News | Know Before You Go | Airport Parking & Hotels compares the costs of pre-paid currency cards

Airport Parking & Hotels compares the costs of pre-paid currency cards

With the pound dropping more than 8% against the euro and 18% against the dollar*, APH has created a table comparing the most popular currency cards to help travellers get the most out of their holiday money this summer. Travellers can now check ATM withdrawal fees, purchase fees and maximum withdrawal amounts from the handy table below.

Currency cards are prepaid MasterCard or Visa cards which are accepted like any standard credit or debit card in ATMs, restaurants and outlets where the MasterCard or Visa sign is displayed, as well as many banks, bureaux de change and travel agents. The currency card table compares nine currency cards highlighting the costs of purchasing a card, foreign ATM withdrawal fees, foreign transaction fees, cancellation fees, maximum withdrawal amounts in 24 hours and the maximum balance allowed at one time on the card.

The research found that all the cards are free to purchase apart from Lloyds TSB which charges £7.50 per card and the FairFX currency card which charges £9.95 if the initial cash load is under £500. However, all nine currency card stockists’ charge a fee for use of foreign ATMs, with the FairFX and MyTravelCash cards charging the least at around £1.00 for each withdrawal compared to Travelex which costs the most at £2.50. Travellers should also be aware that some of the currency cards enforce a maximum spending and withdrawal amount, with Thomson and First Choice customers restricted to withdraw only £211.47 per day whereas the FairFX allows up to £855.95 per day.

