Pre-paid or credit cards

[GrumpyGregry]

I use my normal debit card for convenience and couldn't care less about the charges over a 2 or 3 week tour, they are insignificant. I think the Barclays charge is about 3% + a small transaction fee but I am not sure and don't care.

Small amount of cash bought at my local bureau for small transactions, or eg the cost of a coffee can double, and my normal debit card for everything else.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

^That said my son had his debit card cloned in cph last summer and he was only here for three days. But thanks to the excellent Lloyds "your debit card has just been used" text system for overseas transactions he knew within hours that the game was afoot.

 

[mmmmartin]

I use my normal debit card for convenience and couldn't care less about the charges over a 2 or 3 week tour, they are insignificant. I think the Barclays charge is about 3% + a small transaction fee but I am not sure and don't care.

Over a three week tour you'll take money out say three times, and pay using a credit card perhaps 12 times? Have a look at your statement - that'll be £20 please sir.

 

[MarkF]

Over a three week tour you'll take money out say three times, and pay using a credit card perhaps 12 times? Have a look at your statement - that'll be £20 please sir.

I use a debit card (I never use a CC) only to get cash from an ATM and that's what I use to pay for everything.

 

[Milkfloat]

A few hundred in cash via Halifax Clarity will only result in less than a pound in interest over a couple of weeks.

 

[slowmotion]

I use a Caxton card. The biggest advantage that I see is that that you shell out before the trip rather than arriving home afterwards to a painful credit card hangover. I know that there are no withdrawal/payment fees when you are abroad but I have never checked how the foreign conversion rate compares to other sources. It is supposed to be quite good.

 

[Isla Valassi]

I use a Caxton card. The biggest advantage that I see is that that you shell out before the trip rather than arriving home afterwards to a painful credit card hangover. I know that there are no withdrawal/payment fees when you are abroad but I have never checked how the foreign conversion rate compares to other sources. It is supposed to be quite good.

I received this message from Caxton today regarding a forthcoming change to their Ts & Cs:
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Terms and conditions update 9th June 2016

What is changing?

Because of the new requirements introduced by the EU Regulation 2015/751 on interchange fees for card-based payment transactions, from the 9th June 2016 merchants in the EU/EEA will be able to choose whether or not they wish to accept prepaid/debit/credit or commercial cards. This means that if the merchant in the EU/EEA chooses not to accept MasterCard cards, your Caxton FX MasterCard prepaid card will not be accepted by that particular merchant.

We have amended your Caxton FX MasterCard prepaid Card Cardholder Terms and Conditions to reflect this change and the updated version of the Terms and Conditions. You should review these terms in full in your own time. This change to your Cardholder Terms and Conditions will become effective on the 9th June 2016.


How will I know if my Caxton FX card will be accepted at a particular merchant in the EU/EEA?

As of 9th June 2016, the EU Regulation 2015/751 requires merchants to inform consumers if they decide not to accept all types of cards of a particular payment card Scheme, such as MasterCard or Visa. Merchants will be expected to display this information prominently at the entrance of the shop and at the till or, in the case of distance sales, this information should be displayed on the merchant’s website or other applicable electronic or mobile medium.


What do I need to do now?

If you are happy with the changes to your Cardholder Terms and Conditions, you do not need to do anything. However, if you do not wish to accept the changes to the Terms and Conditions and wish to terminate your agreement with us, you must let us know by either calling us on 0333 123 1812 or +44 20 7201 0526 from outside the UK before 9th June 2016 and we will arrange for your card to be cancelled and your account to be closed and for any unspent funds on your card to be returned to you in accordance with your Terms and Conditions.
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I think I would still probably load up the card beforehand but obviously take the credit card along for the ride too!

 

[slowmotion]

I received this message from Caxton today regarding a forthcoming change to their Ts & Cs:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Terms and conditions update 9th June 2016

What is changing?

Because of the new requirements introduced by the EU Regulation 2015/751 on interchange fees for card-based payment transactions, from the 9th June 2016 merchants in the EU/EEA will be able to choose whether or not they wish to accept prepaid/debit/credit or commercial cards. This means that if the merchant in the EU/EEA chooses not to accept MasterCard cards, your Caxton FX MasterCard prepaid card will not be accepted by that particular merchant.

