Travel Money Cards

[Pamster]

We usually take some cash and debit/credit cards away with us when going abroad but this year I've been thinking of getting a travel money card and have been looking at one issued by The Post Office. Has anyone any thoughts on these i.e are they better than using debit/credit cards?

Thanks

[Albert the Frog]

I know you use them in the same way -the only advantage i can see is that you can't overspend-when they're empty they're empty!
There are a couple of credit cards out there that are quite good for overseas travel-Nationwide and Post Office Credit card being the 2 that I know of.

[lynnroy]

We are taking Post Office credit cards- O% comission on foreign spending and you'll get a better exchange rate than changing money here

[hazelk]

Hi

We have taken out a Santander Zero credit card, this we have been advised is even better than the P.O. credit card which we had last year.

The Zero card allows you to withdraw cash from an ATM, there is no charge for doing this, you only accrue interest until it is paid off, we have been advised to pay it off immediately we return therefore limiting the fee.

Martin Lewis the money saving expert has been saying that this is the best one for a few months now. As we are Abbey/Santander customers there were no application forms to fill in, we just had a quick chat with the branch and they arranged it all.

Looking forward to using them when we go in four weeks time. [clap]

[Katys Grandad]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by hazelk
Hi

We have taken out a Santander Zero credit card, this we have been advised is even better than the P.O. credit card which we had last year.

The Zero card allows you to withdraw cash from an ATM, there is no charge for doing this, you only accrue interest until it is paid off, we have been advised to pay it off immediately we return therefore limiting the fee.

[/quote]

If you're going to pay it off in full anyway, wouldn't it be cheaper to put the cash in a Nationwide account in advance and use their debit card?

[hazelk]

I agree but with the Santander Zero card there is no charge for withdrawing cash, I believe there is with the others.

According to what we have been told the interest will be less than a charge would be.

[Katys Grandad]

I doubt there's very much in it and it will vary dependent upon how much you spend but I don't think there's a charge for withdrawing money on the Nationwide debit although I might be a bit out of date.

[Jill]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:If you're going to pay it off in full anyway, wouldn't it be cheaper to put the cash in a Nationwide account in advance and use their debit card[/quote]

Nationwide now charge 1% when using debit and credit cards if used outside Europe so you would need to know how much interest you will pay against Nationwide's lesser exchange rate to find out which is cheapest.

Prepaid travel money cards can have advantages but you need to check and see what charges are involved as some of them charge either a percentage or fixed fee to withdraw cash from ATMs.

[hazelk]

Jill

If you go to Santander or Martin Lewis's website you will get the info.

Martin is saying on his site today that Santander is the outright winner with the zero card.

[Jill]

Hazel I was trying to answer the point made by Katys Grandad as to why it is difficult to work out the difference in cost between using the Santander card to withdraw cash, which gives the best exchange rate but does charge interest on the balance on a cash withdrawal until you clear the balance over using a Nationwide card which passes on the 1% charge made by Visa for using the card outside Europe.

We have Santander cards and were told when we applied that we could pre load our cards with what we thought we would draw in cash to get round the interest charge. However, I have since spoken to another person at Santander and been told if I do this they will cancel our cards. To be honest although we have Santander cards we find the level of service dreadful and if we did not need something for outside Europe then we would stick with Nationwide or Post Office cards for overseas use.

[Katys Grandad]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by hazelk
Jill

If you go to Santander or Martin Lewis's website moneysavingexpert.com you will get the info.

Martin is saying on his site today that Santander is the outright winner with the zero card.[/quote]But that's a comparison between credit cards Hazel. On the same page, he says that the Nationwide is the only debit card worth having.

As I said above, we're probably talking pretty small differences and, as Jill rightly points out, it will depend upon how much you spend/withdraw on the credit card and how long/rate the interest accumulates before you pay it off.

My own view is that the Santander Zero card is a lot better than most (maybe all) other credit cards but the comparative benefits when viewed against the Nationwide debit card will depend upon individual spending and use patterns.

[grayster]

I agree KG. I always use Nationwide debit card but I am a current account customer there. The real proof is always in the FX rate given - and I have seen divergence greater than 5% from other banks. Nationwide fx rates have been consistently competitive. It is a shame they now apply the 1% charge but that is only £20 if you spend £2k on hols!

If you have the cash in the bank, I wouldn't personally open a credit card account. I also would never use it for ATM withdrawals where I would start incurring 27.9% APR interest from the moment of withdrawal. However, a combination of the two cards might be good if you can be bothered with the administration effort to save a few quid.

On pre-paid cards, I agree with Albert the Frog.