Most travel prepaid debit cards do come with some fees attached to them, i.e. they are free to top up by debit card but will charge a percentage fee to top up using a credit card, but the majority are free to get and use to purchase items abroad. The Escape Travel Card is one of the cheapest travel prepaid cards because you can do most things for free on it; it is free to get if you load £100 on to it (you pay £9.99 initially but this is credited back to your card once you’ve loaded £100 onto it within the first 90 days), gives free ATM withdrawals abroad, has no monthly fees and can be topped up at any Phones4u store for free.

However, more often than not, the slight disadvantage of paying some fees is far outweighed by the benefits they bring.

Holiday money cards allow you to upload cash on to the card, meaning that you do not need a credit check and you can’t get carried away with your spending. In addition, it can be quite risky carrying large amounts of cash with you while you are on holiday as it can easily be lost or stolen. Most prepaid travel cards are able to offer you an emergency replacement card and cash should the worst happen. This can give you the assurance you need to relax and enjoy your holiday.

http://www.compareandsave.com/blog/2011/07/20/are-you-staying-financially-safe-on-your-holiday/

A set amount of cash can be loaded on to the card and then spent in any location displaying the MasterCard logo including supermarkets, bars and student bookstores. The prepaid MasterCard ensures the kids aren’t spending cash they don’t have and running up huge credit card debts.

With a one-off fee of £9.99 for a card, the Escape Prepaid Mastercard can also be topped up via BACS in case Mum and Dad need to save the day with extra funds. The process is free and means funds can be withdrawn from any MasterCard accepting ATM.

The Escape Prepaid Mastercard from EZPay Ltd, part of the Phones4u Group, only lets you spend the cash you have pre-loaded, making it perfect for anyone who wants to manage their finances effectively. Loading cash on to the card via BACS is free and there is no charge to spend at any location displaying the MasterCard logo. For more information and to start enjoying the benefits of a prepaid MasterCard for spending in the UK or transferring money internationally, please visit www.escapeprepaid.com.

-ends-

The Escape Travel Money pre-paid MasterCard from EZPay Ltd, part of the Phones4u Group, can help save users money as it offers free cash withdrawals from foreign ATMs and offers an exchange rate on foreign currency that beats the high street.

The card can be used just like a regular credit or debit card in over 30 million MasterCard locations worldwide including fee-free in shops, bars and restaurants. Perfect for buying those Grand Prix souvenirs.

For more information and to start saving money when travelling abroad please visit www.escapetravelmoneycard.com.

-ends-

Holidaymakers are being warned to avoid using their plastic abroad – after it was revealed banks grabbed an estimated £825m in hidden fees last year.

The sum is a staggering £460.5m MORE than was lost to card fraud in 2010, illustrating for the first time how banks fleece unsuspecting customers.

Many consumers are unaware they face a charge every time they use a UK-issued debit or credit card overseas, whether it’s buying a meal or round of drinks, shopping for gifts or even withdrawing cash from an ATM.

In addition, card users are automatically given a poor exchange rate, which effectively skims more money from each transaction.

Leading pre-paid MasterCard supplier EZPay – part of the Phones4U Group – is calling on financial institutions to come clean over their fees.

EZPay managing director Paul Smith said: “The banks love to encourage card use overseas by saying they can be used just as simple as at home, but they never mention the charging that goes on. Hitting people with fees for every transaction is a lucrative racket.

“People can avoid these charges and still have the convenience of plastic by getting themselves a pre-paid card such as our Escape Travel Money product – that way, all the money you load on and spend is for your benefit, not the banks.”

The massive charges hived off by banks equate to around 3% of the money spent by Brits on debit and credit cards abroad. According to official figures released by The UK Cards Association recently, that total was £27.5bn. The card industry’s own figures reveal a total of £364.5m was lost to card fraud in the same period.

How the charges hit consumers:

Those using their UK abroad are hit in two ways – fees charged on each individual card transaction, plus an exchange rate that is generally less favourable than is available elsewhere.

