Hi Kev and welcome to HT!

I shall move this post to our General Holiday Enquiries forum where it may get a better response.

You may be thinking of the new American Express Traveller's Cheque Card which you can read about HERE

luci

thanks for your reply but in the cheque centre in the local town centre it advertises the mastercard prepayment card i suppose they are both the same thing and both work the same way.All replies are welcomed and again thank you for your help

I have just checked Mastercard's own site and it only mentions a credit card or a debit card, no mention of a prepayment card.

luci

Details of the Western Union travel cash card, which carries the Mastercard logo, can be found on http://www.wutcc.co.uk/

You will find details of the pre paid Mastercard here - seems quite expensive to me

http://www.mycashplus.co.uk/index.htm?pc=gaw005

£9.95 issue fee, £3 per transactions & £4.95 monthly charge

Carmel

The "prepaid mastercard" can be ordered from the Link given in the above post.

It might seem expensive, but then how much interest do you pay on a 'proper' credit card if you don;t pay off your balance all in one go? Plus, of course, using credit is just another way of getting into debt....which can soon get out of control.

With the MyCashPlus PrePaid Mastercard, there is no way that can happen. Because the money you spend on the card is money you have loaded onto it yourself. The card comes with a separate Reload card that you simply take to any Post Office when you want to 'top-up' your 'credit' card. if you register your mobiule number when you get your card, you will be sent a text advising you that the money you have put on your card is now available.

You can also choose which 'plan' yopu want to be on, because they do offer a choice where you don't have to pay £3.00 per each withdrawel.

Yes, there is the initial 'one-off' payment of a tenner for its issue, and the monthly fee of a fiver.....BUT, if you simply keep if for emergencies and for where you can only pay by credit card then I think its worth it myself. I got my prepaid master card a few months back and its already paying for itself.

Basically you need to compare these costs to the Interest Charges levided by the Credit Card companies and see if you think its more expensive or not.

Its an american idea that has only just made its way over here, but I for one am very impressed with it, and I can use it to my heart's content knowing full well I am not running up a bill and getting into Debt.

The only places where you can't yet use it in the UK are 'Pay At The Pump' Petrol Stations, but it will still be accepted in the kiosk.

Seems crazy to me - why pay for the priviledge of using your own money? - unless I've totally missed something.

Think I'll stick with the Amex Traveller's Cheque Card. At least they paid me for taking it out, $100.

luci

hi to you ...luci could you please give a few details on your amex card.......thanks a lot....regards ....johndoe

Seems crazy to me - why pay for the priviledge of using your own money? - unless I've totally missed something.

The small Fee charged is well worth it, in my humble opinion, because it means I have all the facilities that a Credit Card can offer, without the worry of running up a huge bill and getting into Debt. Its a small price to pay for having all the benefits of having 'credit' but without the hassle of getting into debt. £4.95 a month to me is well worth it. How many people actually pay off their total credit card bill in one lump sum each month? For those that don't, and I'm sure there are many, then they will be charged Interest.....I get charged a monthly Fee.....I do NOT get charged any interest. If you pay interest charges, you are paying for money that was not technically yours in the first place. I personally don't see any difference in paying a small fee, or paying interest charges.

Carrying a 'Credit' Card with you abroad these days is often a necessity if you want to do things like hire a car etc. I can do that safe in the knowledge that I am not running up a bill that has to be paid upon my return to the UK. Its also useful for buying things on line.

Obviously the card costs money to produce and therefore I would not expect it to be free. I'm not saying its a cheaper alternative to a proper Credit Card....I'm just saying it may suit certain people...its definately suits me.

Have a look at this site - brilliant information

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

As a result of reading this I have opened a Nationwide Flexaccount and applied for the Visa Debit Card.

Free to take out - and no charges abroad.

Brilliant!!!!!!

Carmel

If you pay off your card in full each month then it does not matter who you are with. Even if you do not, arranged overdraft rates still work out cheaper than the CC rates.

If you are worried that you will be away when the payment becomes due, then simply set up a variable direct debit and it will be paid automatically. I know a lot of people who do this.

£4.95 per month for peace of mind still equates to £59.40 per year you are paying for the privilege of having the card, when there are easier and cheaper ways.

fwh

Hi johndoe

There is a link to the Amex card information in my post above dated 20 March.

I got my Amex TC card from First Choice travel agents. They had an offer that if you loaded it with $1000, they gave you $100 free. The exchange rate wasn't very good, but with the extra 10% free it worked out even better than the top bank rate. There is normally a fee for getting the card, but First Choice waived this as part of the offer.

You hand the card over to pay for things as you would a traveller's cheque. If you use it to withdraw money at an ATM there is a $2.50 fee, but I intend to take out the maximum $440 so that proportionally it won't be too bad.

luci

£4.95 per month for peace of mind still equates to £59.40 per year you are paying for the privilege of having the card, when there are easier and cheaper ways

£60.00 a year for the priveledge of having all the facilities of a normal credit card, without the worry of getting into debt is, in my humble opinion, a very small price to pay. The cost works out at about .17pence per day. Thats peanuts.

