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

Most if not all cash / credit cards will accept inwards cash transfers in seconds, subject to the account from which the transfer is coming in from having sufficient funds.
 
Most if not all cash / credit cards will accept inwards cash transfers in seconds, subject to the account from which the transfer is coming in from having sufficient funds.

Certainly not all. I have 2 savings accounts that don't use the FAST payment system. One with RCI, a French owned bank and a Post Office branded ISA from an English mutual, OneFamily. Electronic transfers can take several days.

Hence my reference to cash / debit cards, the subject of the OP's assorted enquiries. Electronic transfers into other bank accounts can sometimes take days. They shouldn't of course but that's life and bankers' bonuses for you. Loading up a Caxton or similar card or a conventional debit / pre-load card or even a credit card should be all but instant. It is when i do it, anyway. Maybe I am just lucky?
 
Hence my posibly unclear (for which I can only appologise) reference to cash / credit cards, as opposed to bank accounts, which can indeed sometimes take days or at least be delayed overnight, if you darken the bank's door much after 3 pm. Of course they shouldn't take days or even hours but hey-ho, that's life and bankers' bonuses for you.

Transfers from conventional UK bank accounts into pre-load cards (like Caxton, the Post Office and the Revolt card) - the broad subject of the OP's multiple enquiries, after all - are all but instantaneous, as you (doubtless) agree.

:beerjug:
 
I've just signed up for a Starling Bank account. It's a mobile app only based bank, but has no fees on foreign spending. It's an actual bank account, not a prepaid card. I believe they use MasterCard, who tend to offer better conversion rates than Visa for foreign spending. My debit card should arrive in a few days.

I was using the Travelex Supercard, but that scheme has ended. It's a shame as it was a fantastic way to spend abroad and online from sites outside the UK.
 
Sheesh - there's a lot of agonising goes on regarding cards.

Demonstrating our incredible foolishness, me and my better half took a couple of grand cash on our hols to Spain and Portugal (split between us).
I used one of my normal everyday credit cards to pay for one big (£500 or so) hotel bill. For this, I was probably charged a bit by my bank but I don't care, I was on my holidays and made it back by drinking more incredibly cheap beer in Portugal (paid for with cash obvs).
 
Nomally use a pre loaded post office card - but now we are seeing an increase in petrol station card pumps post office card is not accepted at these. Any suggestions as was in the middle of the massive central last year and there were card only pumps sat for about an hour and finally convinced a french guy to pay for our fuel with a carte bleu card think Belgium is going the same way from this year's trip. Don't like credit cards and looking for an alternative.
 
The only time that I had problems with a Caxton card was in France this year when buying fuel at an automatic pump, where the card was refused because the balance left on it was less than 160.00 Euro's as it wanted this as a deposit before letting me buy 20.00 Euro's worth of fuel. Have now got a Halifax Clarity card for next year.
 
Don't like credit cards and looking for an alternative.

Here’s one alternative. Get to liking a credit card. Just put aside the money that you would have put onto your Post Office cash card and pay the balance off in full when you get back. It’s not very hard. Don’t trust yourself? Ask a grown-up or stay in England.

Here’s a second. Read through this thread and several others like it, to see what others do. It’s not as hard as overcoming your irrational fear of credit cards.

Here’s a third. Load more money onto your Post Office cash card.

I am sure there are more....

Enjoy your Belgium trip next year but do check as a mate says that English cards of any sort won’t work after Brexit as it’s the law, his mate says.
 
Interesting...just been informed...by SAGA....that they are doing away with their credit card.

But just pop 'credit cards with no foreign currency fees' into Google and there are plenty of others.

I applied for a Tandem card and got one in minutes. Good to have some alternatives.

Between that, Monzo, Revolut and RBS Mastercard, I'm sure I'll be able to spend oodles abroad......even after the 29th March.....(which is the day I travel back from Venice......what an adventure.....will I make it back? Or be held hostage pending a 39 billion quid sweetener......and they moan about a few measly quid to Northern Ireland....pah.)
 
Interesting...just been informed...by SAGA....that they are doing away with their credit card.

But just pop 'credit cards with no foreign currency fees' into Google and there are plenty of others.

I applied for a Tandem card and got one in minutes. Good to have some alternatives.

Between that, Monzo, Revolut and RBS Mastercard, I'm sure I'll be able to spend oodles abroad......even after the 29th March.....(which is the day I travel back from Venice......what an adventure.....will I make it back? Or be held hostage pending a 39 billion quid sweetener......and they moan about a few measly quid to Northern Ireland....pah.)

