Hi, I'm from the UK, I have only a debit account with my bank/building society, and not a good enough credit rating to get a decent credit card that'd work worldwide.
So I need to find another way to do this. I was wondering about a pre paid credit card where I can put funds in and access them when needed throughout Asia.
Has anybody any experience with such cards with any advice as to a good worldwide recognised one?
Or any other good alternative ideas?
Thanks
yes - use ATMs. Just tell the bank where you'll be and when (and if it changes, tell them - some let you do this online). You will of course pay exchange fees but I know of no way round that.
You can survive without a credit card....i've done it before on long trips.
You should have at least 2 ATM cards though......I'd open a second account....preferably with different circuits eg Cirrus/Maestro etc.
Also...a couple of hundred US$ (at least) in small bills for emergencies.
I hate credit cards, but was figuring that a pre paid one would be useful, but I don't know much about them.
I can use my bank debit (visa) card, but as suggested by lucapal I could do with 2 atm cards hence the question about pre paid a credit card?
I'll be traveling with my partner who will also have cards with her, but it'd still be good to have 2 each, we don't do joint accounts.
Thanks for your replies peeps, Martin
I have something called a "cash card" through Wells Fargo, though I have no idea if they have banks in the U.K. It works like a credit card, but you deposit cash into your account like a pre-paid credit card. I think the only real difference between it and a checking account is that it doesn't go through as a "debit card", so if a certain transaction accepts only credit cards but not debit, it will still work.
The main thing you will need however is just your ATM debit card, because that's what you will use to access your checking account through ATMs abroad. You will want to check with your bank, and make sure that it can be used from most ATMs around the world (i.e. it will have to have one of the symbols mentioned above for Cirrus, etc., but your bank should give you the general thumbs up or thumbs down on it. I think if it's a typical checking account it should work at ATMs around the world).
That's really all you need, but agree it's good to have a couple of back-ups, i.e. a cash card or pre-paid credit card, some cash on hand, and some traveler's checks as well. That way, if you lose your wallet, including the cards, the cash and the traveler's checks, you can at least get some cash back on your traveler's checks (although, that'd be tricky without ID, not sure how that would works exactly!). The thing to do is make sure to send yourself an email with the numbers of each of the traveler's checks so if all else fails, at least you have those numbers, which equal cash. But, think positive on that and hope you don't need to use them, in which case you just cash them when you get back home and call it your "time to get a job" fund upon returning.
It's really important to have more than one source of money in case your card is lost, stolen or eaten by the ATM machine (it can happen anywhere). Make sure you know how to transfer money between your different accounts as well.
You don't mention what countries you are going to but a supply of cash $US is useful in some Asian countries to pay for visas and sometimes even hotels. ATMs in several Asian countries will also charge you a fee for using them - when we went 2 years ago Thailand, Laos and Cambodian ATMs all charged a fee. In Thailand it was actually cheaper to cash travellers cheques than take out cash in some places. Check the relevant forum branchs for more current information.
As a Brit you are fortunate to have access to one of the best sites for answering this question.