How does a Post Office travel money card work?

Q: How does a Post Office travel money card work?

The Post Office offers a prepaid multi-currency travel card allowing you to hold 23 different currencies. But be careful as there are hidden fees.

The Post Office offers one simple plan, their basic Post Office Travel Money Card. While the travel money card is free to get, there is a minimum load amount of £50 of whichever of the 23 currencies you choose.

Terms such as fee-free, no commission, and zero charges are used a lot by travel money providers, and the Post Office is no different when it comes to marketing their card, which offers 0% commission. But as with most others, there is often a hidden fee under the bonnet. After all, how else would a provider make any money?

It’s worth noting that if you use your Post Office travel money card to withdraw cash abroad, you will be charged at the point of loading your desired currency (the FX mark-up rate), you will then be charged a minimum of £1.50 per ATM withdrawal on top of this. So withdrawing £100 worth of currency could cost around £5.20.

Read our full Post Office travel card review here

What's an alternative to a Post Office travel money card?

A new solution, only offered by Currensea, the UK's best rated travel debit card. Currensea connects via Open Banking to your existing debit card and is accepted anywhere which accepts MasterCard. Plus, Currensea use the best live interbank exchange rate for 16 separate currencies (which is what the banks use between them), this guarantees that you'll receive the best current exchange rate every time you use your card. Plus there are no hidden fees and charges like the Post Office and its even free to get and use.

1. What’s the rate?

Prepaid cards offer a huge range of rates that might not be as good as the rate offered by your bank. Whilst almost all providers say no fees, the fee is often hidden in the exchange rate.

2. Does your travel money card offer protection?

Some cards are covered by section 75 protection, but not all, it’s worth checking the T&Cs before you sign-up to ensure that all your purchases will be covered by some kind of chargeback protection.

3. Can you get back unused currency?

Once your holiday has finished you’re unlikely to want to leave any leftover currency on your travel money card. Make sure that you can easily get your money back, without incurring further fees.

4. Are there any hidden fees?

Check for any fees, prepaid cards generally have more hidden fees than credit or debit cards. Make sure that you keep an eye out for fees such as application and replacement fees, transaction fees, and inactivity charges.

5. Are there any limitations to where you can use the different types of cards?

All providers say that they can be used wherever you see the Visa or Mastercard logo but there are some big exceptions that may impact your choice. If you want to pay at a petrol station, hire a car, or pay on a cruise - generally, you can only use a Credit, Debit, or Currensea’s travel debit card - prepaid travel cards are often not accepted.