# B F's mastercard ?



## witzend (Feb 26, 2021)

Just had a email saying BF are doing away with Their prepaid master card we've always been really happy with this card load it easily with £'s they convert to €'s for free whats the alternative


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## antiquesam (Feb 26, 2021)

Caxton perhaps.


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## RoaminRog (Feb 26, 2021)

Check out Starling. Brilliant for foreign travel.


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## Fisherman (Feb 26, 2021)

I highly recommend this card
I have used it for years.
When using it abroad you don’t pay the usual 3% charge.
Use it as if you are here.
You can get cash and only pay one months interest, normally around 1%.
no annual fee.
And you don’t have to prepay, it’s just an unloaded credit card.
most credit cards are loaded and if you use them abroad they charge 3% on each transaction, this card is free of such charges.
If you don’t withdraw cash use it anywhere in the world with no additional charge or fees. If you do withdraw cash, you only pay interest for that month if you pay in full.





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						Halifax - Internet Banking - Error
					





					www.halifax.co.uk


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## TeamRienza (Feb 26, 2021)

Starling Bank debit card is worth a look. It is 2 debit cards in one. You can lock the card when not in use. I transfer sterling from my main bank into the Starling and can use it both home and abroad at unbeatable exchange rates. However I normally periodically load from the sterling to the Euro account when rates are good. Costs 40p per £100 and is the MasterCard wholesale rate.





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						Currency Converter | Foreign Exchange Rates Calculator | Mastercard
					

Find the foreign currency exchange rates used for cross border transactions for all major world currencies with Mastercard’s online currency converter tool.




					www.mastercard.co.uk
				




It means the Euro Side of the card is effectively a preloaded and lockable account. ATM transactions are free unless the machine charges and purchases are fee free.

Davy


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## colinm (Feb 26, 2021)

If you are NOT a Barclays customer you might still be able to get their Barclaycard which makes no foreign use charges, and you can (could) even get cash without extra charges.


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## witzend (Feb 26, 2021)

colinm said:


> If you are NOT a Barclays customer you might still be able to get their Barclaycard


I do bank with Barclays but sent back the Barclay Card when they introduced the standing charge for it


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## colinm (Feb 26, 2021)

witzend said:


> I do bank with Barclays but sent back the Barclay Card when they introduced the standing charge for it


I don't bank with Barclay's , and this card is only for those without bank accounts, no standing charge, no foreign fees even for cash withdrawals and 0.25% cashback, mine runs out later this year, not sure if they will roll over benefits to replacement card, if they don't I'll go elsewhere.


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## jagmanx (Feb 27, 2021)

For credit purchases JaJa (Post office CC before) costs zero for purchases and good rates..I plan  to use that alongside Starling EG JaJa for fuel etc
Starling for food and cash.
But not abroad this year .


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## Markd (Feb 27, 2021)

Planning for euro trips might be a bit premature - but maybe hoping will keep the spirits up


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## TeamRienza (Feb 27, 2021)

@jagmanx I also have a Jaja card. I used the post office credit card without a problem at home and abroad for years. Great customer service too! I have successfully followed the procedure to update my access to the jaja card app.
However I am appalled at the reviews and complaints large numbers of people have posted on the terrible customer services and failed payments. I have put my card in the safe for the time being until the service settles down, although I am not convinced I will stay long term. I don’t think I have ever seen a company with such a bad set of reviews on Trust pilot. You may wish to check it if you haven’t already. Fortunately my wife has a Santander credit card with zero charges abroad. This will cover the gap until I decide wether to ditch jaja and get a different card.

Davy


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## r4dent (Feb 27, 2021)

Another vote for Starling.  

As well as non charge when using abroad or UK , they also have some interesting little (free) add ons.  e.g. you can have a personal car and a Joint card.  You can lock/unlock the card on you PC. The pay interest on the balance.


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## jagmanx (Feb 27, 2021)

TeamRienza said:


> @jagmanx I also have a Jaja card. I used the post office credit card without a problem at home and abroad for years. Great customer service too! I have successfully followed the procedure to update my access to the jaja card app.
> However I am appalled at the reviews and complaints large numbers of people have posted on the terrible customer services and failed payments. I have put my card in the safe for the time being until the service settles down, although I am not convinced I will stay long term. I don’t think I have ever seen a company with such a bad set of reviews on Trust pilot. You may wish to check it if you haven’t already. Fortunately my wife has a Santander credit card with zero charges abroad. This will cover the gap until I decide wether to ditch jaja and get a different card.
> 
> Davy


Thanks Davy, For a number of reasons I have hardly used it.
Thanks for the alert...I will seewhat happens. With starling available I am not as dependent on it as I was.
I have made some minor transactions and so far 100%


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## GeoffL (Feb 27, 2021)

Another vote for Clarity. You get wholesale exchange rates with no transaction fees (although some banks might charge you to use their ATMs). You also get up to 56 days free credit provided you pay off the balance each month in full. ATM withdrawals attract interest immediately. However, you can avoid almost all of this by paying off the amount withdrawn by bank transfer immediately after making the withdrawal. It's saved us a fortune over the years compared with even FairFX card we used previously.


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## Clunegapyears (Feb 28, 2021)

Was Metro Bank but now Starling as free worldwide. App takes a bit of getting used to but really good exchange rates between £ and € accounts.


