Prepaid Travel Credit Card

[Tee & Chilli]

Has anyone used a prepaid card when traveling international? I'm trying to load money on a card without using my personal credit card which has foreign transaction fees.

[Toofarfromthesea]

13 minutes ago, Tee & Chilli said:

Has anyone used a prepaid card when traveling international? I'm trying to load money on a card without using my personal credit card which has foreign transaction fees.

 

We got a debit card for travel from our bank, Wells Fargo.  No FTFs and the connection to our accounts is protected, since the card can only access the amount we put on it. 

 

IOW, someone stealing the card and fraudulently using it could not clean out our account because that card cannot access our account.  The most they could get is the amount we had already placed on it. 

 

We basically only use this card to get foreign currency at ATMs.  For other purchases we use our regular credit card and, given the choice, have the charge made in the local currency and let the card, which also has no FTF, do the exchange rate to dollars.

[mom says]

Likely depends on what card it is and what country you want to use it in. I've read several times that prepaid US cards are often not accepted in European countries.

 

Why not get a CC with no FTFs just for travel?

[TravelinGert]

33 minutes ago, Tee & Chilli said:

Has anyone used a prepaid card when traveling international? I'm trying to load money on a card without using my personal credit card which has foreign transaction fees.

 

We at the direction of our group director sent the kids with some cash and a pre-paid visa card for a school trip to Europe. We'd have done better to simply provide them some more cash. The foreign transaction fees and conversion charges which were charged were more than the amounts the kids spent on them. 

 

There are credit cards that will let you have a card just for a trip and there are cards that don't charge foreign transaction fees. As far as I am aware that's your best bet as any pre-paid credit card available in the US will charge you foreign transaction fees, conversion fees, and more.

 

As others have said, that's if they're accepted. If you can get a no foreign transaction fees card with the ability to enable chip and pin that's your best bet. Sorry I can't recall which of our cards have that. I think Chase bank is one but only on certain of their cards, and there are other banks that have that option now as well I believe.

[Tee & Chilli]

Thanks everyone.

I’m speaking with Wells Fargo. The easy pay card has a 3% fee. Money can be loaded at a branch or ATM.

The rep is unsure about if the card is secured.

[ldubs]

24 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

We got a debit card for travel from our bank, Wells Fargo.  No FTFs and the connection to our accounts is protected, since the card can only access the amount we put on it. 

 

IOW, someone stealing the card and fraudulently using it could not clean out our account because that card cannot access our account.  The most they could get is the amount we had already placed on it. 

 

We basically only use this card to get foreign currency at ATMs.  For other purchases we use our regular credit card and, given the choice, have the charge made in the local currency and let the card, which also has no FTF, do the exchange rate to dollars.

 

Good info here.   The focus should be on prepaid debit cards not credit cards.   Doing that provides the convenience of ATMs without the risk should the card be compromised.   

[TravelinGert]

1 minute ago, ldubs said:

 

Good info here.   The focus should be on prepaid debit cards not credit cards.   Doing that provides the convenience of ATMs without the risk should the card be compromised.   

Has anyone here had trouble with this? We travel every year to Europe and have had no issue with our cards there. The only time anyone ever messed with one of our cards it happened right here at home to a new card. We'd had the account for years but when we renewed got a new card number due to something on the bank's end. Went out to eat and the next day got a text asking had we made a charge on a website they'd had a lot of questionable charges from. We had not. They sent us yet another new card with yet another new number. It had to have been due to someone at the restaurant when the waiter took our card to the back to pay our bill as that was the only place that card number was ever used.

[ldubs]

1 minute ago, TravelinGert said:

Has anyone here had trouble with this? We travel every year to Europe and have had no issue with our cards there. The only time anyone ever messed with one of our cards it happened right here at home to a new card. We'd had the account for years but when we renewed got a new card number due to something on the bank's end. Went out to eat and the next day got a text asking had we made a charge on a website they'd had a lot of questionable charges from. We had not. They sent us yet another new card with yet another new number. It had to have been due to someone at the restaurant when the waiter took our card to the back to pay our bill as that was the only place that card number was ever used.

 

You have a lot of protections if someone fraudulently uses your credit card.  Those same protections don't apply to debit cards.  A pre-paid debit card limits the total loss to the amount put on the card as opposed to the value of your regular bank account.   

[clo]

14 minutes ago, TravelinGert said:

The only time anyone ever messed with one of our cards it happened right here at home

We also. Never when traveling.

[TravelinGert]

9 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

You have a lot of protections if someone fraudulently uses your credit card.  Those same protections don't apply to debit cards.  A pre-paid debit card limits the total loss to the amount put on the card as opposed to the value of your regular bank account.   

