prepaid foreign exchange money cards - any good??

Hi All,

no exactly 'travel tech' i know..

Does anyone have any experience with prepaid travel cards?
Theres quite a few available these days (at least here in Australia).

Most providers of these cards say that the local ATM operators "may impose their own fees". If that is the case, Im wondering is there much advantage over using your own banks ATM card.

I realize, one advantge is that you can lock in FX rates. But this could work either IN or AGAINST your favour.

interested to hear of others experiences...

Hi.

has been discussed a lot on this forum in the past.....use the search function and have a read through old posts....this one should get you started - [http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2328025]

I'm not an Aussie, but looked into several cards in NZ before traveling....in the end all the fine print, fees and restrictions put me off. I think they have some merits, but not for me.

I use my banks ATM debit card and carry 2 Credit Cards - works fine for me for long term travel in many different countries.

ATB.

Hard to say about ATM fees when we donjt know where you intend travelling.

You need to work it out yourself. Basically there are transaction fees, currency conversion fees and exchange rates. Generally for travel worrying about exchange rates is probably not worth it, sure the currency could change a few cents, but for budgeting reasons converting and locking it in makes things easier. Also a fee free card could mean the exchange rates are much much worse than a card that charges 1% transaction fee. Sorry there is no golden card, I've used both ATM cards and pre paid cards, It depends on where I go and the currency used there.

In Australia, Wespac is a member of Global ATM Alliance and there are no bank fees. There might be international transaction fees of 1%.

I looked at Westpac here in NZ to see where they had free international transactions and depends where you go if it applies. Apart from Mainland China, its no good in Asia.

Sorry there is no golden card

28 degree no annual fee, no currency conversion fees and no international transaction fees. Overseas ATM owners may charge you a fee (can't avoid this).

The interest charge percentage is very high though!

Me here in NZ too. With those cards, they have certain countries that you can try to better the FX rates yeah ... by deposit money in advance. You forgo the interest thou in a savings account maybe not that bad overseas in some but in NZ they do give you a healthy 4% interest and it compounds. Over here one card I quite like but not yet used is the AirNZ Smart Card or something. When you use the card overseas over the counter or at the ATM there are no fees and no monthly fees either provided you have a certain balance. When you swap your home currency and convert it to another there is also no FX comm fees. But again, some view that this card's FX rates isn't that great compared to a normal CC. Prob not an issue for non-high spenders.

Able to better (or worst) the FX rates. Balanced off with the interests lost.
For me that card, saves the $5-10 each time I use it at the ATM.

No annual fee provided a min balance.

I dunno, do the other prepaid FX cards charge you for each time you use it over the counter even or online? I recall a number of them do least over here where I am. So don't use it to shop on the net or at Starbucks v often, haha. Needa check the range of cards yourself and compare.

Edited by: Rayonline

Philmeow, well aware of the 28 degree card, but its very difficult to compare the exchange rates.

My experience is that the less fees up front the worse the exchange rates are. I've seen cards charge a difference of 5c from each other in exchange rates. ie one of my cards the exchange rate was $1.05 AUD to a $1 US and another card was $1.00 AUD to $1 US. This was on the same day in the same country. Guess which one had the better exchange rate. The one that charged me 1% transaction fee up front.

However what you do want to avoid is flat fees, because 1% on $200 is $2. Where as a few charge flat fees of $5.

My experience is that the less fees up front the worse the exchange rates are.

Justin - I would agree with the above, in general.

If anyone is interested, there is a FAQ which explains how 28 degrees calculate the exchange rates, and fees.

To my mind, travelling overseas will always incur some costs and it's all about minimising this.

of course the 28 degrees also earns money from the fact its a credit card and merchants pay. I've heard its a good card, but it has negatives like every other card!

I've found the cards in a foreign currency work quite well, because you can say put a few thousand euros/US/etc on it. The fees are in that currency, there is no more exchange conversions either. BUT it really depends on where you are going and I don't tend to visit just the USA and Europe.

please read this thread:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2295627

What about pre-paid cards? Caveat emptor. I see no benefit in using these. You load a card with Euros, before you depart. That means you lock in the exchange rate. More on that below.

Pre-paid cards often use a rate that is less advantageous than ATM withdrawals with a debit card. So you are losing money right there. And they often come with a host of (hidden) fees: top-up fees, administrative fees, and if you have less than €50 left you may not be able to withdraw it… so again, typically pre-paid cards are more expensive. They are often being flogged by banks to inexperienced first-time travellers- no experienced traveller I know uses them.