Travelling to USA and getting a prepaid card

steve19772018987

One big reason why we're looking for a prepaid card is simply so we can put money on there that we have and use abroad. The fear in having a debit card is that our spend will rack up moreso.

But which card would you recommend? TUI told us about a prepaid card and they all seem to do pretty much the same thing. Is that right or am I missing something here?

Going with wife and 2 kids (13 and 11) and so each having a prepaid card with their money that they've saved rather than me having the money under lock and key is the solution we prefer BUT....if anyone has any thoughts on how this might come back to bite us that would be much appreciated.

flossymcfly

We had the TUI card when we went to Orlando in 2022. It was great apart from the fact that it wouldn't work on the likes of the UBER app, that would only accept our credit card. Not an issue if you don't plan to use UBER but it could be an issue on other apps you may have to use?

steve19772018987

Thank you for the reply and I must admit, after doing some more considered research I'm thinking that for me, perhaps a debit card would be the best option.
I did some checks on Starling and their interest rate is better than TUI's too.

daveyjp

Since the advent on forex debit cards with no charges for use such as Starling the pre paid debit cards offered by TUI, Post Office etc is something which is slowly being confined to history.

They do an account for u16s too (Starling Kite) so your children can have their own funds to spend.

Barkin

I've used pre-paid cards in the past, but not for several years. 
I seem to remember that some places wouldn't accept them. Fuel stations perhaps? 

Starling debit card for me nowadays. 

la531983

Barkin said:

I've used pre-paid cards in the past, but not for several years. 
I seem to remember that some places wouldn't accept them. Fuel stations perhaps? 

Starling debit card for me nowadays. 

Anywhere that does offline transactions wont either, so on the flight wont take them too.

Agree with the above, they are pushing this on you for obvious reasons, get a Monzo/Chase etc etc, plenty of them out there now.

eDicky

steve19772018987 said:

 I'm thinking that for me, perhaps a debit card would be the best option.

Definitely. Such prepaid cards from travel agents etc are the worst option, unnecessary cost and hassle. Put your holiday funds in one of the real bank accounts mentioned above, there's Nationwide Flexone for the kids 11+.

steve19772018987

The one big concern is with a Starling Debit card, what if i run out of funds? Will it still allow me to spend money as I'd be going into an overdraft? If the card will refuse to work then that would be ideal

steve19772018987

eDicky said:

steve19772018987 said:

 I'm thinking that for me, perhaps a debit card would be the best option.

Definitely. Such prepaid cards from travel agents etc are the worst option, unnecessary cost and hassle. Put your holiday funds in one of the real bank accounts mentioned above, there's Nationwide Flexone for the kids 11+.

what are the costs?

DullGreyGuy

steve19772018987 said:

The one big concern is with a Starling Debit card, what if i run out of funds? Will it still allow me to spend money as I'd be going into an overdraft? If the card will refuse to work then that would be ideal

If you dont have funds and no approved overdraft then Starling will decline the transaction. That does leave offline transactions (ie where the system isn't connected to the internet so cannot get authorisation from the bank no meaning "not on a website) which could possibly lead to an overspend. 

That said, I accidentally tried to use my Starling card once with no funds on a bus in London, was allowed on the bus but Starling bounced the transaction

400ixl

If the US is the destination then a Chase account may be better as you would also get free ATM withdrawals at any of their branches.

A travel credit card is the best option for card spends for the extra protection, followed by a debit card with no transaction fees and free ATM, followed by a debit card with no transaction fees.

If you don't have sufficient funds on a debit account and no overdraft then the transaction will be declined. You will of course be able to transfer sufficient funds electronically whilst abroad.

Many keep a low amount in the debit card account whilst abroad and transfer funds into it as required to minimise any risks.