Prepaid Travel Cards guide

EveryWhere

https://www.starlingbank.com/travel/ has the best travel debit card at the mo.

Gloomendoom

trevor2522 wrote: »

I have severe doubts about Monzo:

1) Not recommended by MSE as a prepaid travel card.

2) Extremely hard to contact them.

3) App does not install on iPhone running iOS 11.1.

4) Trust Pilot users complain that Monzo added foreign-use fees after they got the card.

5) Apparent shortage of cards / queueing system.

Overall just too many alarm bells to even consider Monzo.

Any others, apart from Revolut & Fair FX, half-decent ... ? Starling bank?

Monzo works fine. Unfortunately, they are severely limiting fee free foreign cash withdrawals from mid December.

Starling bank isn't pre-paid card. You open a bank account with them and get a debit card that can be used overseas, fee free.

Neil49

trevor2522 wrote: »

I have severe doubts about Monzo:

1) Not recommended by MSE as a prepaid travel card.

2) Extremely hard to contact them.

3) App does not install on iPhone running iOS 11.1.

4) Trust Pilot users complain that Monzo added foreign-use fees after they got the card.

5) Apparent shortage of cards / queueing system.

Overall just too many alarm bells to even consider Monzo.

We Swap is useless unless travelling to countries which use their 16 listed currencies (Colombia, Madagascar -- forget it). Revolut uses spot interbank rates but charges 2% ATM fee after withdrawing a mere £200 within a month. Fair FX has fixed ATM charges of €1.50 each time, which are cheaper. Post Office card is terrible at 3% to 4.5% ATM fees. Sainsburys charges 5.75% foreign exchange fee. Most of these cards are on the MasterCard network. Bank cards tend more towards Visa network. Foreign ATMs shouldn't have any preference or network-related problems -- but welcome comments on this.

Any others, apart from Revolut & Fair FX, half-decent ... ? Starling bank?

Monzo is no longer a prepaid card as they now have a full banking licence and are now only offering current accounts.

I've been a user for nearly a year and had no problems in contacting them. Any response has been quick and provided the answer I required.

I'm an android user so can't comment on Apple issues.

I've used my card abroad a lot and never had any foreign use fees added. I've just come back from the USA and had obsolutely no issues using it. I just had to remember to activate the magnetic stripe every day to accommodate their backward approach to accepting card transactions. The exchange rate used has been very competitive and I have no complaints on that front.

They are currently switching all prepaid accounts to current accounts so will probably be a bit slow opening new accounts.

Overall I am very pleased with Monzo.

trevor2522

EveryWhere wrote: »

https://www.starlingbank.com/travel/ has the best travel debit card at the mo.

Easy to sign up, unlike Monzo. Can pay money into Natwest branches. My Starling + Barclaycard Platinum largely negate the need for a travel money card but I'll get a Fair FX as a backup. Also trying for a Halifax Clarity in a few months.

Barclays debit, Halifax debit, Nationwide, Lloyds are all cards from hell for foreign ATM charges.

eDicky

trevor2522 wrote: »

Any others, apart from Revolut & Fair FX, half-decent ... ? Starling bank?

Try Loot, no fees (including overseas) except £1 per cash withdrawal after the first two per month It gives you a sort code, account number, and can be used to send and receive to/from any other UK account:

https://loot.io/

There's nothing wrong with Monzo, but I think there is something wrong with all the overseas card users who compulsively want to withdraw cash to use, at the expense of fee-free card issuers, when they could be using the card to pay directly for purchases. This is why Monzo have been forced to introduce fees for overseas withdrawals, in order to survive financially and with long and consultative process in advance.

It would be better for those who just want to use cash, or need to do so in the countries visited, to pay the fees without complaining or take cash pounds exchange in-country.

Gloomendoom

eDicky wrote: »

It would be better for those who just want to use cash, or need to do so in the countries visited, to pay the fees without complaining or take cash pounds exchange in-country.

Better for who?

eDicky

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Better for who?

Better for me and for anyone else who is sick of hearing people complain about Monzo introducing a limit on fee-free withdrawals, when they are probably the ones who caused us all to suffer this because of their obsession with taking limitless amounts of cash out of overseas ATMs instead of just using the card to pay whenever possible. You're not one of those, are you G&D..?

Gloomendoom

eDicky wrote: »

Better for me and for anyone else who is sick of hearing people complain about Monzo introducing a limit on fee-free withdrawals, when they are probably the ones who caused us all to suffer this because of their obsession with taking limitless amounts of cash out of overseas ATMs instead of just using the card to pay whenever possible. You're not one of those, are you G&D..?

Oddly enough, no. I pay by plastic whenever I can, at home and abroad. There are some places though where it isn't possible and I'm damned if I'm going to stick my Barclays debit card in a foreign ATM when there are fee free options available.

trevor2522

If Starling Bank can operate fee-free, then why can't Monzo? Panhandling for a bank? ... Pull the other one, Private Snowflake!

Sadly, the reality of using cards for purchases is that they are copied and cloned by unscrupulous merchants, or their employees -- especially in certain 'developing' countries. Even in the UK I always buy my vehicle fuel cash, rather than disclose my card number. At least with ATMs, apart from the very rare cloning scam, the card number is secure, for ever-flexible cash to be used for purchases.

https://www.money.co.uk/prepaid-cards/travel-prepaid-cards.htm

Recommends Easy FX travel money card. Also get a Barclays Platinum credit card or Halifax Clarity credit card. Bear in mind that, although the Platinum may have a credit limit of £5,000, only £1,500 of that is for cash withdrawals. Plus Starling bank, some emergency cash of destination, or US$. Sorted.

PeacefulWaters

trevor2522 wrote: »

If Starling Bank can operate fee-free, then why can't Monzo?

Because Starling are at a different stage of evolution in their business model to Monzo.

Monzo was a one trick pony to build up a customer base. That one trick was a massive loss leader. We've already seen other players give up. Monzo introduced a fee. They'll still lose money though.