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

"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.

Thanks wessie - you know I had searched and looked but must have looked straight through it - probably looking for 'adjustment' or 'dormancy' and skimming over the rest of it ...... Not sure if these were the original T&Cs or if they have been modified. But clearly I had never had to go a year without travel before and thus never encountered this issue.

Agreed - I have a couple of no charge or mark up cards, both Credit and debit. I only really used the Caxton to load up and get out some cash in country.

I'll check it out and see if any of my other accounts can link in or if I can set up a secondary account as the way ahead. All that said, it might be worth others checking to make sure they re not being charged and they are unaware of it.

:thumb
 
Just to update - these were changes to T&Cs in 2018, so not my original terms. That said, the only time I have fallen foul of them is due to the pandemic and probably will not again, fingers crossed.

Just make sure that you make some form of transaction in each 12 month period and all will be fine .......
 
Currently using a post office card we use for payments as we don't get charged for transactions. Problem is we have had trouble using it as its not accepted.
What other card should I look at getting please that's more widely accepted. We would just like to use it for Europe and keep it topped up.

Thanks Doc
 
Not a top up card as such but my Chase bank mastercard debit card is accepted worldwide and is free of all transaction costs
 
Get a proper travel credit card. Better still get two. I rarely get a refusal using my Jaja Visa or Virgin Mastercard credit cards.
 
It's a Mastercard so should be accepted virtually everywhere, I have a P.O. card and have used it in many parts of Europe, Spain, Portugal and Greece this year with no issues.
 
Currently using a post office card we use for payments as we don't get charged for transactions. Problem is we have had trouble using it as its not accepted.
What other card should I look at getting please that's more widely accepted. We would just like to use it for Europe and keep it topped up.

Thanks Doc

Do you mean the Travel Money Card thing, that you charge up with money?

If so and you bought fuel on it, it might freeze for a while whilst the actual debit (actual cost of fuel bought) goes through.
 
I've used Revolut Visa card for a few years now and its been faultless. I started out with a Post Office travel card but changed over.

www.revolut.com

Being able to transfer and convert currencies on the fly using the app on my phone, make transactions and withdraw cash without incurring fees is excellent, as is easily converting foreign currency back into sterling on my phone once the trip is over.

Never had any issue with it being accepted anywhere.
 
Do you mean the Travel Money Card thing, that you charge up with money?

If so and you bought fuel on it, it might freeze for a while whilst the actual debit (actual cost of fuel bought) goes through.

Yes travel money card. Problem is we haven't been able to use it at quite a few places
 
I have a Halifax Mastercard purely for travel purposes, no commissions on transactions and I believe it came out well on Martin Lewis MSE website. Never had any problems with it at any outlet.
 
Chase or Revolut, have been good for us, I think a lot of the Internet banks don't charge abroad, use Google or another search engine to have a look see.
 
Not at a card only petrol station.

Wherein, most probably, lies the cause of your problem. The fuel pumps very often pre-debit your cash card with say EUR 90. If you don’t have EUR 90 available then the card will not work. Similarly, the card gets debited with 90 and any balance (say you only bought EUR 30 of fuel) might only be credited back some hours later. During those hours the card might, to all intents and purposes, be dead.

Do as Wessie (who knows stuff) says.

Get a credit card to buy fuel and reserve hotels, where the same problem can occur. In short, use it for meaty transactions.

Use the cash chard for getting cash out an an atm and paying for small’ish sundries.

Job done. It is that simple, trust me.

No more problems.

PS I have several cards, not least as I like to carry a spare in case of loss, freezing or theft. They are free, so don’t be bashful when ordering. All my main UK cards I leave at home. Why? If I lose my wallet abroad, I have the spare back-up and I also have my main cards when I get home. To do otherwise, is to risk losing everything in one hit and even more of a pisser.
 
I tried the Post Office travel card and had nothing but problems with it.

A mate and I were traveling across Europe on the bikes.
He had a PO Travel card as well. After filling up in the petrol station, meal on the boat, Cafe, etc, he would give his card to the cashier and no problem.
Me next in line handed my card over and it was declined. Contacted the Post Office when it happened and they kept saying that it was Cashier error. Funny how my mates worked and the cashiers did something stupid every time when it got to me.

I did manage to get it working in an ATM in Zurich, so lifted a load of cash out.

They never did accept responsibility for it.

Now I use the Halifax Clarity card and no problems at all.

PS. I had about 800 euro on the card

https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/travel.html
 
As above, I have Chase & Revolut cards, plus have both on my mobile.
 
Monzo card for me, top up through my phone as required, worked everywhere we used it, apart from one, and that was their fault.
 


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