My debit card is a Visa and my bank extends the same protections to it as a credit card. Or so they say. I do know they run the same fraud protection on it. When I go to a Walmart not in my neighborhood my bank makes me approve the charge via my phone same as they do with my credit card. I haven't used my debit card anywhere out and about in several years other than the time I tried it at Walmart just to see, though. I get points for my credit card which I can use on future travel so I use that for everything.

[clo]

1 minute ago, TravelinGert said:

My debit card is a Visa and my bank extends the same protections to it as a credit card.

Ours also. And the $50 on CC has never been charge us although I believe they can.

[ldubs]

37 minutes ago, TravelinGert said:

My debit card is a Visa and my bank extends the same protections to it as a credit card. Or so they say. I do know they run the same fraud protection on it. When I go to a Walmart not in my neighborhood my bank makes me approve the charge via my phone same as they do with my credit card. I haven't used my debit card anywhere out and about in several years other than the time I tried it at Walmart just to see, though. I get points for my credit card which I can use on future travel so I use that for everything.

 

I thought that was just for when a debit card is used like a credit card, not for ATM withdrawals.  I have no stake in being right here, but suggest double checking that what you are saying applies if someone withdraws from your checking account using your debit card/PIN at an ATM.  BTW, I hope you are right.   

[TravelinGert]

3 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I thought that was just for when a debit card is used like a credit card, not for ATM withdrawals.  I have no stake in being right here, but suggest double checking that what you are saying applies if someone withdraws from your checking account using your debit card/PIN at an ATM.  BTW, I hope you are right.   

Thank you for the heads up. Perhaps you are correct. Certainly everyone should check with their own bank themselves as I'm sure like most things banking there are many variables between banks. I only quoted what my bank told me when I opened the account about 15 years ago.

[John Bull]

Just a heads-up on pre-pay debit cards not linked to a bank account.

They work just like any debit or credit card in shops, bars, restaurants - or anywhere else where you pay on-the-spot for what you've bought on-the-spot - as long as there are funds on the card.

 

But they're not accepted on most (all?) cruise ships.

This is because when you register a card at embarkation the cruise line puts a daily hold (pre-authorisation / reservation) on some of the funds available in order to ensure that funds are available at the end of the cruise, when they charge your card with what you actually spent. The "hold" isn't actually taken, it's merely reserved but that can create a problem for debit card holders who run a low bank balance, or credit card holders whose credit limit is close to maxing-out.

More importantly, it's not possible for cruise lines or other merchants to put a "hold" on pre-pay cards - they take the money out or they don't take the money out. 

Same applies to car rental deposits, some hotels, and other transactions where the total payable isn't known at the time.

 

I urge anyone planning to register a pre-pay debit card for their ship-board account to check with the cruise line

 

JB  

[Tee & Chilli]

Can someone recommend a card (debit or credit) they are pleased with?

[Joebucks]

13 hours ago, Tee & Chilli said:

Thanks everyone.

I’m speaking with Wells Fargo. The easy pay card has a 3% fee. Money can be loaded at a branch or ATM.

The rep is unsure about if the card is secured.

 

I know that was coming. That's going to be as much as your foreign exchange fees while limiting the amount you can carry, protections, etc.

 

Google some credit cards with no annual or foreign transaction fees if it is that important to you. If you travel often, you may want to invest in a credit card with more travel benefits.

[Schoifmom]

2 hours ago, John Bull said:

Just a heads-up on pre-pay debit cards not linked to a bank account.

They work just like any debit or credit card in shops, bars, restaurants - or anywhere else where you pay on-the-spot for what you've bought on-the-spot - as long as there are funds on the card.

 

But they're not accepted on most (all?) cruise ships.

This is because when you register a card at embarkation the cruise line puts a daily hold (pre-authorisation / reservation) on some of the funds available in order to ensure that funds are available at the end of the cruise, when they charge your card with what you actually spent. The "hold" isn't actually taken, it's merely reserved but that can create a problem for debit card holders who run a low bank balance, or credit card holders whose credit limit is close to maxing-out.

More importantly, it's not possible for cruise lines or other merchants to put a "hold" on pre-pay cards - they take the money out or they don't take the money out. 

Same applies to car rental deposits, some hotels, and other transactions where the total payable isn't known at the time.

 

I urge anyone planning to register a pre-pay debit card for their ship-board account to check with the cruise line

 

JB  

 

While that is absolutely true, I believe that the discussion here was for a travel card to be used in ports (i.e., locations with currency other than USD).

