Prepaid Card for Europe
We are travelling to Europe later this year on a tour of Spain & Portugal & don't wish to take too much cash with us.
We have looked at prepaid cards, but have found that a large number of petrol stations will not accept these.
As many of you in the club have probably done this many times, we would welcome advise on the best way to go about this.
Many thanks for your advice.
Pat
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We don't use a pre paid card, but find that the Halifax 'Clarity' card to be brilliant . No charges for purchases ,but of course interest charged on cash withdrawals. It's widely accepted across France, and almost certainly in Spain and Portugal - we've used it in Sri Lanka !
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When away for a month we typically take about 600 Euros. In the months leading up to the holiday we watch the exchange rates and but when things look good.
The rest of our outgoings are covered by Credit Card. When we get home we have usually found that the favourable exchange rate has been enough to cover the credit card handling charge fees of 2.5% I think.
I'm guessing most folk take a similar approach, with a few lucky ones having Credit Card accounts that do not have a handling charge for when abroad.
Colin
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Lots of banks in the UK have credit cards whereby you pay no fees to withdraw cash from local cash machines, pay in euro's for fuel etc, and these types of credit cards are widely accepted within the EU e.g. Barclays Reward, Nationwide have a similar card, no need to carry lots of cash, we usually carry €50 each.
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We tend to have a belts and braces approach when away abroad.
We each carry a Credit card (from different banks)
We each have a Caxton pre paid card, again separate accounts.
One of us carries a Debit card from our Nationwide account.
Our approach is Caxton is used for purchases, eating out and cash withdrawals, CC is used for fuel and site fees.
The debit card is just a backup should we need it. None of our cards have charges.
If you get a prepaid card don't use it for tolls or fuel buying as it will automatically holds a charge of around 99 euros for a few days until the actual amount comes off the card.
We like the Caxton and have had it for years, we watch the exchange rates over the year and when the rates are favourable we put some money on the card, by the time we go away its usually enough to see us through the holiday.
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We've got a Barclaycard Rewards card. No fees for using cash machines, and no interest charges providing the amount is paid in full at the end of the month. No fees for buying anything, fuel, supermarkets etc.
We do carry a small amount of cash always, useful at times.
Have used it in France and Cyprus up to now, with no problems whatsoever.
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We are in that fortunate positiion, with a couple of credit cards which don't charge a fee, and we also have a Metrobank account - which is easy to set up, costs nothing, and debit card withdrawals are not charged a fee or a conversion charge. We take very little cash these days, just enough to cover the cost of a bit of market spending, or coffees. Fuel and supermarket shopping go on the credit card which we pay off completely each month - so no interest payments.
A lot of people now use 'virtual' banks like Wise, Starling, Monzo, etc. Given that most banks now no longer have a presence on the high street, Metrobank is one of the few real banks where I can pop in and ask questions, get a new card, etc.0 -
Like all above we have a card which does not charge for purchases and we find that we use very little cash as the card is widely accepted. There are a few sites (not many at all) that want cash especially for just a one night stay or if using ACSI. It is advisable to have a second card as last year we found that a couple of motorway toll booths in Italy did not accept my first card but did accept another card! As you are probably aware, ensure that the payment is in Euros (or other currency if applicable) and not sterling.
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As you are probably aware, ensure that the payment is in Euros (or other currency if applicable) and not sterling.
Even that varies, particularly if the exchange rate is falling. I accidentally pressed the pay in GBP button in one French Supermarket we were in and the exchange rate worked out slightly better than another purchase made in euros on the same day. That of course took a couple of days until the exchange rate was applied, and by then it had fallen. Even without that, there would not have been much in it. I was lucky with that supermarket though, some rates for using GBP are akin to robbery.
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I am not quite sure I see the point of a prepaid card? It seems that it is just a substitute for carrying cash? In the latter years of us travelling to Europe we used the Halifax Clarity Card ( as mentioned by others) to withdraw cash from ATM's. A day or two later I would transfer money into the Clarity account to avoid interest charges although even if you left it those charges are quite modest. In the main we used credit cards in all those establishments that accepted them. However if you travel to Germany and the Netherlands there is still the need for cash in many places because they use a different banking system unless this has changed dramatically since COVID? From a security risk point of view cards are just as valuable as cash to some. Just one other thing I would flag up about couples if they use the original and second card from the same account, be that credit or debit. If you are unfortunate enough to have one of the cards stolen, banks will often block the other card as they put a stop on that account. So it makes sense for couple to have their own cards from separate accounts.
David
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I used my trusty Halifax Clarity credit card in an ATM in Laos without any problem, but at 20,000 Laotian kip to the pound immediately became a millionaire when drawing £50 of cash - and then discovered that although they are good Communists over there, even the border immigration men really prefer to be paid in US dollars, and that the market traders would rather be paid in Thai baht rather than in their own currency. So like others who have replied I use a real credit card rather than a pre paid card wherever I go.
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Wise. We live and bank in France but always carry a Wise card, it was invaluable during our UK tour last September, particularly for those unexpected £sterling purchases like the pair of new car tyres (£300), a replacement caravan door catch/lock (£230) as well as the planned foreign expenditure such as 3 weeks worth of specialist dog food. The card was accepted at every filling station and to settle our tab in the CL pub/restaurant. Tot it all up and it's notably cheaper than paying bank or credit card exchange rates. Wise has an arm in UK and is a Belgian organisation so you're as safe as using your 'home' banking ( except that Wise isn't a credit card so you have no consumer credit act protection, neither have you if using any debit card).
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" it's notably cheaper than paying bank or credit card exchange rates. " I'm not sure how you can say this - credit card exchange rates are at the interbank rate which is the best you can get. Debit card rates at ATMs are the same. I have no knowledge of WISE however.
With a decent credit limit a credit card is fine for the things you mention.
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