Hi Glen

We looked into getting one of these cards when they were first introduced. After lots of research, we opted for a Nationwide debit card instead, which we use solely for travelling - it's a better deal than using the American Express card.

We put our holiday money into our current account (for free) before we go on holiday and when we're there we can:

- Withdraw cash from ATMs (for free) using our debit card, or
- Use our debit to pay in shops/restaurants, etc, like at home (no handling charge - some banks charge 2.75%).

AND, the exchange rate is always great.

Here's a link to a few articles about spending money abroad that you might find interesting:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian_jobs_and_money/story/0,,1167979,00.html

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1106765397,71685,

U2fan

p.s. I don't work for the Nationwide - I just like getting a good deal!