Pre Pay 'Credit' Cards

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Volkeno

I have a Bluebird card from Amex. I have not yet had a fee on it. It is still an Amex card, so not everyone takes it. It has no foreign currency fees.
An account with Charles Schwab would give a debit card with no foreign currency fees as well.
I still use credit cards mostly because I wouldn't want my debit card or bank accounts compromised. That is why I carry the Bluebird card. I prefer spending money I already have.
At least the American cards now mostly have chips now.

Amex is useless to me in Spain.
Very few use it.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Ribbit

The sort you fill up before use, and can top up whenever you want.

Would one of these be useful in USA/Canada? Are they used there? I have no experience with these things (even cut up all my Credit Cards 20+ years ago, and haven't had any debt since). I don't really want another 'normal' CC, and one of these might just be handy.

Anybody use them? Any recommendations?

Congratulations for cutting them up 20 years ago! I did too and bought my first house. I know what was better value!

Cruising nowadays is interesting as many things require plastic money for use, convenience or safety.
A car rental company will not accept a Debit Card. The usually only accept normal Credit Cards.
Only in some countries are some services offered, the fraud repayment, product warrantee etc is only in the USA afaik.

So I keep 2 cards, a Debit Card and a Credit Card and manage their use carefully and their credit limits strictly.

Its very difficult to cruise without plastic money, and biting the bullet after being card and debt free for 20 years is a great pity but essential.

Good luck.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Congratulations for cutting them up 20 years ago! I did too and bought my first house. I know what was better value!

Cruising nowadays is interesting as many things require plastic money for use, convenience or safety.
A car rental company will not accept a Debit Card. The usually only accept normal Credit Cards.
Only in some countries are some services offered, the fraud repayment, product warrantee etc is only in the USA afaik.

So I keep 2 cards, a Debit Card and a Credit Card and manage their use carefully and their credit limits strictly.

Its very difficult to cruise without plastic money, and biting the bullet after being card and debt free for 20 years is a great pity but essential.

Good luck.

In Europe, most car companies will allow debit cards for car hire.
SOME will place a hold on the amount of the car rental period and some will place a bond for an amount.
I usually pay cash for the hire and have a £200 returnable bond on the card.

[Ribbit]

This has turned out to be a very fruitful thread, thank you all for contributing. I just had a thought and checked if PayPal did one - they do, which could be pretty handy for a 2nd pre pay card, or even one on its own, and you can top up your card from your PayPal account (or directly from your Bank Account). If you scroll down to the bottom of the link below, there's tables of their fees (which seem quite reasonable):
https://www.paypal-prepaid.com/accou...ent-103013.pdf

The PayPal is a MasterCard, so has all the usual MasterCard protections. FX rates are at legal ratios plus a 2.5% fee (not too bad imho), and a stolen card has the usual $50 fee for notification within 2 days for example.

Originally Posted by cabo_sailor

Don't you pretty much have to have a "chipped" card for use out of US?

I changed my Debit Card from Chip and Pin to a sign on the dotted line one, after my Bank Account was hacked (not an online purchase as I first thought, but directly hacked via the Bank's own computer system - this with Lloyds, and their security people I spoke to were first class, even spotting transactions that I had missed, and I had immediate refund of all stolen money into my account).

You just have to ask for them.

I don't recommend having your bank account hacked. Even though the bank were brilliant, it's pretty darned stressful.

PS. I won't touch a wifi enabled card at all either, you have to take them out of a shielded wallet to use them, then they can be read and written to from over 200 yds away, so spotting someone using RF gear to hack one, is pretty much ruled out (a Ham Radio Club over here talked to a card over 160 yds away in testing, at their first attempt).

[StuM]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

A car rental company will not accept a Debit Card. The usually only accept normal Credit Cards.

How do they know the difference?

I have both Mastercard and Visa "debit cards" issued by different banks (i.e. when I use them, the money comes straight out of the tied accounts and I don't have a credit facility with them). There is no way to tell whether they are credit cards or not.

I've rented cars with them at least half a dozen times in the last year from different companies with no problems (Thrifty, Hertz and Europcar).

[ryon]

Originally Posted by Ribbit

The sort you fill up before use, and can top up whenever you want.

That would be a debit card. The pre-pay cards that you buy at the supermarket cannot be refilled. I refuse to have credit cards too, and unfortunately these pre-pay cards aren't a good substitute. They are expensive, hard to remember your balance, and not accepted widely, especially on the internet. And it's almost impossible to spend that last $17.31 that's stuck in limbo. I have a stack of them I'm trying to whittle down.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by StuM

How do they know the difference?

I have both Mastercard and Visa "debit cards" issued by different banks (i.e. when I use them, the money comes straight out of the tied accounts and I don't have a credit facility with them). There is no way to tell whether they are credit cards or not.

I've rented cars with them at least half a dozen times in the last year from different companies with no problems (Thrifty, Hertz and Europcar).

er
Over here they have the word debit on them.........

Except for the cash passport which is another reason I use them. Mastercard.