£60.00 a year for the priveledge of having all the facilities of a normal credit card, without the worry of getting into debt is, in my humble opinion, a very small price to pay. The cost works out at about .17pence per day. Thats peanuts.

But why do you need to pay for it? A credit card is what it says. You pay for your purchases and settle the account by a certain date. Overspending is a personal matter. If you are unable to control your spending then you should not have a credit card.

Whilst I have a very large credit limit on my CC I know that I could not afford to spend to that level - so I don't. On rare occasions I do take advantage of the large amount I can in theory spend. I booked and payed upfront for my holidays in November for example. I earned interest on my money for a longer period than if I had payed cash. I still settled the account on the due date. But my money earned an extra months interest in the bank.

I am retired and have limited money, I just try to manage it as well as I can, and that is not to pay for the privilege

fwh

But why do you need to pay for it? A credit card is what it says.

Precisely. And if you don't pay off your Credit Card bill in full each and EVERY month, then you pay for it in INTEREST Charges. I see no difference. Interest Charges each month which obvioulsy varies depending on the amount owing on the credit card, or a regular SET Monthly Fee which is the same EVERY month no matter how much I spend. I am more than able to control my own spending, but I just don't agree with spending other people's money. And that is in effect what a credit card is. Its not your money, it never is, if it was you would not have to pay it back. A credit card is just another form of a loan which you have to pay back at some point.

The whole point of a PrePaid 'Credit' card is to give you the full advantages and benefits that a credit card can offer, where only credit cards are accepted for example, and also the piece of mind that a credit card can give.....I can 'load' a substantial amount of money onto my card and carry that one peice of plastic with me, and not wad loads of cash that may get lost or stolen. BUT, at the end of the day, no matter how much I spend on it, I am not getting into debt by paying on the 'never never'. I can enjoy spending a lot more knowing I don't have to pay it back at some point. I can return home from my holidays safe in the knowledge that some huge credit card bill will NOT be landing on my doormat.

Thats my own personal choice and it suits me fine. I don't believe in getting into debt, especially as I am getting older now. I don't want to spend my Retirement paying off money I loaned many years before. I want to spend my OWN money enjoying myself. A Prepaid 'credit' card can help me to do that, a normal credit card will not.

hi ..luci... thanks for getting back with info....many regards....johndoe...

I'm with fwh on this. I also have a credit card with a very high credit limit. I use it to pay for practically everything I buy over £10 and pay it off in full every month via a variable direct debit. I am never in debt and wouldn't dream of paying £60 a year for the privilege of having a credit card.

luci

I'm with fwh on this. I also have a credit card with a very high credit limit. I use it to pay for practically everything I buy over £10 and pay it off in full every month via a variable direct debit. I am never in debt and wouldn't dream of paying £60 a year for the privilege of having a credit card

Hi Luci. In your case, I can agree with you to a certain extent. You opt to pay off your outstanding bill in full with each statement, and thats fine. But how many people actually do that? I am not aware of any statistics, but I am sure you are in the minority. Most people pay off the minimum amount, and thus build up a debt. And of course this is what the Credit Card Companies want. They don't make any money from people that pay off their bill all in one go.

£60.00 a year equates to approximately .17pence a day.....thats nothing. But I get peace of mind knowing that I don't owe anyone a penny. Even though you pay off your bill in full, you still owe that money.....and thats something I cannot have on my own conscious. The only money I have ever borrowed was when I gor my Mortgage, but I don't even have that anymore, as I now own my property outright.

"I'm never in debt". With all due respect, with every purchase you make, every bill you pay, whatever you use your card for, until you have actually repaid that money, you ARE in debt. You might find yourself out of work, or for whatever reason unable to pay your Credit Card Bill, unless you pay extra for Payment Protection Plans. But if you don't have such a policy to fall back on, and you loose your job, how are you going to pay for your Credit Card bill? I'm sure you will find someway but its still a headache for you.

With a PrePaid 'credit card', you will never, ever have that worry, or be faced with that situation because you will never be spending other people's money and thus never getting into debt.

At the end of the day, Credit Cards are simply a way of buying on the 'never never', as I am sure most people never actually have a zero balance on their accounts, they will always owe something.....well most of them, obviously in your case, Luci, that does not apply.

Obviously for those people like yourself, a normal credit card is the better option, but for those people that are not able to mangage their finances that easily, and who don't tend to pay off all the outstanding amount in one go, then I'm sure that £60.00 will be much less than the Interest Charges they will have to pay in total for that year. Not forgetting the fact that Credit Card Companies also levy 'Late Payment Charges' on top of Interest Charges for those people that fall behind with their payments. These charges are similar to bank charges and can easily add up to a lot more than £60.00. (0.17pence per day)