For ALL Pre-loaded cards / debit cards / credit cards - What is best for travel?

Caxton FX - used in Europe and the USA. Easy to use, load when the rates are good, one card does both. Allways carry some cash for when the banking system goes haywire or when in France (as the French are permenantly haywire).
 
The new Caxton Mastercard now copes with multiple currencies. Chose your currency. Load it up. Away you go.
 
The new Caxton Mastercard now copes with multiple currencies. Chose your currency. Load it up. Away you go.
Not too good in petrol stations which immediately charge 100 euro and then take goodness knows how long to refund the difference back to the card. I have four outstanding 100 euro charges on my Caxton Mastercard for petrol bought in France and Spain last week.
 
That's what I like about the supercard. It comes off your linked card. No issues with excessive authorisation and no loading up and guessing how much you'll need to put on it without putting on too much. You can change the linked card instantly through the app, so if you have issues is easily resolved
 
Most of the replies here involve Europe, I would like to ask what do people use when travelling further afield ?

My daughter is doing a 12 month mega trip in the far east and Australasia. A lot of travelling and countries involved....Thailand/Malaysia/Cambodia/Vietnam/China/Hong Kong/Australia/NZ.....you get the picture....

She wants to know, which current account/debit card is best for withdrawing currency in and around the countries mentioned ? When I was travelling in the far east/Australasia (10/15 years ago) I used to use 'Maestro' which was on most debit cards. I never had any problems...I used to withdraw local currency, from any ATM, in any country. I can't remember the charges but I guess that suggests it wasn't that bad...:nenau

Any ideas ??.....Thank you.....:thumb2
 
Most of the replies here involve Europe, I would like to ask what do people use when travelling further afield ?

My daughter is doing a 12 month mega trip in the far east and Australasia. A lot of travelling and countries involved....Thailand/Malaysia/Cambodia/Vietnam/China/Hong Kong/Australia/NZ.....you get the picture....

She wants to know, which current account/debit card is best for withdrawing currency in and around the countries mentioned ? When I was travelling in the far east/Australasia (10/15 years ago) I used to use 'Maestro' which was on most debit cards. I never had any problems...I used to withdraw local currency, from any ATM, in any country. I can't remember the charges but I guess that suggests it wasn't that bad...:nenau

Any ideas ??.....Thank you.....:thumb2

Same as listed above - most of the bank accounts listed above have no currency conversion charges or ATM fees regardless of location. For me that would mean using the Post Office credit card for purchases, paid off by direct debit each month. I also have a Santander Zero account for cash withdrawals but not available to new customers. For cash at ATMs then look at this one http://www.nandp.co.uk/current-account/ - seems to be top of the charts. Needs £500 a month paid in or pay £5 a month fee.
 
Interesting experiences this last fortnight with Caxton prepaid cards, in France and Belgium; ours, a Caxton Mastercard worked most of the time...but not all of it; sometimes being rejected at the hotel, but subsequently OK at fuel stations, our travelling companions card, a Caxton Visa, worked less well, but occasionally did at the same places ours was refused!! Why one of us has a Visa and one a Mastercard I have no idea.

Answer as always...do not rely on one card....
 
Same as listed above - most of the bank accounts listed above have no currency conversion charges or ATM fees regardless of location. For me that would mean using the Post Office credit card for purchases, paid off by direct debit each month. I also have a Santander Zero account for cash withdrawals but not available to new customers. For cash at ATMs then look at this one http://www.nandp.co.uk/current-account/ - seems to be top of the charts. Needs £500 a month paid in or pay £5 a month fee.

Thank you for that info'......:thumb2

She got EXACTLY the same advice from the Martin Lewis MSE web site. She has decided to run with this card, pumped up monthly from her TSB current account.

Thinking out loud........She did work right through A levels/ Uni' so She is NOT idle. HOWEVER, She is now on a 'Gap year'......When were they invented ??.....:nenau
 
Good Euro rate with FairFX and Easyjet cards.

If anyone has a FairFX prepaid Euro card their exchange rate is €1.40/£1 today (16/07/15). Easyjet are giving €1.39/£1 too
 
Herewith a letter to Caxton re their cards...self explanatory..

Hi

I have recently returned from a French holiday. I loaded my Caxton Mastercard prior to leaving. I was away from 28 June 2015 returning on 10 July.

The last 3 hotels declined my Caxton M/card.

I have today..18 July..checked my transactions. The balance is shown as 50 odd euros, which is significantly less than I expected...presumably why the card was declined.

I see in my pending transactions a series of sums I do not recognise, dating from 29 June, til the 6 July. The cumulative effect of these pending transactions is to render the card worthless.

I am guessing that these unrecognised transactions are outlets 'pre-authorising' sums on the card.

Surely the pre-authorisations should be removed once the transaction is completed? The cumulative effect of these pre-authorisations.. a total of nearly a thousand euros--- is to block the card completely rendering it worthless.

If this is indeed a standard procedure, the possession of such cards is a totally pointless exercise, and such failings need to be wisely publicised.

As of now 18 July..you/your operating practices are preventing access to and use of approx £700 of my money...

This is not acceptable.

I look forward to an early response.

Gerard Watts.


This practise has blocked the effective use of the card for 3 weeks and rising...the card is useless...worth knowing..
 
