Another segment about travel! Last time I talked about savings money on staying in a foreign country, but I’ve also been looking into the best ways to carry money. A Pre-Paid Master card could be safe, and reliable!
This is really a debit card honestly, because you can only spend as much as you have. However, it comes in a very convenient card, and you won’t be charged out the ass in bank fees! Caxton offers this nifty little cards in Euros, and US Dollars.
Caxton offers the best exchange rates to you which good, but not the best thing about this card. I’m sure you’re familiar with ATM fees in the US - Warning we’re going to charge you $1, $2, blah blah!
Alright, well now imagine that happening with everything you buy, and it’s almost double. Yes, not only are you going to be hit with massive bank card fees, but also with currency exchange rates, and exchange rate fees!
This card is supposed to save you from that money hole monster. You won’t be charged fees or commission to use this card since it’s technically being processed as local, and not overseas. Think of it the same as ‘roaming with plastic’ - If you use your phone abroad you’re going to get a monster bill from your wireless carrier. Same thing applies, and they’re just as greedy.
You have the ability to load your card through SMS, online, or over your phone if you wish as well. If your card is lost or stolen they’ll also replace is for you, and protect your money. Make sure you report it right away though, because I don’t believe they ‘replace stolen money’ just stolen cards. Meaning if they use all your cash before you put a stop to it you’re out of luck.
You can use this card anywhere that Mastercard is accepted - So no worries about iffy shops not taking it. As long as they’re prepared to accept credit from that company then you’re golden! They don’t levy commissions or monthly fees, but there’s a ’small usage charge’ for ATMs. It comes to 2 Euros which is not that much honestly. If you want to circumvent that fee then get more cash at once - $100 instead of $20 so you have to use ATMs less.
To be honest I’m a plastic addict. I do not use cash for anything unless I have to, because it’s so much easier to swipe my debit, and keep everything monitored! When I do start my traveling adventures I’m sure to go this route - Though this particular card is only for the UK, and USA. You’ll have to do some scrounging to get cards for other parts of the world, but I’m sure somebody makes them.
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