Travelex Supercard trial to end

dj1471

As a lucky member of Supercard trial I received an e-mail today to say that our cards will be disabled on 7th June ahead of a public launch "in the summer"

Very unimpressed that my card will die just before the holiday season (with no firm date for when the new card will launch), but I guess it's good news for those who didn't manage to get on the trial.

I had started using it as my primary card for foreign withdrawals alongside my Clarity card for purchases, I think I'll have to apply for the Creation card as a backup for my Clarity until the new Supercard launches.

Although I do get a high rate of declines on the Supercard (recently about 1 in 5, has been worse in the past), hopefully they will fix this when they launch the new card...

blink18

unless you absolutely need it for credit, I'd go for the revolut app and debit card, slightly better rates and free ATM withdrawals

fifeken

blink18 wrote: »

unless you absolutely need it for credit, I'd go for the revolut app and debit card, slightly better rates and free ATM withdrawals

Are you aware of the recent "fair use" policy introduction?

eDicky

blink18 wrote: »

unless you absolutely need it for credit, I'd go for the revolut app and debit card, slightly better rates and free ATM withdrawals

Revolut now charge 2% for ATM withdrawals in excess of £500 / €650 / $700 (or equivalent) a month, but still good value and versatility, also for free overseas transfers.

virgo17

dj1471 wrote: »

Although I do get a high rate of declines on the Supercard (recently about 1 in 5, has been worse in the past), hopefully they will fix this when they launch the new card...

Yes me too, mainly in Spain. So much so that I stopped using it and reverted back to my Halifax Clarity which is never declined abroad.

I hope that when they roll out the new card to the general public, they manage to sort out the decline issue. The way it seems to me is that some Spanish supermarket equipment doesn't seem to wait long enough for the Supercard authorisation, which seems to take longer than a normal credit card, before declining the transaction.

Not sure if I will bother applying for a new card, unless they just send one to replace the trial version.

I have reported the issue to Travelex as part of the beta programme, but no response.

blink18

fifeken wrote: »

Are you aware of the recent "fair use" policy introduction?

are you aware that most people wont need in excess of £500 in cash during their holiday? spending on the card is still free.

fifeken

blink18 wrote: »

are you aware that most people wont need in excess of £500 in cash during their holiday? spending on the card is still free.

Most people? I'm surprised, but we all have different requirements.

Spending on the card is no longer free for all currencies.

dj1471

virgo17 wrote: »

Yes me too, mainly in Spain. So much so that I stopped using it and reverted back to my Halifax Clarity which is never declined abroad.

My declines have been fairly random and across at least 3 different countries, it is pretty annoying. That said I did have a decline on my Clarity recently (a $3 metro ticket) and had major problems with it in Asia last year. A good thing about the Supercard is that it's a Visa, so I had both a Visa and a MasterCard available (access to each network can be flaky in some parts of the world).

fifeken wrote: »

Most people? I'm surprised, but we all have different requirements.

Indeed. Those of us who travel for business are more likely to hit that limit, plus it obviously depends on where you go and how widely accepted cards are for purchases.

fifeken wrote: »

Spending on the card is no longer free for all currencies.

Yeah this is annoying. I've just checked the THB rate and it's 1.29% worse than the MasterCard rate

blink18

fifeken wrote: »

Most people? I'm surprised, but we all have different requirements.

Spending on the card is no longer free for all currencies.

please do elaborate and link to this information, as its false,

using the card online and instore in free in all currencies, with 88 out of 90 currencies providing true interchange bank rates, updated every half second, 2 currencies Thai Baht and Russian Ruble don't provide live interchange , but exchange on some of the best rates currently available.

with RUB currently exchanging at above the bank intrchange rate, and THB exchanging at 49.5810 compared to 50.1233 with MasterCard, which is 0.5423 bhat or 0.9p difference on an extrelmely hard to trade currency.

if you can find any card that can be used in person in Thailand that will give live interchange rates on THB without a single penny in fees i'd be extremely surprised

callum9999

blink18 wrote: »

please do elaborate and link to this information, as its false,

using the card online and instore in free in all currencies, with 88 out of 90 currencies providing true interchange bank rates, updated every half second, 2 currencies Thai Baht and Russian Ruble don't provide live interchange , but exchange on some of the best rates currently available.

Provide a link to prove that the true interchange rates aren't used on all currencies? I think you'll agree with the analysis from this chap:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=70293257&postcount=9

blink18

dj1471 wrote: »

Yeah this is annoying. I've just checked the THB rate and it's 1.29% worse than the MasterCard rate

you may also like to compare in context, the mastercard rates displayed aren't rates in which a transaction will be settled for anyone, whether that's a consumer or a card issuer.

MasterCard will calculate rates when the transaction is settled, this can be a day, a week or up to 60 days after the transaction took place, it will never be on the day of the transaction.

"The exchange rate that is applied to a transaction is the exchange rate as of the day of settlement which is the day that MasterCard determines the settlement amount to be exchanged between the acquirer and the issuer. The settlement date is therefore typically different from the date of the actual transaction"

You wont EVER get the MasterCard rates displayed as the rate on the day of the transaction, in any currency processed via MasterCard, that's any transaction EVER, its an impossibility.