Visa Travel Money Card?

It is a workable solution but the fees are fairly high. Much higher than using a regular debit card. Need to read the fine print. Why not just get a debit card from your credit union? Assuming that your credit union, like most credit unions, would charge no fee or very min fees for currency.

When I last checked with my credit union about this card, there was a setup fee of some kind and fees for use. There is NO advantage to this over a regular credit union debit card. You can use a regular debit card linked to a travel account instead of your regular account so there is no access to your regular funds if that is a concern. You are probably not going to be able to use a debit card for purchases, so you would still need to get your funds in cash at some point, and that incurs a fee on the prepaid cards. Take a regular debit card from your credit union. If you are lucky, they won't charge any fee at all (neither of mine, from two different credit unions, do).

We've started getting "Visa" fees of 1% on our credit union ATM cards the past few years. This year I'm going to try the debit card from Capital One - it's an online checking account - not supposed to be any fees - we'll see. The 1% isn't huge, so we still carry the credit union ATM/debit cards as back up. We also investigated the Visa Travel Cards - huge fees. We also use a Capital One credit card for some purchases - if we can stay with the card - has worked great (though recently I've had problems with them flagging international online purchases from home for flights/train tickets). I guess it's better to be safe, but I missed some good prices due to all the phone calls required.

Ally Bank also offers an online checking and/or savings account with no fees. I've been very impressed with their service so far. They are even more accessible than my brick and mortar credit union, since they offer 24/7 customer service by phone, email, or online chat.

I'm wondering if the online international purchases would have been flagged if you had called CapitalOne ahead of time and told them you'd possibly be making them. I always call my credit card companies when I'm going to be using the cards out of my home area; have never had any problems. Using an ATM card from a credit union to get cash is the way to go; and when you pay with cash, sometimes you can get a discount. Have a fun trip!

I always call the credit card and ATM card banks/institutions before traveling, but I haven't had problems before when using my home computer. Hopefully it's all cleared now.

there has been a lot of press in the travel and money sections of the press warning about the high fees and costs of these travel cards. A number of banks are pushing them on unsuspecting customers. Also a few discussions on this site. dont buy them

Please remember that when you walk into your bank or credit union, that they are trying to sell you something. You may get good advice from them, or you may not. When a store cashier offers you 10% off your purchase if you sign up for the store credit card, do you take their advice? Research like you are doing, and resist their sales pitch.

Thank you for all the advice. I am finally feeling more comfortable using my Credit Union ATM (debit) card and my Capital One credit card. We have notified our banks/ccu about our travel dates so we should be fine. All of you have really provided excellent comments and support. You are greatly appreciated for your time.