Desert Orchid
Senior Jockey
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2005
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Excerpt from Moneysavingexpert.com:
There is a glimpse of light here, which can be exposed, for free. These booking charges do NOT apply to ‘Visa Electron’ cards. This is a specific type of debit card, issued less frequently than ‘Visa Debit’ or ‘Maestro’ cards, so fewer people have one. This system may exist to make it easier for airlines to call debit & credit card charges ‘add-ons’.
Yet there is a simple, free way to get an Electron card, which will then enable you to avoid the nasty booking fees. The Travelex Cash Passport* card is an Electron prepaid card where you load cash onto a card to then spend (see full Prepaid Card guide for more info) so use it and you don’t pay the booking fees.
How to get one
It’s intended for overseas spending, yet you can get a UK Pounds version of it, which can be used for purchases in this country.
You can get one a few different ways, though the cost varies depending on how you get it. You have to be over 18 and be able to provide proof of ID.
The money topped up onto the card can be used in any retailer that accepts Electron, which is a lot (though admittedly a few less than standard Visa/Maestro cards), so don’t panic if you don’t spend the full £100 on flights, it’s not money wasted.
Of course as this isn't a credit card, you won't get Section 75 protection on this, but as budget flights tend to be under £100 anyway, it's not a big deal. For full details read the Section 75 guide.
Don’t be inactive!
All incarnations of the Cash Passport have a potential sting in the tail, but it's easily avoided. If it goes unused for twelve months (or fifteen for the Thomas Cook/Co-op versions), and you have a positive balance, you’ll get charged a £2 monthly inactivity fee.
Combat this by either cancelling the card for free before you’re inactive this long, or by paying for something with it every few months.
Will this always work to avoid the fee?
Impossible to say! Currently, for example, Ryanair’s website says that waiving the fee for Electron users is a ‘special offer’ which implies it could be withdrawn at any time.
This would be an interesting development, as if Ryanair did begin to charge Electron customers the £5 per person charge, it would be very hard to see how it could advertise free or £1 flights as it frequently does.
There is a glimpse of light here, which can be exposed, for free. These booking charges do NOT apply to ‘Visa Electron’ cards. This is a specific type of debit card, issued less frequently than ‘Visa Debit’ or ‘Maestro’ cards, so fewer people have one. This system may exist to make it easier for airlines to call debit & credit card charges ‘add-ons’.
Yet there is a simple, free way to get an Electron card, which will then enable you to avoid the nasty booking fees. The Travelex Cash Passport* card is an Electron prepaid card where you load cash onto a card to then spend (see full Prepaid Card guide for more info) so use it and you don’t pay the booking fees.
How to get one
It’s intended for overseas spending, yet you can get a UK Pounds version of it, which can be used for purchases in this country.
You can get one a few different ways, though the cost varies depending on how you get it. You have to be over 18 and be able to provide proof of ID.
- Online. Sign up via Travelex’s website*. The direct page is currently broken, so go via this link and choose 'Prepaid Currency Card' from the toggle buttons at the top left. Then pick any card that is in UK Pounds (eg. Bahrain), enter the amount you want to put on it (min £100) and click Buy.
There's no fee for opening the card, no fee for spending, and can load it with cash for free online. There is a minimum top-up required of £100, and it charges £2.50 if you make an ATM withdrawal (though obviously you can spend it use it normally in shops too).
- In Thomas Cook/Co-op Travel branches. These two travel agents also sell the card, with very slightly tweaked conditions. You can still buy one for free (make sure you get the UK Pounds version), and there’s still no fee for spending, and a lower £1.50 ATM withdrawal fee.
Here the minimum top up is a lower £30, yet the negative is you can only do this in stores, and you are charged a 2% commission fee, with a minimum of £3. So if you loaded £50 onto the card, it would cost you £53 (still cheaper than airline's booking fees though).
The money topped up onto the card can be used in any retailer that accepts Electron, which is a lot (though admittedly a few less than standard Visa/Maestro cards), so don’t panic if you don’t spend the full £100 on flights, it’s not money wasted.
Of course as this isn't a credit card, you won't get Section 75 protection on this, but as budget flights tend to be under £100 anyway, it's not a big deal. For full details read the Section 75 guide.
Don’t be inactive!
All incarnations of the Cash Passport have a potential sting in the tail, but it's easily avoided. If it goes unused for twelve months (or fifteen for the Thomas Cook/Co-op versions), and you have a positive balance, you’ll get charged a £2 monthly inactivity fee.
Combat this by either cancelling the card for free before you’re inactive this long, or by paying for something with it every few months.
Impossible to say! Currently, for example, Ryanair’s website says that waiving the fee for Electron users is a ‘special offer’ which implies it could be withdrawn at any time.
This would be an interesting development, as if Ryanair did begin to charge Electron customers the £5 per person charge, it would be very hard to see how it could advertise free or £1 flights as it frequently does.
