BMO Prepaid Travel MasterCard vs Western Union MoneyWise Visa Prepaid Card

Is that one card per customer, or per account? If it's per account, and you wanted 2 or 3 cards for a single account, it wouldn't help. If you report one card lost of stolen, they'll freeze the entire account, all the cards. If that is per customer, regardless of the number of accounts, put the extra accounts in different banks. That's what most of us do. By the way, I don't know about these cards specifically, and I'm tired of checking the fine print on everyone's cards for them, but, except for Key Bank's Possibilities card, and I'm taking their word for it for the fees, every other prepaid card I've ever checked is a ripoff.

I concur with Lee. Historically the prepaid cards have carried high fees and some fees are hidden. So you really need to read and understand the fine print. There is more competition so fees could be coming down but the cards will always be more complicated and more expensive that a standard debit card especially if you can find a debit card that doesn't chard any fees.

Good point, I never thought of that, I figured if I had 2 debit cards for the same bank account, they would just freeze the lost/ stolen card. And I'd be able to keep using the 2nd backup card. But if they freeze the whole account, ouch! Maybe I'll just open an account with another bank and spread my travel funds between them.

Steve, I've looked into the BMO travel card, and read the fine print. It certainly does not seem to be a great "deal". The card costs money to get, the fees and percentages for using it are quite high. My husband and I are going to stick with our debit cards.
Laura

Steve, ask for a replacement card, then don't use it. If you loose your current card simply use your new card. Your first use activates the new card and canceles the old. The bank will give you a few month grace before you must use your new card. I've done this for years as I'm rough on bank cards and never want to be without one.

Having used neither I can not suggest one over the other but.... A bit off topic but having multiple cards per account is no advantage on the lost/stolen. At least with every account I have dealt with in the US if one card is lost all the cards are canceled. E.g. if wife loses pocketbook and reports loss the husband's card for that same account in his wallet is useless. Now for your problem.... 1. I would bring your credit card. Don't plan on using it. But its sole purpose is as a backup. Yes, the fees our outrageous. But if you keep it in a separate location it can be a life saver if you need to use it once or twice while waiting for your debt card to be replaced. 2. Instead of getting a pre-paid travel card consider opening a second checking account at a different bank. Put half your money in each account. Keep each card in a separate location. Alternate which one you use.

I've done the same thing as Peter but now I have two cards: I opened a checking acct. w/Can.Trust just for travel. That plus my BMO card are all I need at a much lower user fee. I take my credit card with me for large purchases but never use it for cash advances. If I wanted to throw money away and make travel as difficult as possible I'd get traveller's
checks. LOL.

I do as ed suggests - I take a cc "just in case" and I take two DEBIT cards tied to CHECKING ACCOUNTS, one each from different financial institutions "just in case" something goes wrong with one of the debit cards which it did one time in the last 10 years. My primary debit card is from a local credit union that only charges a 1% exchange fee.