[El Pinguino]

I have an Oz mastercard debit and a UK visa debit card...both have 'debit' written on them.

On my M'card credit card there is about 2.75% foreign fee and a dodgy exchange rate....just part of the cost of doing business.

[delmarrey]

As for the loss/risk factor, I believe most banks now you can put purchase limits on your card account, where they will text/call you for verification if you want to go over that limit. Or you can contact them first to make a large purchase.

I have that on all my cards.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

I have an Oz mastercard debit and a UK visa debit card...both have 'debit' written on them.

On my M'card credit card there is about 2.75% foreign fee and a dodgy exchange rate....just part of the cost of doing business.

Well b*gger me!

I've just looked at my Westpac Mastercard debit card and it does indeed have the word debit on it. Never noticed that before. (My PNG Visa debit card doesn't)

But it's never been declined when booking rental cars, accommodation or anything else.

[savoir]

Originally Posted by windycityxx

A lot of the generic pre paid debit cards at your local grocery store, Walmart, Target etc only work in the USA, so just keep that in mind.

I wanted to buy one for use in the Bahamas and when I called customer service they said US only.. anyone have one that works anywhere in the world for point of sale purchases?

My Bank of America debit card works outside US. It is one of those plain red cards. Very common.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by cabo_sailor

Don't you pretty much have to have a "chipped" card for use out of US?


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

More convienent but not yet a requirement. We spent last winter in Itally and this winter in Spain along with trips to Ireland, UK and Germany. They look at you funny but once they realize, their machines still read magnetic strips.

Of course in the next year or two, that will solve itself as US banks are switching over to chipped cards.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by weavis

NO one said anything about hatred.

Its an inconvenience to me to change compromised accounts. The best security is to remove that account from being accessed directly. I also have my card that is multi account-

I dont pay monthly fees. If I lose or have the card stolen, The monies are refunded to a NEW card and I carry on. I also have the ability to have coded ATM withdrawals is the card is damaged or lost.

I have EUROS and Sterling on the same card so no currency exchange fees.

https://www.multicurrencycashpassport.com/

If there is no hatred of your bank, it makes more sense to follow the suggestion to set up a secondary account at your bank and tie the debit card to it with a modest amount in that account.

By tying the debit card to a secondary account, it's plenty secure and if there is a breach, your bank typically takes care of it and will change your account number for you. We've had it happen and other than responding to thier call when they see something suspicious, it's all done behind the scenes.

The rest of your points can all be addressed with a standard bank debit or atm card.

Just not seeing the point in complicating life by involving multple financial institutions (your pay as you go card is essentially just another bank account with limited capabilities and the hassle of it being disconnected from your bank.)

[valhalla360]

If you use a debit for car rental, they will often put a large hold on your account. If there isn't enough in the account, it could hold up the rental. (and yes, debit cards typically list debit on the front).

We've found exchange rates to be pretty good but depending on the account there may be 1-2% foreign transaction fee but not all cards have that.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

If there is no hatred of your bank, it makes more sense to follow the suggestion to set up a secondary account at your bank and tie the debit card to it with a modest amount in that account.

By tying the debit card to a secondary account, it's plenty secure and if there is a breach, your bank typically takes care of it and will change your account number for you. We've had it happen and other than responding to thier call when they see something suspicious, it's all done behind the scenes.

The rest of your points can all be addressed with a standard bank debit or atm card.

Just not seeing the point in complicating life by involving multple financial institutions (your pay as you go card is essentially just another bank account with limited capabilities and the hassle of it being disconnected from your bank.)

NOt for me.

I deal in currencies. My bank exchange rate mechanism plus charges and a monthly fee for the account FAR outweigh the costs of the card I have. I DONT want it near my banking details regardless if its a once removed account.

Each person must take their own decision.

I travel with cash. This limits my fantastic spending super powers, and keeps me solvent. I have the money on plastic, disassociated from my bank and yet still protected by MASTERCARD and with all the associated safeguards in place. The currency on the card is locked at purchase so no exchange fees. Euros were bought when I got €1.40 to the £ and it currently is at €1.37.

I got the exchange fees at nominal cost compared to my bank who didnt even have the courtesy to wear a mask when telling me the rates.

I dont pay a monthly bank charge on an extra account.

If I purchase using sterling in Europe, current exchange fees apply but are still cheaper than my bank AND without fees added for the service.

Using a bank card in an ATM on a currency conversion is expensive.
ATM converts at standard rate +€1-1.50 ATM usage charge. My bank charges on top, a currency conversion handling fee of $10 plus an ATM usage fee of $3 plus overseas ATM usage fee.! Usually an ATM transaction will cost an extra $15-$20 from my bank.

Using my currency card, its just the local fees for the ATM (no fee with a certain affiliate bank) and a $1.50 fee from the 'Cash Passport'

Last time I traveled the USA and used my card, it saved me over $350 in fees, charges and associated costs over 6 weeks rather than using my bank debit card.

Its what I prefer to do.

I have a credit card for absolute emergencies. Have not used it in a long time. I get begging letters and special offers from VISA to encourage me to use it.