Visa Electron cards to be phased out

Not great news for those using Visa Electron cards to buy their "cheap flights"

http://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/SpainMoneySaving/2554/visa-electron-cards-to-be-phased-out.aspx

I have my Electron card from Barclays in Spain.

No one mentioned that they were finishing and they were still issuing them to customers.

Will email them.

Thanks Pat

On the plus side, I saw that Ryanair are looking to include prepaid Mastercards in the "free to use" cards category. Watch this space.....

Also, for those that have Spanish debit cards, they tend to be Electron. My recent RA booking told me I would be paying €47 for my 2 return flights, I actually paid €44, almost 1:1 with what I could have paid in GBP!!

Mark

Electron cards will incur the fees from Ryanair bookings as of 1 January 2010 whilst Pre- paid Mastercards are free as previously mentioned. Link here.

Mark

 Has anyone found out who is offering the best deal for prepaid Mastercards? Kevin

In what way? You can pick them up for free in a variety of places, or you can pay a fiver or so for them and have credit already on it of about £10. The Range do a free one and the Post Office (ours does anyway) have a range of cheap to buy cards.

Mark

 Oh sorry I didn't realise they were available from the post office. Not really seen them around, must open my eyes. Thanks. Kevin

I saw this thread last night so googled mastercard prepaid cards and picked out Caxton FX cards as they were free.  Filled in the application form and had a reply today saying my card is in the post!  Easy as that.

Hi

Does anyone know if there is a maximum amount you can load these cards with, just thinking this might be away round taking more than 10k cash out of the country without having to declare at airports etc.

s

usually no more than 5000 max no atm fees with caxton either

Looking at them, some charge a 1- 2% loading fee for putting money on the card . Make sure you choose carefully.

Mark

Caxton looks good for Euros. Need to find one like that for sterling as I want to buy plane tickets in Sterling and avoid the charges. The Caxton card involves a charge if you purchase in Sterling. Kevin

Caxton Global Traveller is loaded in sterling and can be used anywhere - it says

1. No ATM charges when overseas.
2. No fees, commission, or extra charges on your transactions meaning all costs and charges are included in the exchange rate applied.
3. Simply load the card using your UK debit card either online, over the phone, or via text.
4. The balance remains in Sterling at all times. Funds are converted live to the appropriate currency at the point of a sale, including ATM's, giving you the flexibility to use it globally.
5. It's a MasterCard® meaning it can be used anywhere you see the MasterCard® acceptance mark, whether in a store, online or at an ATM.
6. The exchange rate applied is fixed at 2.5% from the prevailing interbank rate.

I have obtained this card in order to buy Ryan Air flights without incurring any extra costs.  I'm hoping it will work. 

 Hi Yvonne Barton

I have cut and pasted an extract from their terms and conditions. Yes you are right that it is generally free, however  with the Global card, so that you keep the money in sterling there is a £1.50 charge. Depends how RyanAir treat the transaction. I assume as a UK one as it is in sterling and it will therefore attract a charge.

If you think I have misunderstood please tell me as I want to avoid as many charges as possible.

Thanks.

Kevin

From Caxton's site

''We have kept costs as low as possible. However, we do have to charge for some services. To avoid these charges take a look at our top travel tips.

We don’t charge a fee for the card. Instead we take a £10 deposit when you apply. We add this to your overall balance when you load your card for the first time. 

Hi Kevin

Many thanks for pointing this out!  I mis-understood it.  OK so I need to find a card that I can use for my Ryan Air flights that is not going to cost me!  Will investigate the Post Office next.

but surely the 1.50 charge for purchasing in sterling is still well below what the charge for uusing a debit card with ryanair as the purchase will only attract 1.50

 Yes, but it is a lot more than the current electron card. Will it be charged for each passenger for each leg? That is what they do if you pay by credit card. In any event it is just another cost to the fare. If the total cost is cheaper than I would book with Ryanair, if not I will go with another airline. Kevin

Michael gets us all talking about his airline yet again genius, but do we stop flying Ryanair? I bet most don't, we put up with them. Its simple if people didn't buy Ryanair then there would be no Company, never mind them being the most profitable airline in Europe if not the world! Lets face it we love to hate them but when we have to fly its the perceived cost that counts is it not?

kev if the cost of the flight is 30 pounds or 150 pounds then caxton will still only charge you 1.50 fee

Yeah but I agree with Kev - why should we pay anything at all for purchasing flights?  We havent had to up until now with Visa Electron and when you purchase flights regularly it all adds up over the year.  I'd rather £1.50 in my pocket than some credit card company.  I shall keep looking for a card that wont cost me.