Company	Cost of Card	Reloading Fee	Foreign ATM Withdrawal Fee	Foreign Purchase/ Transaction Fee	Card Cancellation Fee Monthly Inactivity Fee (Debited from your card if it has not been used for 12 months)	Maximum withdrawal amount in 24hrs	Maximum spending amount in retail outlets in 24hrs	Maximum Balance allowed at one time
MyTravelCash (MasterCard)	Euro card: free. Additional card fee: €6 per card.	Free for reloading money by bank transfer. Free for reloading money by debit card. 2.5% of the load value is charged for reloading money by credit card.	Euro card: €1.25 (£1.06) per transaction.	Free to purchase transactions in euros. A 2.5% charge of the transaction amount will apply if a transaction is in currency other than that of the card.	€6 cash-out fee (cancellation of card and return of funds). There must be more than €10 or the equivalent currency remaining on the card to redeem the balance. $8 cash-out fee (cancellation of card and return of funds). There must be more than €10 or the equivalent currency remaining on the card to redeem the balance. Monthly inactivity fee: Free	€300	€2,400	€6,000
	US Dollar card: free Additional card fee: $8.00 per card.		Dollar card: $1.50 (£0.92) per transaction.	Free to purchase transactions in dollars.		$400	$3,200	$8,000
				A 2.5% charge of the transaction amount will apply if a transaction is in currency other than that of the card.		£253.74	£2,029.94	£5,073
Travelex (Visa or Plus ATMs)	Free when purchasing online or in a shop. Currency cards are available in £, $, € and also Australian $, New Zealand $, Canadian $ and South African Rand.	Costs £3.00 to reload money. 1.5% charge when reloading in a Travelex shop. 2% charge when reloading on the phone or on internet banking.	£2.50	Free to purchase transactions in dollars and euros.	Cancellation fee: £5.00 per card. Monthly inactivity fee: £2.00.	£500	£3,000	£5,000
			$4.50	Free to purchase transactions in dollars and euros.	Monthly inactivity fee: $3.50.	$800	$5,000	$9,000
			€3.75 ATM operators may charge an additional fee or set their own withdrawal limits.	5.75% charge of the transaction amount will apply if a transaction is in currency other than that of the card.	Monthly inactivity fee: €3.00.	€700	€4,000	€7,500
Co-operative (Visa or Plus ATMs)	Free for Euro and Dollar cards. For sterling cards there is a minimum charge £3.00.	Minimum charge £3.00 and 2% on all loads and reloads.	£1.50	Free to purchase transactions in dollars and euros.	Cancellation fee: £5.00 per card. Monthly inactivity fee: £2.00.	£500	£3,000	£5,000
			$2.50	Free to purchase transactions in dollars and euros.	Monthly inactivity fee: $3.50.	$800	$5,000	$9,000
			€2.00 ATM operators may charge an additional fee or set their own withdrawal limits.	5.75% charge of the transaction amount will apply if a transaction is in currency other than that of the card.	Monthly inactivity fee: €3.00.	€700	€4,000	€7,500
Thomas Cook (Visa)	Euro and Dollar cards are free. Currency cards are available in £, $, € and also Australian $, New Zealand $, Canadian $ and South African Rand. There is a fee for sterling cards, this varies on the amount of money loaded onto the card (i.e. £200 = £4).	Free for euros and dollars. Minimum charge for reloading money is £3.00.	£1.50	Free to purchase transactions in dollars and euros.	Cancellation fee: £15. Monthly inactivity fee: £2.00.	£500	£3,000	£5,000
			$2.50	Free to purchase transactions in dollars and euros.	Cancellation fee: $27. Monthly inactivity fee: $3.50.	$800	$5,000	$9,000
			€2.00 ATM owners may charge an additional fee or set their own withdrawal limits.	5.00% charge of the transaction amount will apply if a transaction is in currency other than that of the card.	Cancellation fee: €23. Monthly inactivity fee: €3.00.	€700	€4,000	€7,500
Thomson/First Choice (MasterCard)	Euro and Dollar cards are free. Minimum load of $150 or €100.	Free	£1.69	Free to purchase transactions in dollars and euros. A 3% charge of the transaction amount will apply if a transaction is in currency other than that of the card.	Cancellation fee: £8.45. Any funds remaining on the Card for in excess of 12 months from the last date on which the Card was loaded with e-money will not be returned to you.	£211.47	£4,229.43	£4,229.43
			$2.50		Cancellation fee: $15. Any funds remaining on the Card for in excess of 12 months from the last date on which the Card was loaded with e-money will not be returned to you.	$300	$7,500	$7,500
			€2.00		Cancellation fee: €10. Any funds remaining on the Card for in excess of 12 months from the last date on which the Card was loaded with e-money will not be returned to you.	€250	€5,000	€5,000
Post Office (Visa)	Free Minimum load £50 (or € or $ equivalent) Available in three currencies – euros, dollars and sterling.	1.5% charge for reloading a sterling card (minimum fee £3.00). Free top up for Euro and Dollar cards.	£2.00	£2.00 A 2.75% charge of the transaction amount will apply if a transaction is in currency other than that of the card.	Cancellation fee: £5.00 Monthly inactivity fee: not stated	£500	£5,000	£5,000
			$3.28		Cancellation fee: $8.21. Monthly inactivity fee: not stated	$821.71	$8,217.62	$8,217.62
			€2.36		Cancellation fee: €5.91. Monthly inactivity fee: not stated.	€591.77	€5,918.18	€5,918.18
Barclays (Visa)	Free Available in three currencies – euros, dollars and sterling.	No fee	2% cash withdrawal charge (minimum fee £1.50). ATM owner may charge an additional fee. There may also be a fee for the use of any non-Barclays ATMs.	Free unless any transactions in a currency different from the denomination of the card will be converted at the exchange rate used by VISA on the day it processes the transaction and deducted along with a fee of 2.75% of that amount.	Cancellation fee: £5.00. Monthly inactivity fee: not stated.	£250	£2,500	£2,500
					Cancellation fee: $8.21. Monthly inactivity fee: not stated.	$411.42	$4,114.25	$4,114.25
					Cancellation fee: €5.91. Monthly inactivity fee: not stated.	€295.86	€2,958.65	€2,958.65
Lloyds TSB (Visa)	£7.50 Cards are free for silver account holders. Cards are available to purchase in euros or dollars.	Free	£1.50 (ATM owner may charge an additional fee).	Free to purchase transactions in dollars and euros. A 2.75% charge of the transaction amount will apply if a transaction is in currency other than that held on the card.	Cancellation fee: £5.00. Monthly inactivity fee: does not apply	£250	£3,000	£3,000
					Cancellation fee: $8.21. Monthly inactivity fee: does not apply.	$411.42	$4,933.74	$4,933.74
					Cancellation fee: €5.91. Monthly inactivity fee: does not apply.	€295.86	€3,547.81	€3,547.81
FairFX (MasterCard)	Card fee: £9.95 for initial loads under £500. Free for loads over £500.	Free to reload card online by Debit or bank transfer. 1.5% charge for credit cards.	£1.00	Free to purchase transactions in dollars and euros.	Cancellation fee: £10. Monthly inactivity fee: free.	£855.95	£4,279.07	£6,418.60
			$2.00	Free to purchase transactions in dollars and euros.		$1,000	$5,000	$10,000
			€1.50	If a transaction is in currency other than that of the card, the exchange rate would be the wholesale MasterCard® market rate which includes a typical fee of 0.25-0.75%.		€1,000	€5,000	€7,500

Based on the exchange rates on the 16th June 2009:
1 GBP = 1.18282 EUR
1 GBP = 1.64436 USD

APH makes every effort to ensure that the information provided is accurate at the time of collection and publishing but it is provided without any kind of warranty. APH accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of the information.

Airport Parking and Hotels Ltd has over 20 years' experience as a retailer of pre-booked airport parking and travel extras. It offers parking at 24 UK airports, ports and Eurotunnel terminals plus airport hotels packaged with parking, airport lounges, travel insurance, car hire and holiday taxis.

For further information visit www.aph.com.

Press information:

For further press information contact Sarah Falkingham or Katherine Regan at gosh pr on 020 7430 7910 or email sarah@goshpr.co.uk.