application. Please Wait". After my first experience, I spoke to a nice person in their call centre (no wait!) who said that this should only take a minute or so and to try again. I've now tried again and I'm still stuck on the application processing screen. DO THESE PEOPLE ACTUALLY WANT OUR BUSINESS??? Sorry to shout.......but..

In the meantime, I'd also be interested in good/bad views of Caxtonfx - if I can ever get a card.

Are there any general foreign currency cards (Australia/NZ/UAE) which actually work?

Anthorn

lambosx150 wrote: »

All I want to know is what is the best card I can pre load so as to be able to go to an ATM in the USA and take money out to have in my pocket.

My FairFX card will take care of the spends at restaurants etc

ICE (International Currency Exchange) USD Travellers Cashcard from Raphaels Bank, the second oldest independent UK bank founded in 1787: Fee-free ATM withdrawals. If you top-up less than £700 there is a one-off card purchase fee of £4.75p but all uses of the USD card are free.
https://www.iceplc.com/