Typical charges for using a debit card range in store/restaurant from £1.25 – £1.75 per transaction, while ATM fees range from £1.50 to £5 every time money is withdrawn.

Banks often give customers their prevailing exchange rate, but tweak it with an extra percentage charge – making the rate much worse than those available with dedicated pre-paid cards.

For example                                                  Total cost (all fees/charges included)

A typical 50 euro meal for two

NatWest debit card                                                                 = £47.04

Escape Travel Money pre-paid Mastercard                            = £39.75

Withdrawing 20 euros from a Spanish cash-point machine

Lloyds TSB debit card                                                            = £19.90

Escape Travel Money Card                                                    = £15.90

Examples calculated during March 2011

-ends-

About the figures:

• 3% figure ‘guesstimate’ is an averaged out figure which takes into account all the fees and charges levied by debit and credit card issuers. (3% of £27.5bn = £825m). We’ve been quite conservative in our calculation of this.
• There are three main charges that apply when using UK issued cards abroad:
  • A ‘Load’ on top of the Exchange Rate (Debit and Credit Cards) : you buy something in a foreign currency that transaction has to be converted back into sterling at the prevailing wholesale exchange rate. The card provider can add a ‘load’, usually 2.75% to the prevailing wholesale exchange rate
  • Cash Withdrawal Charges (Debit and Credit Cards): get money out of a machine and you pay a fee. This is usually around 2.5% of the amount withdrawn with a minimum of, around £3. Can rise to a maximum of £5 for big cash withdrawals
  • Usage fees (Debit cards): Some big banks hit you with a charge every time you use your debit card overseas (between £1 and £1.50 typically)… with Halifax, IF, RBS, NatWest, Santander or Lloyds TSB debit card and you’ll pay a fee each time e.g. Halifax adds £1.50 per transaction.

Economists are predicting grim times ahead for the pound, with sterling expected to slump against the dollar and other leading currencies over the next few months.

Savvy Escape Travel Money customers are ideally placed to play the markets. As well as offering exchange rates that beat those available on the high street, all money loaded on the card is held safely and securely until it’s needed.

Experts have suggested the value of the pound will fall as a result of the struggling UK economy – meaning you could get fewer dollars to the pound later in the year. Investment bank Morgan Stanley has warned the pound could fall to below $1.50 by the end of 2011.

Escape Travel Money – the travellers’ pre-paid card from EZPay Ltd, part of the Phones4U Group – gives users the opportunity to load currency at better-than-high-street rates before they head abroad. The card can then be used fee-free to shop abroad or withdraw money from an ATM without charge.

Paul Smith, EZPay managing director, said: “Holidaymakers are used to preparing for their breaks by buying clothes and sunscreen, but often get their holiday money at the last minute. Buying dollars now locks in today’s exchange rate rather than leaving it to chance.

The Escape Travel Money card can be used in over 30 million MasterCard locations worldwide and users can also gain access to a range of attractive money-back offers.

For more information and to start saving money when travelling aboard please visit www.escapetravelmoneycard.com.

EZPay – the pre-paid card provider of the Phones4U Group – has seen applications for its Escape Prepaid Mastercard (www.escapeprepaid.com) rocket over the last 6 months, with a surge in business after changes to the UK’s tax and benefit regime in April.

Since the start of 2011, sales have grown month on month, with particular spikes in March and April (March sales up 38% on Feb; April sales up 92% on March). Feedback from users suggests growing worries about job security, changes to the tax credit system increases in National Insurance and the rising cost of living has prompted many to cut back and opt to budget with pre-paid cards.

Prepaid cards are becoming increasingly popular because they offer to access traditional bank services such as electronic payments, online purchasing and ATM usage without a bank account or going through any credit checks. Because users can only spend money loaded on to the card there is no chance to rack up expensive debt.

The Escape Card has become the leader in the pre-paid financial market since being launched just 18 months ago, chiefly because of its fee-free usage and transparent low charges.

