Rosiegirl Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 We're off to the uk soon on a family holiday and was wanting to know the best way of spending money. Has anyone used those money cards or do you think a credit card will be better? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 We usually use a prepaid credit card. The post office do one ours is with Virgin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 We used a combination of cash, a money card and also had a credit card (credit card was more for any unforseen circumstances) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosiegirl Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 Thanks for that. I'll look into the money cards. Are there any that are better than others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patphillips47 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Which ever card you use just make sure you have a couple of cards kept in different places We travelled through Malaysia and by bag was snatched lost my credit card and a debit card ,luckily hubby had his debit card on him The credit card was a nightmare as they not only stopped the car they stopped my online account as well ! Luckily my bank was fine so we had hubbys card to use as needed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmjg Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 We will just use our uk debit cards. I transfer money into that account as needed, it only takes two days to get there via ozforex, or whatever they changed their name to. Aus credit cards go as an emergency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosiegirl Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 I've been googling reviews on these money cards and they seem very negative, am I better just taking my bank card to get cash out when I need it? We're going for 4 weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosiegirl Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 i haven't got a uk bank account unfortunately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetBlast Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Wouldn't it be easier to use cash? Will save all the hassle. There are many small shops and business, machines etc that will not accept card payments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 We opened accounts with Citibank Plus for just this purpose. Their exchange rate is good and they don't charge fees on overseas withdrawals. So you can just use your Citibank debit card at ATM machines and in stores, just like you would in Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patphillips47 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 It was a Citibank credit card I had stolen and must admit Citibank was an absolute nightmare to deal with As they cancelled my online access I emailed them to ask would they waiver any interest charge if I didn't make the my normal payment on time as I couldn't remember what my normal payment was and couldn't check online to find out About 30 emails later I said forget it I will sort it out over the phone when I get back to Oz They posted a new card out to my home address despite me telling them not to as I was not at home and the mail was only checked every few days Then they posted a new PIN number - again despite being told NO as I not in residence As it happened my family did check the mail box daily but if they hadn't the card and pin could have been open to all and sundry They also give you a reverse charge call number for emergencies - what they don't tell you is that there is a replay number to ring first !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmjg Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Can you still get travellers cheques? At least then, you arnt carrying all your currency as cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patphillips47 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Can you still get travellers cheques? At least then, you arnt carrying all your currency as cash. Haven't used them in years but found in UK they didn't know what to do ie didn't want to give you change out of the cheque One of my English friends commented it would have been easier shopping in Spain If I remember right the banks charged to cash them so double whammy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosiegirl Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 That must have been awful patphillips. Good idea to split the money and cards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 It was a Citibank credit card I had stolen and must admit Citibank was an absolute nightmare to deal with As they cancelled my online access I emailed them to ask would they waiver any interest charge if I didn't make the my normal payment on time We didn't bother with credit cards, just debit cards, so that wouldn't be an issue. It is annoying that they posted out your new cards - but I suspect that would've been a problem with any bank, I had a similar issue with Westpac once. Sending out the replacement cards seems to be part of an automated process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patphillips47 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 We didn't bother with credit cards, just debit cards, so that wouldn't be an issue. It is annoying that they posted out your new cards - but I suspect that would've been a problem with any bank, I had a similar issue with Westpac once. Sending out the replacement cards seems to be part of an automated process. I specifically when reporting it stolen over the phone said NO cards I them emailed straight away the same request so really an email is in writing I even gave them a mobile number to ring me as the mobile number they had was stolen in the bag snatch Oh no we can't verify its you was the email reply - well how about you ask me some security questions over the phone said l Never eventuated but after my letter of complaint went in once we were back they credited me with reward points as a goodwill gesture lol i understand security fully as I worked in the industry for years but they reall were frustrating to say the least Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patphillips47 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 That must have been awful patphillips. Good idea to split the money and cards Must admit to being ultra cautious since that incident I carry a USB stick when travelling ,always leave it locked in the safe if I a hotel but it has all conatct numbers for banks etc Justin Case as he is my best friend lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 It depends what charges your bank makes for foreign transactions. Pre paid cards are good but you need to see which one works best for you. We have a Caxton card, although it is a UK one still linked to our UK account I know you can get an Australian version. Probably cheaper than your bank card and just as secure. Not sure about negative reviews, not seen any for the card I use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 We used an ANZ travel card and loaded it up beforehand but I'm not sure it's any easier than just using your normal debit card. We ran out of money on it pretty quickly as things turned out to be a lot more expensive than we remembered, so ended up using our debit cards anyway, didn't seem to cost too much. Just make sure you inform your bank beforehand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyNook Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 I've always used a travel card pre-loaded with the currencies I need and it works well for me. Pre-loading the card means I know what each currency has cost me and I'm not at the mercy of the exchange rate of the day - which is the case when you use an Australia debit or credit card on the run. Paying for stuff in shops/restaurants using the travel card in one of the pre-loaded currencies also means no extra fees for me. Whereas my bank charges a fixed percentage fee for all foreign credit card transactions. The only fee that gets charged to my travel card is foreign ATM fees but I get round that by withdrawing fewer larger sums of cash. I've got no complaints about it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 With the Caxton card there is no charge for ATMs or use in shops. Sometimes the ATM charges and you can't avoid that. Most USA ones seem to levy charges no matter what card you use. Much cheaper than using my Westpac cards. I also use my Nationwide credit card as it is fee free for point of sale in foreign currencies. Oh and I can top it up any time any where and check the balance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosiegirl Posted March 27, 2016 Author Share Posted March 27, 2016 Which pre paid card did you use nickynook? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyNook Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 It's the Comm Bank Travel Money card: https://www.commbank.com.au/personal/travel/travel-money-card.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith and Linda Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 I've been googling reviews on these money cards and they seem very negative, am I better just taking my bank card to get cash out when I need it? We're going for 4 weeks We have had those travel cards, we had multiple currency on them..............nothing but trouble with them! at best they could be OK for a single currency, but personally I would still be wary of them. We still have our UK bank, but for other countries (and UK car Hire) we now have the 28degrees credit card, it as a $5000 limit only (to minimize possible fraud) but you can top up or pre-load over the net from anywhere at any time. The whole thing works fine for us for getting cash (fee to pay) and buying as per normal, they have one of the best conversion rates though. Is there a friend or family that have a UK bank account and you could possibly use that? Here in OZ we opened a separate bank account, debit card only, with our bank for our visitors from UK to use when here on holiday. I would advise not to use your Aus bank card it is expensive (check out 28degress from GE money) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith and Linda Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 It's the Comm Bank Travel Money card:https://www.commbank.com.au/personal/travel/travel-money-card.html That's the one that gave me grief!!!! but could be OK for single currency. Be aware that some atm's will ask if you want to convert from (or to) AU$ even though you only have pounds loaded on it:confused: which was just one of the problems we encountered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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