I have been considering getting one of these.
I think you have to pay a fee upfront to get one though so not sure if its worth it.

Picked up a brochure whilst in a ridiculously long queue at the Post Office yesterday.Looked at the list of charges, decided it was really poor value and put the brochure back on the shelf.Not for me, I'm afraid.

First choice rang me the other night to offer me one of these cards. You have to put the money on it first minimum £200 and each time you use a transaction it costs £1.25. When the money runs out you can ring them with your credit card details and they will put more money on it for you. They are saying that it is covered against theft and very secure. But no thankyou it was not for me either. Your covered on your travel insurance for money so why do it again. You also would still have to take your plastic and a small amount of cash with you, so really I think its a complete waste of time.

Also looked at this but decided against it, mainly because of the charges.
Going to stick to Nationwide flexicard - no charges abroad.

joeseptuk wrote:

Curious if anyone has used these new Visa cards, which basically you top up your currency, think they are going to replace euro cheques, which should be phased out. As it turns out they are not credit card, or debit cards but cash cards

Like to know if there are any problems in using them, think not every place is using them

I think this is the Post Office's version of the new style Pre-Payment Cards which are now being introduced into the UK from the USA. Whilst it is true to say they are "not Credit Cards". it might not be completely true to say they are "not Debit Cards", since with debit cards you use your own money most of the time and this is the case with Pre-Payment Cards.

There are now several prepayment carsds to choose from including 'MyCashPlus' and '360'. It depends on what option you decide upon as to what charges you will incure. Some cards make an intial charge of around £10.00 for the actual card itself with a monthly usage fee of around £5.00 (whether or not you use your card, and if you do not top up your card goes into the red), with no transaction charges and some cards are completely free but you are charged a small fee each time you use it to make a Chip&Pin purchase or an ATM withdrawel.

Like all cards they have their advantages and disadvantages. They do work like credit cards and are accepted as if they were credit cards, but of course they are not. At present these cards CANNOT be used at Pay At The Pump Filling Stations either here in the UK or overseas.

There are a few threads running elswhere about these cards with details of some of the benefits, advantages and disadvantages, but as as been said on numerous occasions all across the HT site, the best card to use for Travel Money is a Nationwide FlexAccount card as there are NO charges for obtaining your own money whilst overseas.