Prepaid travel money card

ButterCheese

We use "Wise".  We were advised to use this one by our acountant who uses it himself.  They might each have their own rates and charges so look at them all and choose which one is right for you

jimjames

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Having said that I maintain a Caxton FX card with around €100 balance as an emergency funds source if needed.

They recently offered a 24 hour special buy in rate of €1.14 to the £ which is very close to what Chase would have taken for a transaction in the EU.

Latest rate I've been charged with Halifax is €1.152 to the £ for transaction yesterday so assuming Chase are similar it's within 1%

NoodleDoodleMan

jimjames said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Having said that I maintain a Caxton FX card with around €100 balance as an emergency funds source if needed.

They recently offered a 24 hour special buy in rate of €1.14 to the £ which is very close to what Chase would have taken for a transaction in the EU.

Latest rate I've been charged with Halifax is €1.152 to the £ for transaction yesterday so assuming Chase are similar it's within 1%

Indeed - a "loss" of one cent per Euro transaction is in the comfort zone !!!

Doshwaster

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Having a travel money card is no better an option IMO than taking out a Starling or Chase etc. card for overseas use.

They all need funds upfront and a money card is almost always going to be a poorer exchange rate when buying foreign currency.

Having said that I maintain a Caxton FX card with around €100 balance as an emergency funds source if needed.

They recently offered a 24 hour special buy in rate of €1.14 to the £ which is very close to what Chase would have taken for a transaction in the EU.

It's all down to personal preferences at the end of the day. 

Agreed. Now there are no real advantages of a pre-paid travel card over a zero fee account such as Starling/Monzo/Revolut etc.

I just use my Starling account to build up a fund for holiday spends but also use it for days out and special treats while in the UK. If I can't see the spending on my day to day account then it never really happened. I also have a Revolut card which I can put £50-100 for a night out and treat it as disposable. 

However, as you say, it's always important not to be dependant on a single card when travelling. I keep an emergency stash on a HSBC Global Money card. I used to have a Caxton FX card but allowed it to expire.

cantbelieveit23

I don't use much cash in Europe, although I spend at least 4 months per year there.  If I do need to use ATM, my Chase debit card would be good except that many ATMs (in Spain, for example) charge a fee for use.  We use a Santander debit card in a Santander ATM: no commission or charge provided you specify, when the machine asks, that your own bank (i.e. Santander UK) makes the conversion.
Off topic really....I have a Spanish bank account too, but only use it when I am really forced to.  In the UK, we should consider ourselves lucky, Spanish banks charge for everything!

NoodleDoodleMan

A Santander UK debit card is not fee free in Spain except at fully branded Banco Santander ATMs (cajeros in Spanish) located at main branches (oficinas) - standalone machines elsewhere are run by a separately owned affiliated network which only offers this benefit to domestic BS account holders.