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## witzend (Sep 4, 2021)

Markd said:


> Planning for euro trips might be a bit premature - but maybe hoping will keep the spirits up


Here we are 6 months gone by and still just at the planning stage. Spirits really at a low now
No one mentioned the Post Office card but have gone with it as seemed simplest option




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						Travel Money Card - Prepaid Currency Card | Post Office®
					

Manage your holiday money easily and securely with Post Office Travel Money Card-accepted in 36 million Mastercard® locations worldwide. Order yours today!




					www.postoffice.co.uk
				



Now really on a downer renewed 2 passports how many stamps on each page ?


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## GeoffL (Sep 6, 2021)

witzend said:


> Here we are 6 months gone by and still just at the planning stage. Spirits really at a low now
> No one mentioned the Post Office card but have gone with it as seemed simplest option
> 
> 
> ...


FWIW, I just checked the T&Cs for that card as Post Office Travel Money is normally a terrible deal. It appears that Mastercard set the exchange rate at the point of spending but the PO set it when you withdraw the residue on return (just like FairFX did) and that rate is likely disadvantageous. However, for me the real deal breaker is section 4.5 of the T&Cs as there is a lot you can't use the card for and a lot of this is stuff for which you'd need to be able to use the card if things go wrong. Things you can't or shouldn't use the card for include Self-service filling stations, car hire, hotels, tolls, onboard ships, on the 'net and anywhere the merchant can't get authorisation directly from the PO (as opposed to Mastercard).
I haven't checked out "Starling" (another card recommended above), but Halifax Clarity doesn't suffer from these limitations and I suspect that neither does Starling. That said, to be fair, we had issues in the Netherlands (where very few restaurants, bars etc. take cards) and at one French supermarket (Intermarche IIRC) we had to use a particular pump as it was the only one where you pay at the cashier.


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## colinm (Sep 6, 2021)

GeoffL said:


> That said, to be fair, we had issues in the Netherlands (where very few restaurants, bars etc. take cards) and at one French supermarket (Intermarche IIRC) we had to use a particular pump as it was the only one where you pay at the cashier.


Netherlands has always been a problem with cards outside of the main tourist areas, we have Mastercard and Visa cards, but often cash has to be used. They where supposed to be enabling better card payments in last couple of years.


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## witzend (Sep 6, 2021)

GeoffL said:


> FWIW, I just checked the T&Cs for that card as Post Office Travel Money


But Your not checking it against equal cards. We didn't want other bank accounts which go with the cards you used for comparison. The BF card we had for several years did all we needed it for buying fuel an gas only when there's a attendant is no problem tolls are handled with a toll tag which we pay monthly acc with this card. If it works as the BF card for large amounts it can be topped up with our credit card if the need arises


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## GeoffL (Sep 6, 2021)

witzend said:


> But Your not checking it against equal cards. We didn't want other bank accounts which go with the cards you used for comparison. The BF card we had for several years did all we needed it for buying fuel an gas only when there's a attendant is no problem tolls are handled with a toll tag which we pay monthly acc with this card. If it works as the BF card for large amounts it can be topped up with our credit card if the need arises


For info, I have a Halifax Clarity credit card and I didn't need a Halifax bank account to get it. For that, although I once had a Halifax mortgage, I've never had a Halifax bank account.

I'm only trying to help here. FWIW, we had an issue in Australia at a time we used a FairFX multi-currency card (prepaid, like your PO card) before we'd switched to Clarity. We couldn't use FairFX to hire a car and ended up losing over £100 because of the disadvantageous exchange rates combined with the 4% transaction fees on our bank debit card. The bank even charged us 4% of the 'allocated' $2,000 security deposit -- despite it never actually leaving our account -- and also hit us with disadvantageous exchange rates in both directions by converting it to AU$ on allocation and back to GBP when the allocation was released. Hopefully, you'll never be in a position where your PO card won't work for you, but it's worth knowing the pitfalls to be able to plan for such eventualities...


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## gypo (Sep 6, 2021)

I use this, no fees, just £3.99 for the card. You can move money onto it from your bank card and exchange it to what ever currency you want, also create a one off virtual credit card for online payments.
Use this link,
Join me and over 15 million users who love this digital banking app. Sign up with my link below and check out their disposable virtual cards for safe shopping: https://revolut.com/referral/deanf25ip!AUG2AR


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## witzend (Sep 6, 2021)

GeoffL said:


> I'm only trying to help here. FWIW,


Not a Lot really after reading of your bad experiences think I'll stick with what I got


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## GeoffL (Sep 6, 2021)

witzend said:


> Not a Lot really after reading of your bad experiences think I'll stick with what I got


That to my comment, "_I'm only trying to help here. FWIW,_"

I suspect you've got the wrong end of the stick. My bad experiences were with FairFX -- a card similar to the one you've chosen. You would have the same issues as me if you tried to use your card to hire a car: I couldn't use my FairFX card and was forced to use my bank's debit card for the car hire, resulting in the horrendous bank charges. AFAICT, all preloaded cards have similar issues. Even if you can transfer enough to the card for the security bond, you actually need to have that money in the bank and you will lose out at least via the PO's disadvantageous exchange rate when you transfer the money back to your bank.

OTOH, with a credit card security bonds etc. just need to fall within the available credit and the money isn't actually taken unless there are damages etc. that must come out of that bond. Hiring a car using my Clarity card was simplicity itself compared with using a prepaid card.


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## witzend (Sep 7, 2021)

GeoffL said:


> That to my comment, "_I'm only trying to help here. FWIW,_"
> 
> I suspect you've got the wrong end of the stick.


I doubt it I'm not the one telling tales of Woe you should of understood the T&C's before you used the card In the beginning I said the BF card did all I needed after looking at all the suggestions I chose the PO to replace it.


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