We have amended your Caxton FX MasterCard prepaid Card Cardholder Terms and Conditions to reflect this change and the updated version of the Terms and Conditions. You should review these terms in full in your own time. This change to your Cardholder Terms and Conditions will become effective on the 9th June 2016.


How will I know if my Caxton FX card will be accepted at a particular merchant in the EU/EEA?

As of 9th June 2016, the EU Regulation 2015/751 requires merchants to inform consumers if they decide not to accept all types of cards of a particular payment card Scheme, such as MasterCard or Visa. Merchants will be expected to display this information prominently at the entrance of the shop and at the till or, in the case of distance sales, this information should be displayed on the merchant’s website or other applicable electronic or mobile medium.


What do I need to do now?

If you are happy with the changes to your Cardholder Terms and Conditions, you do not need to do anything. However, if you do not wish to accept the changes to the Terms and Conditions and wish to terminate your agreement with us, you must let us know by either calling us on 0333 123 1812 or +44 20 7201 0526 from outside the UK before 9th June 2016 and we will arrange for your card to be cancelled and your account to be closed and for any unspent funds on your card to be returned to you in accordance with your Terms and Conditions.
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I think I would still probably load up the card beforehand but obviously take the credit card along for the ride too!

Spookily, I got that email this evening. I'm not that bothered by it though. No merchant or bank has ever been under any obligation to accept any particular card. I turned up in San Francisco about ten years ago and three of my credit/debit cards didn't work in the local ATMs. Fortunately, the last one did. I never discovered why. It's just one of the little excitements of foreign travel.

Thanks for the alert.

 

[TheDoctor]

Debit card for drawing cash, and always do one huge withdrawal rather than a few small ones. Credit card for everything else. And avoid dynamic currency conversion - an foreign company will bill you in Sterling for thier benefit, not yours!

 

[ufkacbln]

There is away to "cheat" with credit cards if you want the greater security for items

One of the advantages for credit card purchases is the "cover" if there is a dispute or something goes wrong.

This is in place even if only a small part is paid by credit card

So for instance if you buy an internal flight and pay a £10 deposit, and the rest by cash or debit, you would still get full cover



This does however work the other way, if you preload the card, there is no "credit" so the cover is not in place

 

[andym]

@Cunobelin - A good point: it's worth having both: a CC for the stuff when you might need the consumer protection snd the pre-paid card for caj and maybe hotels and restaurants.

A few hundred in cash via Halifax Clarity will only result in less than a pound in interest over a couple of weeks.

According to Halifax their representative rate is 18.9%. If my maths is correct (I'm happy to be proved wrong!) over 4 weeks that's a bit under £1.50 per hundred pounds. If you make the withdrawal just after your statement goes out, you could pay even more if you wait until the next statement.

I think for most people it makes sense to get a prepaid card for cash as well as a good credit card.

 

[User33236]

I've used the Travelex Cash Passport several times when abroad (USA and Eurozone).

It's basically a prepaid MasterCard that you can have up to 6 different currencies on. My reason for choosing this was that, IME, Travelex tend to offer one of the better exchange rates and there are no transaction fees when using the card to pay for stuff. If you don't use it for 12 months there start charging a monthly admin fee which is something to remember.

 

[briantrumpet]

If you're doing a lot of forrin travel, it's worth looking at the £10-a-month Nationwide Flex Plus account: no fee on cash withdrawal on the debit card, and no fee on credit card purchases (curiously there is a 1.5% fee on debit card purchases). You also get travel insurance (including winter sports cover), breakdown cover (including home recovery) and mobile phone insurance.

 

[Simon_m]

cheers guys

 

[ufkacbln]

I've used the Travelex Cash Passport several times when abroad (USA and Eurozone).

It's basically a prepaid MasterCard that you can have up to 6 different currencies on. My reason for choosing this was that, IME, Travelex tend to offer one of the better exchange rates and there are no transaction fees when using the card to pay for stuff. If you don't use it for 12 months there start charging a monthly admin fee which is something to remember.

Also - as above no Consumer protection on the preloaded part