The dangers (and often inevitable frustrations) of pre-authorised sums - for instance for reserving hotels or in automatic fuel stations - being debited against Caxton and other pre-loaded debit cards are well known and documented.

Caxton's own website carries notices about it.

Can I use my Caxton FX card for security deposits such as hotels and car hire?

Do not use your Caxton FX card for any security deposits when you check into a hotel or hire a car. Use any other card (we suggest a credit card) and only use your Caxton FX card to settle the bill. When a card is used for security deposit, a block is put on the funds for the relevant amount on that card. Unlike a credit card your Caxton FX card holds a prepaid balance and the block will stop you from spending the deposit amount of your travel cash. A block can last for up to 30 days. Use any other card for the security deposit and your Caxton FX card when the payment transaction is required. The funds will still be pre-authorised on the other cards. If you have any questions regarding this, do not hesitate to contact us.

Other useful info here: https://www.caxtonfx.com/faqs

Used properly, the cards are excellent.
 
The dangers (and frustrations) of pre-authorised sums - for instance for reserving hotels or in automatic fuel stations - being debited against Caxton and other pre-loaded debit cards are well known and documented.

Caxton's own website carries notices about it.



Other useful info here: https://www.caxtonfx.com/faqs

Used properly, the cards are excellent.

Thankyou for your advice.

I used my SAGA card to book all the hotels in advance via booking.com, only proffering the Caxton Card at checkout for final payment.

I await their explanations.

As of now the card is worthless, over a week after my return, and 3 weeks after their first 'pre-authorisation'.
 
Then that is indeed odd.

If I now read your letter again, it looks as if someone (if not you) put through a bunch of 'holding' transactions between 29 June and 06 July.

Several possibilities exist:

(1) You yourself made the transactions but have forgotten. Fuel stations are a frequent cause of grief, pre-registering sometimes up to 150 euro for maybe just a twenty or thirty euro transaction. Unlikely, as you'd remember, but....

(2) Did you make a bunch of Internet purchases, where the goods were debited for but the shipment delayed. I had that once and it took a while for the penny to drop with me, not least as I did not recognise the name of the company taking the debit (registered in Luxembourg) for a book purchased via an Italian website.

(3) Someone (or something) is trying out your card details

(4) It's a cock-up in Caxton


Look forward to updates
 
As I have often stated, use two cards abroad. One like Caxton for getting cash at ATMs and a proper credit card like the Post Office Card for everything else from purchases to hotel reservations on booking.com

In reality, I use 3 cards. I usually use a 3rd card, my everyday UK card, a cashback Barclaycard for booking.com reservations, a Santander Zero card for cash at ATMs (no longer available to new customers) and the PO Mastercard for purchases. The latter has a credit limit that is high enough to withstand the pre-authorisations done by hotels when you check in and automated petrol pumps and leave some credit for me to spend!
 
I quite agree...I have a raft of cards, including the SAGA card, which doesn't charge for forrin transactions, and the new kid on the block, the Supercard.

The point of posting is to ensure that a traveller does not become stranded through reliance on one card, particularly a Caxton.

I suspect that the culprit will be fuel stations. I do not understand how the station can take the money, ie that which you have spent, and in addition pre-authorise or reserve a significantly greater sum, and keep it in reserve for the rest of the trip, adding to the reserve with each transaction, AS WELL AS debiting the card for the correct amount; in fact holding it for up to 30 days This, as a business model, is unsatisfactory, and should be made known to potential users. What on earth is the point of a card that has reserved the bulk of the balance it holds for up to a month, in addition to taking the money spent at the outlet.

A card which as far as I was concerned is worth 1000+ euros, becomes , in fact worth 50 euros for the rest of the month. No good.

I know it has been discussed before ...at length...and I was aware of some of the shortcomings, and the reason for them. My own circumstances render the consequences trivial, in that I've always got other cards....or cash....but this will not be the case for all.

The amount of money now tied up in the card is not insignificant, and is sufficient for me to jettison the card in future. Others may do as they wish.
 
Multiple cards is the way to go, separated (along with some cash) in case you lose your wallet.

I use a Post Office credit and cash cards. The cash card chages for ATM withdrawals, I just have it as a reserve for say 50 euro. The credit card I use for all my fuel transactions and any toll road charges, keeping in my tankbag so I do not have to touch my wallet at fuel stations. I also use it for paying for known price transactions in hotels and restaurants when leaving settling bills. The PO cash card is easy to load via the app.

A Caxton card, used to for ATM withdrawals (no charges) and as a reserve for known amount transactions. As it is easy to load via the app, it's very useful.

A Halifax Clarrity credit card, held for emergencies only.

My UK bank card and credit credit card I leave at home. Nothing worse than losing your wallet away and then being stuffed when you get back home too.

All the cards I have registered via Sentinel (or summat similar) making it easy to stop a card in case of loss.
 
Up date...

No response from Caxton....yesterday card 'blocked' to tune of 700 euros by 'pending transactions' from 4 & 6 July,

Today...those from 4 July and before have cleared, those from 6 July still there, holding funds worth 380 E...20 days...and counting.

In this day of electronic banking, I don't think this is good enough.

So beware.
 
As my previous ... buy your euro's at a favourable rate and pay cash.
Works wonders :D

:beerjug:
 


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