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Travel

:Post Office Travel Money Card

(9 Posts)
chickenlegs Fri 07-Jul-17 22:43:49

My DD is going to France and maybe into Spain or Italy with her partner and sons aged 2 and 6 months. She is thinking of putting money onto a Post Office Travel card.

I tried it a couple of years ago and had trouble adding money when I was in France. Does anyone else have experience, good or bad, please?

Jalima1108 Fri 07-Jul-17 23:42:12

I can't help, but DH bought a leaflet home about it a couple of days ago.
It concerns me that it could be pre-loaded with all your holiday money then perhaps lost or stolen and used by someone else without any checks on the kind of transactions that a bank may pick up on.

Grannyknot Sat 08-Jul-17 07:05:49

... but these days all you need for travel money abroad is your (debit or credit) card and an ATM? So much easier and just as safe as using an ATM anywhere else. I have to inform my bank when I will be using my card abroad - I do that online.

As far as charges go, I understand the fee is per transaction, so we draw as few times as possible when we're on holiday.

Totally hassle free.

Pittcity Sat 08-Jul-17 07:53:21

I have just got a new prepaid card for travel. It's called Monzo and is purely online.
You top it up so that you can set a budget and get an immediate statement on a phone app.
The best bit is that it is free to use everywhere in the world where Mastercard is accepted. The only cost would be where an ATM charges for withdrawals.
There is also a button on the app to block the card immediately if you lose it and no need to advise anyone where you are going as you can see where your card is being used.

Welshwife Sat 08-Jul-17 09:00:15

If your DD has time it could be worthwhile getting a Halifax Clarity Credit card. There is no charge at all for foreign currency transactions. We have an account and use it for our normal credit card and get a good exchange rate and no extra charges. Other banks charge a large fee really for any foreign currency use. Some years ago we needed to pay a large towing fee and pay with a Tesco CC and the fee was £18! When I opened our account the limit initially was £1K but I was able to increase that after a few months.
It might work for your DD to take some Euro cash with her for small transactions and the card for other things. I pay mine on line and on the odd occasion I have thought I might reach my limit I have made myself in credit with them!
There are other banks which do a similar card - Nationwide being one.

Oriel Sat 08-Jul-17 09:44:04

We use WeSwap. It is a currency exchange card. You submit the amount you wish to exchange online and the date you want the swap to happen (the longer the better rate). The swap is then completed and the currency added to your card. When abroad you can use the card as you would a bank card with no fees. The exchange rate and transaction fee is incredibly good too - far less than anywhere else.

It is a fairly new concept so google it to find out more. We used it extensively over a month away in France - it worked on the tolls and all restaurants, shops, petrol stations, etc. Saves you carrying cash and if you have currency left when you return you simply swap it back to sterling.

Primrose65 Sat 08-Jul-17 10:38:41

Thanks for the recommendation Oriel, I use a Caxton FX card at the moment which I'm very pleased with but WeSwap looks better!

Oriel Sat 08-Jul-17 12:16:21

You're very welcome Primrose!

chickenlegs Sun 09-Jul-17 09:19:09

Thank you for all the advice. I have passed it on to DD.