Has anyone worked out if this is cheaper than a prepaid locked rate card it Travel-ex card? I notice with this they charge after £200 per month ! Traveling with 2 kids I’m planning on spending that a day! So unsure if this work out the most cost effected way to use while away for a month?
They charge after £200 of CASH WITHDRAWALS per month. You can spend as much as you like up to your annual limit on card purchases in stores, supermarkets, hotels, etc., without charge (except for the surcharge at weekends). If you keep cash withdrawals to a minimum, and try to put everyday purchases as much as possible on the card, you should still be saving.
One thing I’d suggest, though, is that if you’re travelling in a EUR or USD country, it is worth exchanging your GBP to the local currency in the app on a weekday when foreign exchange markets are open. This will prevén your having to pay the 1%-plus surcharge on all transactions at weekends. In principle, the surcharge is only 0.5%, but in practice many have found it to be higher than that, at least in smaller currencies. You don’t have to change all your funds in advance of your trip, especially if the pound is very low and you think it might rise, but it’s worth changing enough to cover weekend usage on, say, Thursday or Friday of each week. However, if you’re not travelling to the Eurozone or to the States, the benefit of doing this would be limited or negligible.