Travelling abroad – pre paid Credit Card

I’m off on holiday later in the month and I’m looking at getting a Euro prepaid credit card.

Does anyone have any experience or recommendations on these at all?

I used one of those FairFX things to travel round SE Asia.
Can’t recommend it enough. Easy to top up, balance transfered to the card within a couple of hours, fees are a lot less than using your own bank card.

I used CaxtonFX for a European trip. Very easy indeed. Just don’t forget your PIN.

If you do a lot of travelling, I’d get a Halifax Clarity Credit card:
http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/low-rate-no-fee/clarity-card/

No fees, not even on cash withdrawals so is the cheapest way to travel as you get the Mastercard rate, not a reduced rate as per the other cards.

I got one called a Cash Passport from the Post Office last summer, which worked a treat both at ATMs and in shops, restaurants, etc – no fees at all and a competitive exchange rate. I’ll be using it again this summer.

i had a Virgin one we used in the USA, no issues. Check the exchange rates you get as they vary card to card.

we have a fairfx card for when we travel to see my parents in France. No problem with use whatsoever however be careful it looks a lot like the mns credit card so you might end up looking a moron in a french petrol station trying to put the wrong pin into the wrong card hehe!

+1 for Halifax Clarity credit card.

Mine’s used purely for when travelling.

Thanks for the info guys…

Be careful when getting fuel. In France, using card pay at pump, we found that instead of debiting how much fuel you actually put in each time, it debited how much it had authorised until the actual transaction was verified many days later. Hence we ran out of funds two days before the end of the holiday!

The Flying Ox – Member

I used one of those FairFX things to travel round SE Asia.
Can’t recommend it enough. Easy to top up, balance transfered to the card within a couple of hours, fees are a lot less than using your own bank card.

I need one as I intend to travel there next year.

Which part of SE Asia if I may ask?

Bloody hell, ive just booked a week in the sun in forteventura and ive no idea about any of this. Have I got time to sort anything out (by Sat) or can I take travellers cheques if they even still exist

sweepy – Member
… or can I take travellers cheques if they even still exist

I always carry cash … 😯 Not advisable if you do not have many local friends in the area.

I have not used travellers cheques for a while now.

sorry for the slight hijack, but along the same lines…….

ive just got one of those tesco ‘clubcard’ credit cards, with purchases at 0% for 16 months. is it generally a good idea to bang everything on it when abroad, then pay it all off when you get back, or are there charges each time you use it? bit ignorant of these things really.

thanks

, or are there charges each time you use it?

They’ll be charges on the Tesco Credit card.

There are no charges at all on the Halifax Clarity CC and you get the best exchange rate (Mastercards) not the lower currency card rates.

ah thanks. bit too late to sort anything else out now, i go later today 😀 ill tell my mate tho, who’s planning on using his card for everything in australia later this year, then paying it all off when he gets back.

we’ve got some euros, so i spose the best bet is just to pay local currency all the time then. what about a natwest debit card, will there be charges each transaction with that too? and if so better to use it at a hole in the wall once, just to take more euros out rather than a few times in different shops?

thanks

Good experience of the cash passports and you can just go and get one like going to the shops. I went to the Co-Op with some cash and they put it on. Went home to make sure I knew what to do to top it up from home computer so I could, if necessary, update from an internet cafe when away.

I left one in a machine 2 years ago in the middle of the night in New Mexico. Cash Passport were excellent, I had a free phone number and they wired the value to a local Western Union within an hour or two with no charges for my incompetence. Now have dollar and euro ones.

a natwest debit card, will there be charges each transaction with that too?

Yes, they’ll be charges each time with that too.

I’m not going to do all the leg work for you. It’ll tell you the rates/charges on the Tesco and Natwest websites…it’s up to you then to make the decision about which is most cost effective for you.

Generally the charge is a percentage plus a small fee for each…iirc.

cash passports? never heard of em! just googled it, and does seem to be a decent idea, not sure id have time to set one up now tho. pretty busy today. where can you get em from, just main co-ops, main post offices, big shops in town etc?

a quick google suggests they still charge transactions abroad. is this the case or are they all different?

thanks for the suggestion, interesting.

I’m not going to do all the leg work for you. It’ll tell you the rates/charges on the Tesco and Natwest websites…it’s up to you then to make the decision about which is most cost effective for you.

no, i wasnt angling at anyone working out percentages or anything daft like that, just more of a general, “who charges you abroad, who doesnt, is cash generally best” question.
like i said, my mate says hes going to load his card with everything over in aus, and pay it back when he returns. sounded sensible to me, but if cards charge per transaction abroad, thatd be a big waste of money!

i was just curious to see if there was a general opinion on the most savvy way to spend overseas.

thanks

my mate says hes going to load his card with everything over in aus, and pay it back when he returns. sounded sensible to me, but if cards charge per transaction abroad, thatd be a big waste of money!

Your mate definitely needs a Halifax Clarity CC. No charges on any transaction and no fee for cash withdrawal either. I travelled through Chile with one and racked up £5k on it. Paid it off on return and I think it saved me a fortune in fees and a better exchange rate.