Ryanair - goodbye Visa Electron, hello prepaid Mastercard for 'free' payment
Nov 30, 2009, 2:47 pm
#16
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Nov 30, 2009, 2:50 pm
#17
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Seems like the onyx card is the most efficient, at a one-off £4.95 charge.
Monthly management charges
Pay monthly: £3.99
Transaction fees
In the UK: FREE
Outside the UK: £3.00 plus 2% of the transaction value, per International purchase
Cash withdrawals*
In the UK: £1.50, per UK ATM withdrawal
Outside the UK: £3.00 plus 2% of the transaction value, per International ATM withdrawal
The ATM owner may charge an additional fee for certain transactions. You will be notified of this charge on screen before being charged.
Balance enquiries
Online statements are FREE via our Web site and cost £0.12 per enquiry by SMS.
Top up fees
£2.00 per cash loads via PayPoint for any amount up to the maximum daily load.
FREE wage transfer via employer.
Pay monthly: £3.99
Transaction fees
In the UK: FREE
Outside the UK: £3.00 plus 2% of the transaction value, per International purchase
Cash withdrawals*
In the UK: £1.50, per UK ATM withdrawal
Outside the UK: £3.00 plus 2% of the transaction value, per International ATM withdrawal
The ATM owner may charge an additional fee for certain transactions. You will be notified of this charge on screen before being charged.
Balance enquiries
Online statements are FREE via our Web site and cost £0.12 per enquiry by SMS.
Top up fees
£2.00 per cash loads via PayPoint for any amount up to the maximum daily load.
FREE wage transfer via employer.
£47.88 a year, plus some other fees. Looks expensive to me.
Nov 30, 2009, 4:48 pm
#18
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 250
they are certainly not free, often limit how much you can load, so can't put much money down. I experimented with one last year when travelling in risky areas and not wanting to risk credit card. In end it cost a fortune and when fraud struck it was harder to sort out than a normal credit card.
Nov 30, 2009, 4:53 pm
#19
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold(OWE), QF LTG, MR Plat, IHG Spire, Hertz PC
Posts: 8,156
FWIW, UK banks are just starting to issue debit Mastercards which I suspect will further cloud things. My other half received a debit Mastercard in lieu of a Maestro card (with the usual cheque guarantee functionality) this week.
Nov 30, 2009, 5:02 pm
#20
Join Date: Jul 2008
Programs: I am a lowly ant
Posts: 1,751
they are certainly not free, often limit how much you can load, so can't put much money down. I experimented with one last year when travelling in risky areas and not wanting to risk credit card. In end it cost a fortune and when fraud struck it was harder to sort out than a normal credit card.
Dec 1, 2009, 1:40 am
#21
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Martin Lewis's comment: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/new...m_campaign=box
He recommends the Ice Travellers' Cashcard which is about to be included in MSE's Top Prepaid Cards guide.
He recommends the Ice Travellers' Cashcard which is about to be included in MSE's Top Prepaid Cards guide.
Dec 1, 2009, 2:14 am
#22
Join Date: Jul 2008
Programs: *A
Posts: 1,390
I don't think so.http://theonyxcard.com/about-the-car...-the-fees.aspx
£47.88 a year, plus some other fees. Looks expensive to me.
£47.88 a year, plus some other fees. Looks expensive to me.
TY for your input. I just hope that Tesco come out with a decent option.
Dec 1, 2009, 4:08 am
#23
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Dec 1, 2009, 6:07 am
#24
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: UK
Posts: 774
It's not listed anywhere, but I have a Mastercard for my Moneybookers account. Free-free, and for VIP members withdrawals and all deposits are free too!
Dec 1, 2009, 8:19 am
#25
Join Date: Jul 2008
Programs: I am a lowly ant
Posts: 1,751
I had a look at the moneybookers card and it lists:
Foreign exchange 1.99%
Cash withdrawal 1.80 EUR
Annual card membership 10.00 EUR
Replacement Card 10.00 EUR
Obviously the 'annual card membership' is problematic out of those:
"Annual Card Membership
€10 per year (first paid at application and annually thereafter)"
Dec 3, 2009, 4:39 am
#27
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I ordered a prepaid MC from www.fairfx.com late on Monday.
To my surprise, the card arrived this morning! It's now activated and I can use it online. The PIN is yet to arrive but I'll survive.
I funded it with my Nationwide debit card, so no extra %age.
^ to fairfx.com so far.
To my surprise, the card arrived this morning! It's now activated and I can use it online. The PIN is yet to arrive but I'll survive.
I funded it with my Nationwide debit card, so no extra %age.
^ to fairfx.com so far.
Dec 3, 2009, 10:42 am
#28
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 3
The ICE Travellers card does look very good. It's free, no purchase fee, no load fee either I suppose? It does require you to make an initial 100 pound/euro top-up which is quite a lot for a card I'll only be using for cheap flights. Also it's available in EURO and STERLING which is good.
How about the Net+ card? Is that truly free of charge? It seems to be completely free? The fee schedule puts me off a little bit. How about recharging/topping up? Does that cost any money?
How about the Net+ card? Is that truly free of charge? It seems to be completely free? The fee schedule puts me off a little bit. How about recharging/topping up? Does that cost any money?
Dec 3, 2009, 11:05 am
#29
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Welcome to FlyerTalk, JohnDDD. 
2% for the £ card, plus 2% foreign loading.
Edited for formatting reasons from http://www.iceplc.com/cgi-bin/live/e...ess_header=yes
It was this - £2 per £100 to top up - which put me off it, otherwise it looks OK.
2% for the £ card, plus 2% foreign loading.
13. FEES AND CHARGES
13.1 ... Fees
Main Card purchase fee
Free
Supplementary Card fee
Free
Card replacement fee
£3.00
Negative balance fee
£5.00
Account closure fee
Free
Top up fee
2%
Cash withdrawal at ATM
£1.75
Using Your Card to buy goods
and services in the UK
Free
Using Your Card to buy goods
and services abroad
Free
Foreign transaction fee
2%
13.1 ... Fees
Main Card purchase fee
Free
Supplementary Card fee
Free
Card replacement fee
£3.00
Negative balance fee
£5.00
Account closure fee
Free
Top up fee
2%
Cash withdrawal at ATM
£1.75
Using Your Card to buy goods
and services in the UK
Free
Using Your Card to buy goods
and services abroad
Free
Foreign transaction fee
2%
It was this - £2 per £100 to top up - which put me off it, otherwise it looks OK.
Dec 3, 2009, 11:12 am
#30
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 3
Welcome to FlyerTalk, JohnDDD. 2% for the £ card, plus 2% foreign loading.
Edited for formatting reasons from http://www.iceplc.com/cgi-bin/live/e...ess_header=yes
It was this - £2 per £100 to top up - which put me off it, otherwise it looks OK.
2% for the £ card, plus 2% foreign loading.Edited for formatting reasons from http://www.iceplc.com/cgi-bin/live/e...ess_header=yes
It was this - £2 per £100 to top up - which put me off it, otherwise it looks OK.
Well it seems the minimum top up is a 100 pounds:
Minimum loaded/reloaded amount
£100.00
£100.00 (equiv)
£100.00 (equiv.)
Since I'll only really need it for Ryanair it doesn't seem like a good idea then.