has anyone any experience of this? I have been looking at a few but am getting all confused with the charges and I just cant work out whether they are cheaper than using my own credit card abroad.

the resort we are going to is cashless, you pay your bill at the end of your stay. If i use my own credit card, then we will get charged a fee.

So I looked at pre-paid credit cards. Travelex for on do them. You load them with cash before you go, and they have a mastercard or visa symbol on them so you use them abroad like anything credit card. however, some of them seem to charge for loading, some for using them and some for not using them!

I am so confused............ any travel agents on here???

i looked at these a while ago and got really confused with them all as well!!! i would like to see what advice u get :D

hoping there is a money expert or travel agent on here! I think Thomas Cook do similar type cards.

I have had a look at Martins Money tips forum and got even more confused. Everyone on there seems to have an opinion, and most of the differ!

yes i always use mine & u can top it up throughout the year 2 build up ur spends ive still got 300 quid left on mine from hol in may.......... wud highly recommend x

My parents used one from the post office for their holiday, they thought it was great.

x

I was surprised too, dad only went in for some euros, they were chuffed. Think it was mastercard, i'm sure their website has more info. They're quite trustworthy as well, think there is a number you can use while away to top it up as well.

x

when i go abroad i use my STA card which is a Visa card that I put money on to whilst in UK and then its accessible wherever I go!!

very useful! but note to remember, when using an ATM machine, withdraw big amounts of money because you get charged per withdrawl!!!

My MoH used a preloaded when she came here last month. She didn't seem to have any problems with it, but I'll have a chat with her next time she's online.

h2b and I are considering getting preloaded cards too- it's more secure and it stops me from going mad and overspending.

Hiya hun I work for Thomas Cook and our Cash Passport is awesome - if you go instore theres a leaflet with all the charges if applicable. Where are you going??? xxx

Sorry, i meant we didnt have many charges....lol ooh and i see MrsMcleish2B works for them......great service BTW xxx

I have a mastercard cash plus card- free to load, any payment to the cards are put on within 2 hrs, has a pin number and you can either pay less than a fiver per month if you use it frequently or £1 per transaction as thats usually the one I use. I load it throught the year so Christmas/hols etc no bills.

the only things is ...as far as i understand it ..is that if you are making a purchase suchas jewellary etc you do not have the cover as you would with a credit card .....when we go to america in 2 weeks ( yeyyyyyyyyy) we will be buying wedding rings ,bm`s gifts etc and also booking and paying for the ceremony there for next year , buy using our credit card we have cover on any purchase over £100 which will be just what we need
but for everyday holiday shopping i think they are a fab idea

thankyou for posting that .....i wasnt sure if i was right with the protction bit ....but i was , yeyy me.

Thomson do a pre load master card one in either dollars or euro's and you don't get charged unless you take money out at the cash machine and you just use it in a chip and pin way you would with any other card without any charges. I'm planning on putting money on one every week as a way to save for our honeymoon x

Just found ours - it's the Travelex one - no charges for taking out cash.
I've popped a link on yoru wall - it's the 'which credit card abroad is best' page. Some pretty good info on there and makes it really clear about charges (if any) abroad and APR etc. Hx

xMrsRobson2Bx - no. They may give you slightly worse exchange rates (although when we did ours for Europe trips it was exactly the same) but the idea is that you can use it in the same way you would any other credit card, including to get cash out, without incouring any additional charges.
There are pro's and con's, and as some ladies have pointed out here, the main thing is that you don't get the protection that you would for purchases over £100 if you used a regular credit card and you're also tied into the exchange rate on that day (which could be a plus or a minus to be honest).
But on the plus side - it's safe than cash, you don't get charged for withdrawing cash, it's easier to get hold of your cash than if you were to use travellers cheques and you have the choice of being able to use it as a credit card or as a cash card (without the charges from your bank if you were using your debit card, for instance, or without the fee for use abroad that you can get with some credit cards). Hx

I work for Thomas Cook..... I meant to bring a leaflet home tonight BUT forgot so sorry ladies. Do you want me to post all the details of the card and charges tomorrow when I get in from work??? That way you'll no the benefits for yourselves but I can't recommend them enough. Ive had students on gap years in Chile and Brazil and they were fantastic! Everywhere where there is a Mastercard symbol will accept them also. Let me no if you want me to post the charges xxxxx