EZPay managing director Paul Smith said: “By using a product such as the Escape Card people can take control of their finances. You transfer money to the card without charges and use it like a traditional debit card without fear of going into the red.

“The tax changes in April coincided with a huge leap in business for us, which seems to suggest that people want a hassle-free way of controlling their spending. Feedback tells us that  many users would rather use a pre-paid card than have to fork out overdraft fees every month to their bank.”

With a pre-paid card users can make payments by standing order – in the case of utilities such as electricity they can avoid the more expensive ‘key’ tariffs and can save considerable sums over time.”

In addition, users can access cashback deals of up to 20% when shopping with the card online, pay no management fee and can also benefit from free international money transfer.

- ends -

Users of the Escape Travel Money pre-paid MasterCard from EZPay Ltd, part of the Phones4u Group, benefit from free money withdrawals from foreign ATM’s, fee-free shopping whilst abroad and an exchange rate on foreign currency that beats the high street. Just load the chosen currency onto the card and it’s ready to use in over 30 million MasterCard accepting locations worldwide.

For more information and to start saving money when travelling abroad please visit www.escapetravelmoneycard.com.

-ends-

After more than 40 years away from Europe’s top club competition, supporters will notice how prices have changed. But with the Escape Travel Money card users can avoid all the hidden charges associated with using plastic overseas.

As well as getting a great exchange rate on their foreign currency that beats the high street, Escape Travel card customers can withdraw money from ATMs abroad fee-free. So whatever the result in the footie, everyone’s a winner!

The Escape Travel Money pre-paid MasterCard from EZPay Ltd, part of the Phones4u Group, can be used like a traditional debit or credit card in over 30 million MasterCard locations worldwide and users can also gain access to a range of attractive money-back offers.

For more information and to start saving money when travelling aboard please visit www.escapetravelmoneycard.com.

ATM charges of up to £2 per withdrawal and less-than-favourable exchange rates when shopping overseas make using UK-issued plastic an expensive option for holidaymakers.

These hidden costs of travel were criticised by a staggering 57.6% of consumers, while the fact that banks are often closed when you need them was listed as the second major irritant (28.4%).

Paul Smith, managing director of prepaid MasterCard specialist EZPay Ltd, which commissioned the poll, said the results showed how savvy consumers were starting to get wise to bank fees.

“The big high street financial institutions happily promote the ease of using UK debit and credit cards abroad, but it is disingenuous to highlight convenience without talking about the exorbitant charges,” he said.

Just over one quarter of consumers said they had no complaints whatsoever about their bank (27%), though this figure is tempered slightly by the 3.9% who refuse to have an account at all. Also criticised was the way banks make it easy to slip in to the red and clock up charges, with 10.2% of consumers complaining they don’t trust themselves to live within their means and not get hit with overdraft charges.

With pre-paid cards, such as the Escape Travel Money card from EZPay, holidaymakers can avoid fees when spending or withdrawing cash overseas. Card holders load the card with cash in advance, meaning they are unable to spend money they don’t have and don’t lose their hard-earned cash in fees and charges.

For more information and to start saving money when travelling aboard please visit www.escapetravelmoneycard.com.

The Escape Travel Money pre-paid MasterCard has been named as the pick of the cards on offer for travellers heading abroad this summer.

Which? is recommending the car because of its limited charges and fee free shopping, with withdrawals from foreign ATM’s also free of charge.

Unlike other pre-paid cards this one comes with limited charges, while others can hit consumers with fees for topping up or for requesting additional cards.

The card, which can be used in over 30 million locations worldwide, also promises a great exchange rate on foreign currency that beats the high street rate, while users can also earn up to 20 per cent cashback on online purchases.

It costs £9.99 and comes with a £5000 credit limit, it is also the only card of its kind to offer both free withdrawals at ATM machines and free purchases in shops abroad.

It also offers a higher daily withdrawal allowance than any other with £500, and is available in Euro’s and Dollars to cover the most popular holiday destinations.

http://www.thriftyholidays.co.uk/holiday-finance/2011/05/27/which-offer-money-saving-advice-for-travellers