[John Bull]

13 minutes ago, Schoifmom said:

 

While that is absolutely true, I believe that the discussion here was for a travel card to be used in ports (i.e., locations with currency other than USD).

 

Agreed.

My post not directed to the OP but to folk who read the thread because it's not widely-known.

If pre-pay cards were OK for on-board accounts but not, say, for car rentals, it'd be unworthy of a mention.

But everyone here is a cruiser so the heads-up just might avoid someone having that problem.

 

JB 

[Hlitner]

Just a couple of warnings to the OP.  Most prepaid credit cards also charge fees (to simply obtain the card and load credit).  If you get these cards in a currency like US Dollars you will likely not get the best exchange rate and may well have foreign exchange fees deducted (sometimes it is simply buried in a lousy exchange rate).  These cards are also routinely rejected in cases where you need a "credit hold" such as when renting cars and even using it on cruise ships as your primary card (for your onboard account).  Some cruise lines put a credit hold of us to $60 per person/day on the card you register with them at embarkation.

 

So what to do?  We have suggested for many years that cruisers and other travelers consider obtaining a Visa or MC that does not charge any foreign exchange fees.  There are even some cards (such as the CapitalOne MC) that has no foreign exchange fees or annual fees.   The higher end travel cards such as AMEX Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve do not have any foreign exchange fees.  

 

As one who has traveled extensively for over 50 years, we have seldom had any issue with our cards in foreign countries.  However, we have had numerous problems within the USA when even the largest companies (like Home Depot) compromised one of our cards (which had to be reissued).   We actually like how cards are handled in Europe because the norm is that the card never leaves your site (the transaction is done at your table with a portable reader/printer).  One other warning.  AMEX says not to leave home without your card, but they do not tell you that many restaurants and stores do not accept AMEX.  Bottom line is that Visa and MC are the most widely accepted.  We have also had European restaurants (some of them pretty high end) actually ask us if we have another card...when we pull out our AMEX.  They pay a higher fee to process AMEX and some are not too shy about urging you to use Visa, MC or cash.

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

...

 

...We have also had European restaurants (some of them pretty high end) actually ask us if we have another card...when we pull out our AMEX.  They pay a higher fee to process AMEX and some are not too shy about urging you to use Visa, MC or cash.

 

Hank

And, many restaurants in Europe will only accept chip and pin cards; just like unmanned gas pumps and RR ticket machines.

 

  Worth getting.

[Hlitner]

2 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

And, many restaurants in Europe will only accept chip and pin cards; just like unmanned gas pumps and RR ticket machines.

 

  Worth getting.

LOL.  Nothing worse then running low on gas late at night (when many gas stations have no attendants) and finding that none of our credit cards (even one with a Chip/PIN) did not work.  There have been a few times in Italy when my Debit Card (it has a PIN and also works on the Visa network) did function at the pumps.   And then there was the issue with the toll roads in the Northern part of France which refused to accept any of our credit or debit cards (a long queue built up behind us while somebody from the toll Office came running to our car to make change for a large Euro Bill).  When that incident happened I made sure to give the attendant the largest bill I had (which made her life more difficult).  The issue in France was (not sure if it has recently changed) that their toll roads are operated by two different private companies, one in the south and another in the north.  No problem using US credit cards in the South....but in the North the company never negotiated a contract with any of the North American networks.  There is no way to be sure what will happen until you try to use a card.  You cannot make this stuff up :).

 

Hank

[John Bull]

14 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

And, many restaurants in Europe will only accept chip and pin cards; just like unmanned gas pumps and RR ticket machines.

 

  Worth getting.

 

Not a problem I've experienced, of course.

 

But whereas unmanned fuel pumps, rail ticket machines, and a lot of other automated machines won't work without a PIN number (same as a lot of gas pumps in the US won't work without a zip-code) I've not heard of manned outlets like restaurants failing to accept cards which don't have a PIN.

 

But of course there'll be the occasional "saturday staff" who don't know how it works.

 

And whereas there was almost-always the option to feed cash into a machine or pay an attendant, there are now more and more machines (parking, public phones etc) which only accept plastic and fewer and fewer manned alternatives.

 

JB 

[Tee & Chilli]

Do most people take a small amount of currency for small purchases like taxi and coffee?

[clo]

31 minutes ago, Tee & Chilli said:

Do most people take a small amount of currency for small purchases like taxi and coffee?

You mean local currency? We might get a small amount but try to charge everything. If we do get some we will then pay for a lunch or wine or something to 'get rid of' it.

[c-boy]

14 hours ago, Tee & Chilli said:

Do most people take a small amount of currency for small purchases like taxi and coffee?

yes, as  getting change can be a frustrating experience.