Linzi, we have the Travelex cards at the Building Society where i work and customers love them! Very popular. :0) xx

Fee's and Limits

US$
Loading and reloading commisson: FREE
ATM fee per withdrawal: $2.5
Maximum amount you can withdraw from ATM's in 24 hours: $800
Purchase fee (eg shops, restaurants etc): FREE
Maximum amount you can spend in any retail outlet in 24 hours: $5000
Minimum amount you can load onto your card at any one time: $50
Maximum amount you can load onto your card at any one time: $9000
Total amount you can load onto your card in any 12 month period: $30,000
Monthly inactivity fee debited from your card if it has not been used for 15 months: $3.50 - You can close the account at any time.
Negative balance Fee: $15
Cashout fee: FREE if unload at Thomas Cook

EURO's
Loading and reloading commisson: FREE
ATM fee per withdrawal: 2 Euros
Maximum amount you can withdraw from ATM's in 24 hours: 700 Euros
Purchase fee (eg shops, restaurants etc): FREE
Maximum amount you can spend in any retail outlet in 24 hours: 4000 Euros
Minimum amount you can load onto your card at any one time: 40 Euros
Maximum amount you can load onto your card at any one time: 7,500 Euros
Total amount you can load onto your card in any 12 month period: 25,500 Euros
Monthly inactivity fee debited from your card if it has not been used for 15 months: 3 Euros - You can close the account at any time.
Negative balance Fee: 15 Euros
Cashout fee: FREE if unload at Thomas Cook

STERLING
Loading and reloading commisson: 2%
ATM fee per withdrawal: £1.50
Maximum amount you can withdraw from ATM's in 24 hours: £700
Purchase fee (eg shops, restaurants etc): FREE
Maximum amount you can spend in any retail outlet in 24 hours: £3000
Minimum amount you can load onto your card at any one time: £30
Maximum amount you can load onto your card at any one time: £5000
Total amount you can load onto your card in any 12 month period: £18,000
Monthly inactivity fee debited from your card if it has not been used for 15 months: £2 - You can close the account at any time.
Negative balance Fee: £10
Cashout fee: FREE if unload at Thomas Cook

If anyone requires information on the other cards just message me and I will be happy to give it to you along with any other questions but it really is as simple as using it like you would your debit card abroad but with the bonus of no charges and the exchange rate is fixed.

No problem lala we're all busy ladies so saves you a trip to the travel agents lol xxx

Yeah they are a fab way to save your spending money, thats what I will definetly be doing lol xxx

We're in Malta right now on honeymoon and are using the Thomas Cook one. We loaded €500 onto it and brought cash as well and it's been great. We drew some money out from the local atm last night with a €2 fee but apart from that no charges. Anything left on it when we get back we'll just go and exchange at Thomas Cook. I'd definitely recommend one.

Mrsmcleish2b - do you work in one of the shops? We could do with you out here as our rep because ours has only been seen twice all holiday - once when he dropped us off at the hotel and when he was promoting the excursions. We wanted to book some a couple of days later but haven't seen him since lol. We fly home on Tuesday and the flight is at 11.30am but we still haven't been told what time our transfer is.....having such a good time though, don't want to leave lol....

thank you so much! We have booked with Thomas Cook, so think we will just head down and get the card when I go to pay in the final balance this week.
We need US$ and wont be using ATMS (as there isnt any on our island!) so appears there will be NO charges! yay!

x

Mym72...... You should have been given a pack with the resort office telephone number if not ask your hotel for the Thomas Cook Folder and in the folder there will be the reps timetable of when he/she is in your hotel and also your return transfer time. IF that should fail ask the hotel to contact the resort office for you and find out your transfer time OR there may be a board in the hotel with these details on. Hope it helps hun and glad your having a good time xxxx

I have been looking into this for a while now and spoke to one of the managers of co-op travel.....even tho they generally push the Travelex cash passport he admitted, he himself uses the CaxtonFx travel card. There are no initial fees, no transaction fees and unlike the Thomas Cook, Travelex card NO ATM withdrawal fees when using abroad. I have searched loads of comparison sites and seen that it is well recommended so I shall be going for this one.