prepaid MasterCard

[martin B]

i normally take just cash but have been looking at maybe taking a mix of a card and cash has anyone used the prepaid MasterCard and are they widely accepted   

[loftyscot]

It should be as lots of restuarants and shops accept MasterCard credit card. Of nobody on here knows for definite I'd drop an email to San Stefano Travel and ask if its staff know. Anybody?

[Jimbo]

Little Prince - dunno about others, but I expect so.

[Cerys]

Hi all. The mastercard pre-paid cards seem to be accepted anywhere that would ordinarily accept credit cards. You can also use the card to book trips etc when paying by card. You may incur a 2% charge for using the card in some venues. We have discussed this topic previously under the heading Travel Mastercard so you may wish to see what advise was given within that discussion.

[Waspman]

All these tavernas/restaurants take Visa/Mastercard credit cards without charging the usual 2% commission:

Little Prince
Romanza
2 Star
Mythica
Condor
Barras
Ozzy Oil

Nafsika take credit cards but charge 2% commission
Beachcomber do not take cards at all.

Prepaid Mastercards do have their advantages but also pitfalls (set up fees/possibly monthly admin fees/possibly fees for purchases or at ATM’s/fees for loading money etc)

See Moneyfacts website for more details

http://moneyfacts.co.uk/guides/credit-cards/prepaid-cards-a-plastic-revolution/

Moneyfacts seem to recommend Kalixa Prepaid Mastercard as the best all rounder.

For me, I’ll stick to my trusty Nationwide, Post Office and Santander Zero “no commission” credit cards (there are others).

See my posting under “Exchange Rates” for the enhanced type of exchange rate you can get by using them.

[loftyscot]

Smart move Kathryn, the Euocard is used extensively on the continent. Exchange rate u got beats what u get in resort.

[joan]

Has anyone who's been to  SS lately know if the ATM that was in Thomas Bay is operating and how reliable is it at present? I have a pre-paid mastercard which worked well in Fuerteventura because of the abundance of banks
I'm just weighing up pro's and cons of loading some on it and  bringing it with me or do the usual  cash/TCs, I don't really want to have to go to Avliotes /Arillas if it's unreliable, any news would be helpful thanks.
Thanks  also for the list of restaurants that take cards I'll keep a note of them.

[Jules]

Was the one in Arillas removed last year?

[Jimbo]

FairFX and ICE are still probably offering the best exchange rate. I was very pleased with ICE's service, both for cash and prepaid. When I phoned up with a query I spoke to a pleasant, friendly and helpful woman who knew what she was talking about!

[joan]

Yes  Jules T you're right, I'd forgotten that, just checked out the Arillas forum, seems most people use the one in SS or go to Avliotes.
Some people mentioned that SS runs out of cash, so  maybe that's half the problem of reliability. I might just stick to the usual method but still very useful to know some tavernas take cards.

[loftyscot]

I used the atm in Avliotes last week. Never used the one at TB.