Last October I made it all round Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg without a PassPort so you shouldn't' haver a problem Mister :D

:beerjug:
 
What sensible gendarme is going to detain you FFS....one look and its 'get rid of this ugly fucker before it turns nasty'.....

:beerjug:




PS....after everything you said about our derbyshire chum as well.....:D
 
With the untimely death of the Saga credit card, I’ve replaced it with one from Tandem. Took minutes to set up and pay it off in full each month. What’s not to like, as they say.

Back it up with a Revolut card, a Monzo card, a Post Office card or whatever takes your fancy.
 
Yorkshire/Clydesdale Bank (soon to join Virgin Money) have a current account aimed at those who want to use a phone app (but works as a conventional account). The linked Mastercard credit card has no fees for foreign transactions https://www.youandb.co.uk/ - the phone app is very good and I use this account as my main account. £125 cash bribe to join is no longer available, sadly.
 
Starling is the best by far

Yup.
Used it all over the world. Excellent exchange rates and 0.5% interest on balance. Top it up using phone in seconds.
The difference on the Starling exchange rate and my normal RBS debit card was nearly 10% !!! Hell of a difference over the length of your hols.
If you misplace your Starling card you can suspend it with your phone - and reinstate it when you find it later DAMHIK. Damn sight easier than cancelling it and then waiting for a new one.
 
Caxton Pre-Paid Card - New Hidden Fees.

I realise this is an old subject, a well trodden path - however many of you will use some form of currency card, pre-paid or otherwise. I have had a Caxton Card for some time and have thought it a very good system and user friendly via its App. I suspect like most my overseas travels and subsequently the need for €'s has been curtailed due to the pandemic.

However, I was preparing for a quick jaunt to France with friends and loaded my card in preparation. It was the first time I had needed to even log into it for obvious reasons. I thought my memory had failed me as I could have sworn that the balance should have been higher, but hey ho, I loaded up suffcient funds for my needs and began to deal with al of the other bits in readiness to travel.

When I had a spare five minutes I had a look at my account in detail. It appears that Caxton have changed their terms and certainly had not notified me of this, nor is it readily available on their website or via their App. They have been deducting the equivalent of £2.00 at prevailing € rate since July last year from my balance. It gets listed as an 'adjustment' with no other explanantion. Further investigation reveals it is a "dormancy" fee. I can find no reference to this on the site which still boasts no hidden fees. I cannot find reference to it either via their search bar nor by going through the site. At a time when we are all unable to travel as before a dormancy fee is a bit of a kick in the teeth, when you are down.

I have written to customer services, but this failed to gain any response. I have now since written directly to the CEO's office and am still waiting for even an acknowledgement, let alone a response. I thought I would mention it as the timing has been impeccable - the vast majority of UK citizens have been severely restricted from overseas travel for over 18 months and therefore would have no need to view their currency account - and during this time an unpublicised charge is introduced and applied. I suspect others will be paying this charge in the background without their knowledge. I am genuinely disappointed as I found their service to be very good hitherto.

I went to Caxton after the recommendations on here, I suggested it to many others, all of whom have now checked and found that they have also been charged likewise. The fee at £2.00 a month is not huge, but compared to my Current Account charge which provides far more services it is poor value, it is how it has been done and how they claim there are no hidden fees. Of course on small amounts it will make a huge impact on the actual rates you realise.

Do other cards now apply a similar charge or are they still fee free? Other recommendations?
 
It may be if you don't make any transactions on a monthly basis??
I have a Revolut card and keep getting messages "why don't you use your card".



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"Account Management fee (applied every month if there have been no transactions, card loads or balance switches, in the previous 12 months) 2.00" is stated at https://www.caxtonfx.com/cards/legal/terms-and-conditions/caxton-mastercard-prepaid-card

I've never thought these cards were worth having when there are current accounts with no charges for overseas transaction or ATM withdrawals such as my Virgin (formerly Clydesdale) account or the Starling account. There are also a number of credit cards that allow purchases with no currency transaction fees e.g. Santander Zero, Halifax Clarity, Virgin, jaja (old Bank of Ireland Post Office) and some Barclaycards.

Latest recommendations here https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/ - also has recommendations for debit cards, some linked to current accounts. If you don't want to use your main account overseas just open a secondary account as MSE recommends. You won't get hit with these inactivity fees and if you open one like the Virgin current account you can get a little bit of interest on money you put in there if saving up for a trip.
 


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