My travel card -us dollar

[maria & rossi]

Ive just come across MY TRAVELCASH PRE loaded cash card whilst checking on comparison sites. Has anyone used this card?

I'm really no expert on these cards but this one looked really good, but maybe you dibbers will have more experience than me.

These are the details

My TRAVELCASH - US dollar
Card Issuer: Newcastle Building Society
Card Type - MasterCard
Exlusive features - Get £10 extra when ordering a my travel card and loading more than £600 plus receive 1.0% on all purchases with your card, no ATM fees

Exchange rate at the time 1.52 (5 mins ago)

Not sure if the exclusive features was Exlusive to ordering via the comparison site (don't think I'm aloud to mention on here)

Like I said before, I'm really don't know enough about these cards as I usually use travellers cheques but thought I'd look at using a card this year.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[wilma-bride]

The only downside with this card (compared to other similar cards) is that there is a £2 per month inactivity fee, meaning for each month (after 12 months) that the card remains unused, you will be charged £2. However, if you plan to just load enough for your trip and spend what you have, then that shouldn't be an issue. I have just had a look at the MyTravelCash site and the rate they are offering currently is 1.5006 which is pretty poor but even Fairfx are only offeirng 1.52 at the moment.

Not sure which cashback site you are looking at (there shouldn't be a problem mentioning it here - lots of people use Quidco or rpoints and other rewards sites). The no ATM fees is a good bonus, though,a lthough you need to bear in mind that some ATMs will still charge for cash withdrawals.

 

[maria & rossi]

Thanks for the info.

The website was moneysupermarket.com

So am I right in thinking you only get charge £2 per month after having the card for a year? If so this would work for me.

Thanks again, Maria

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

What would be the advantage of using such a card rather than using a regular credit card? In the US, there are a number of cc cards which do not charge foreign transaction fees; I would imagine it is the same in the UK.

Almost no one uses travelers checks anymore and many places in the US won't accept them, so not using these is a good plan!

 

[GirlDreamer]

I've just recieved my travelcard from the Post Office. I feel it's better than carrying a lot of cash, and I can top it up as much as I like, with no fees. That way I can bring less currency and have the choice to get more quite easily if I need it.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Stefjp]

Thomas Cook do a currency card which I have heard great reviews about. Rather than giving you Cash or travellers cheques they put your chosen currency onto a card, which you can use in stores like a credit/debit card, or in a cash machine to make withdrawals.

 

[madmumof2]

I've just recieved my travelcard from the Post Office. I feel it's better than carrying a lot of cash, and I can top it up as much as I like, with no fees. That way I can bring less currency and have the choice to get more quite easily if I need it.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

I have the post office travel card too! It's brilliant, free card as well

 

[maria & rossi]

Thanks for all your replies.

Ive tried the Thomas cook PRE paid cards both the master card and the visa, the visa was the first one they brought out. I wasn't that keen on them. Whilst shopping in the malls I tried to check my balance at the ATMS but it wouldn't show me. It also refused a transaction on one of the cards as the balance was getting low even though there was enough funds to cover the purchase. I've always taken a mixture of travellers cheques, pre paid card and cash so it wasn't a problem, but I'm hearing more stories about travellers cheques not being accepted so decided to give the pre paid card another try. This time we'll have our ipad so if we have a problem checking the balance at an ATM at least we can check on line without having to call the UK.

The reason I liked the look of the MYtravel Cash was the extra £10, free card, 1% cash back on purchases and the exchange rate looked competitive, oh an no fee for withdrawing cash at the ATMs apart from the fee the ATM may charge.