My father is an economist and while none of his mathematical genes rubbed off on me, I do like a bargain. And it really annoys me that I get charged by my bank each time I take money out when withdrawing cash from the ATM with my debit card when abroad – sometimes as much as four or five pounds.
I found myself withdrawing larger amounts of money as a way of avoiding lots of transactions and therefore more charges. This obviously doesn't make good financial sense. Apart from the temptation to spend more (research shows that half of travellers worry about overspending on holiday, with one in ten so concerned that it ruins their trip), there is also the chance that you could lose it or even have the cash stolen.
So when I found out about my Travel Cash – a card that not only doesn't charge any ATM withdrawal fees and no commission but also gives you 1% cashback on all purchases – I decided to give it a go. This card is not suitable for travel everywhere, but it offers currency in euros, US dollars and sterling. Just load the multi-currency card with sterling (£30 minimum) and you can use it to get multiple currencies when abroad. The same foreign currency charge as most debit and credit cards is applied – around 2.99% at the time of writing, but with my Travel Cash you get 1% cashback on all purchases and of course no charges.
Some people get worried that these pay-as-you-go currency cards require a credit check, but it is simply a case of completing a short online application to verify your identity. You do need to apply online and wait for approval. The application form is fairly straightforward and only took a few minutes. When approved (a refusal is very rare), you get a personalised card with your name, which looks and functions in the same way as a credit or debit card. My card arrived the next day and I am told all cards should arrive within just two days from receipt of application.
The first ATM I went to in Italy accepted my card (I am told they can be used at over 32 million outlets and at any of the 1.5 million ATMs worldwide displaying the MasterCard Acceptance Mark). When I had spent all my money (it didn't take long), I topped up my card online using www.myTravelCash.com. I am not known to track my spending carefully but it is easy to do this with online statements available on the site or by using SMS on my mobile. If you lose your card, there’s a Chip and PIN protection system in place and a 24-hour lost and stolen number you can call. But of course the big advantage with cash cards is that they are not linked to your bank account.
Cash cards look set to take over from debit cards in the same way as bank and credit cards took over from travellers cheques. And if you don’t know which one to choose, I suggest my Travel Cash, which is not only recommended by me but by independent consumer watchdog Which?
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