I use a VIDA FX card, www.vidafx.co.uk get good rates can load card from bank online, accepted at machines and shops etc.
Had it 2 years pleased with it.
Pre-paid euro cards
- Thread starter Nanjo
- Start date
Had it 2 years pleased with it.
duncan99210
Well-Known Member
Never encountered an ATM making charges for withdrawals in Greece. However, beware of a minor money making twist that you do meet sometimes: you will be offered the opportunity to have your withdrawal billed in sterling. Do not accept this option, as the rate will be poor and you will still be billed by your UK bank for the Euros, thus taking a double hit on the transaction.
We've been offered this on our Euro card as well: the ATM recognises the card as being UK issued so suggests billing in Sterling. If you accept, the ATM bank will bill your Euro card account in sterling...... Nightmare.
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sailorman
Well-Known Member
I have just received my Caxtonfx card & have had a problem loading €s onto it. how long would it normally take to transfer from UK bank to Caxton card
maxi77
Well-Known Member
With FairFX usually minutes though they say a few hours.
RobbieW
Well-Known Member
FairFX only transfer 'during office hours' (certainly from bank accounts, no experience of transfers from credit cards), so no weekends or UK holidays - it 'pays' to plan ahead
- perhaps Caxton do the same
duncan99210
Well-Known Member
We find that Caxton loads the card almost immediately using either their website or the iPad/iPhone app, day or night, holiday or not. What takes time is the debit to appear on your bank account: that can take two or three days sometimes.
sailorman
Well-Known Member
i have nothing on the caxton card or a debit. the glitch seems to be the Verification procedure pop-up box from NatWest Visa
duncan99210
Well-Known Member
Then you'll need to contact your bank to sort it out. If you're not registered with the security pop up or have entered the wrong password it'll lock out the card certainly from being used with Caxton and possibly for all on line transaction.
sailorman
Well-Known Member
i phoned the bank after the 2nd attempt it seem there were 2 passwords on the system for some inexplicable reason all reset with a temp password & i tried again then changed the password. Still no go
Nanjo
Member
Thanks everybody for the great advice. I've gone for the Caxton card. Applied online, card received in 4 days, money transferred online instantly and at a good rate.
Garry & June 'Friendship'
Well-Known Member
Martin Lewis...he of 'Money saving Expert' fame rates this card as No.1 for use abroad.
Halifax
Loading (exchange rate fee). Europe: 0% | Worldwide: 0%
Cash withdrawals. Fee: FREE | Interest on cash withdrawals?: Yes, until it's repaid in full
Representative APRs. Spending: 12.9% | Cash: 12.9% (see official rate example)
Card issuer: Mastercard
Top card for spending and ATM withdrawals abroad -
it gives a 'perfect' exchange rate and has few other fees
The Halifax Clarity* credit card has no foreign exchange fee anywhere in the world (you can use our eligibility calculator for this card), so you can get the best rate possible.
The rate you'll get is set by Mastercard, which you can check here, although the most recent rate you'll be able to see is that from the previous day. Please also note that this rate is not connected to Halifax's own travel money bureau, which generally offers far lower rates.
There's no fee for cash withdrawals, though you'll be charged interest at a fairly low 12.9% representative APR, until you pay it off in full. So it works out at about £1/month for each £100 withdrawn.
But there’s a trick you can use to minimise this cost. You’re only charged interest until you’ve fully repaid the balance, so if you pay off the withdrawal amount as soon as you can (via internet banking while abroad, or as soon as you return home) to minimise interest costs.
You don’t get charged interest on spending abroad, provided you pay this off in full by the date shown on your statement. Some poorer credit scorers will get higher APRs, of up to 21.9%, which'll make cash withdrawal interest more expensive.
Monthly cost of £100 of
Spending
Cash withdrawals
Total
Worldwide
£0 approx £1/month £1
Halifax
Loading (exchange rate fee). Europe: 0% | Worldwide: 0%
Cash withdrawals. Fee: FREE | Interest on cash withdrawals?: Yes, until it's repaid in full
Representative APRs. Spending: 12.9% | Cash: 12.9% (see official rate example)
Card issuer: Mastercard
Top card for spending and ATM withdrawals abroad -
it gives a 'perfect' exchange rate and has few other fees
The Halifax Clarity* credit card has no foreign exchange fee anywhere in the world (you can use our eligibility calculator for this card), so you can get the best rate possible.
The rate you'll get is set by Mastercard, which you can check here, although the most recent rate you'll be able to see is that from the previous day. Please also note that this rate is not connected to Halifax's own travel money bureau, which generally offers far lower rates.
There's no fee for cash withdrawals, though you'll be charged interest at a fairly low 12.9% representative APR, until you pay it off in full. So it works out at about £1/month for each £100 withdrawn.
But there’s a trick you can use to minimise this cost. You’re only charged interest until you’ve fully repaid the balance, so if you pay off the withdrawal amount as soon as you can (via internet banking while abroad, or as soon as you return home) to minimise interest costs.
You don’t get charged interest on spending abroad, provided you pay this off in full by the date shown on your statement. Some poorer credit scorers will get higher APRs, of up to 21.9%, which'll make cash withdrawal interest more expensive.
Monthly cost of £100 of
Spending
Cash withdrawals
Total
Worldwide
£0 approx £1/month £1
maxi77
Well-Known Member
FairFX only transfer 'during office hours' (certainly from bank accounts, no experience of transfers from credit cards), so no weekends or UK holidays - it 'pays' to plan ahead
I normally use a debit card, quick and easy anytime. The direct transfer from your account is an office hours job as itneeds manual intervention. We have lived overseas for several years using fairfx and it works fine for us.
Martin is very good, he also recommended my preload card VIDA FX, had it 2 years now, works very well, no charges.
charles_reed
Well-Known Member
The one person I know who tried this always ended up paying one month of interest, even when he made the transfer from his bank to Halifax within 20' of making the withdrawal. Apparently the only way he could get round this was to credit the account 24-hrs previously - but then the credit was automatically put against his credit card purchases.
It might have had to do with both accounts not being on "instant transfers".
Many people, who see no debit fees on their statement are under the impression that they're not paying anything. That can only be discovered by a check against a mid-market quote Mastercard, in my experience are less greedy than Visa in taking only about 0.5% compared to 0.8% in the bid-offer rate.
I have every respect for Martin Lewis - he does seem to serve both God and Mammon with equal impartiality - but it's one thing reading the small print and deciding you're not out-of-pocket; but actually trying it is the least error-prone.
Incidentally Santander do have a current account making "no charge" for € withdrawals from your current account. It does have the disadvantage that one always have, from memory, £2500 in the account.