Anyone used Prepaid AmEx card?

[MRIrene]

Just curious to know if anyone has had any experience with this card. My DM doesn't have a credit card. I am taking her on her first cruise and was thinking about getting her one of these instead of her carrying cash. If the card gets lost or stolen, it can be replaced.

[sea_u_onboard]

Be careful which one you get (they have a couple). One of them you can't use outside the US. IF you are just going to use it for the ship she should be OK. I would call and check just to be sure (AMEX).

[dms_cruisers04]

Yes, she can use it onboard. One in our group checked into it for our cruise. It was cost $14 (I believe) and take about two weeks to receive, as it will have her name embossed on it.

AAA also has a pre-paid card, a Visa I think, that is only $5 and you can get it the same day. They emboss it at the AAA office.

[Stircrzy]

I used the AmX Travel Funds card during my cruise in August. It can NOT be used for shipboard purchases or to secure your S&S, but can be used like an AMX card in ports...or in the ATM machines onboard the ship.

 

It's good for 3 years and can be re-loaded at the AMX website.

 

It came in handy.

[samscruiser]

Watch out for the fees. Both the prepaid AMEX and VISA had numerous fees that made me stay away from them.

[factor]

Check with the cruise line you are going on. Kids can get a sign and sail card as well. You can give your daughter a sign limit. Only way she can get a higher limit is with you signing for it. Parents use this for their children in the kids camp. Only thing bad about a AMEX prepaid card is that you need to keep tract of your spending. No way to know unless you call a 1-800 number. Good luck!

 

(RCCL kids club)Friends of ours did this

 

~factor

[Stircrzy]

You can check your balance on the Travel Funds card online. Log on to AMX.com

[factor]

Yes you can check online, but again it costs money to check.....Ships charge an arm and a leg for internet service.

[MRIrene]

It was just a thought. I wanted my Mom to have spending money, but she is stubborn. If I tried to give her cash or traveler's cheques, she would most likely refuse. I figured it would be hard to refuse a prepaid card with her name already printed on it. Just want her first cruise to be fun and worry free. :)

[CruiseFever]

We always like to take a variety of forms of payment when traveling.

 

The American Express Travel Funds card has been part of that arsenal of payment and can be used whereever the American Express card is accepted. I thought it could be used to guarantee your shipboard account if you put enough money on it but the above indicates that's not the case...good info to know ahead of time for sure. It's kind of like plastic travelers checks. You decide how much to put on it and when that's gone that's it.

 

We too do not use credit cards but DO use Visa and Mastercard check cards, a fancy version of a debit card that IS accepted to guarantee your shipboard purchases.

 

But we also take a certain amount of cash, mostly small bills that can't be had from an ATM machine. Ones and fives for tipping mainly.

 

Here's more on all that if you're interested:

 

http://www.lifeiscruising.com/how_much_cash_

[asr52497]

I used a prepaid travel Visa through my bank (National City Bank). It worked ok, but when they actually bill the card they use a series of "authorizations" to bill the card, then at the end of the cruise they charge the card for the total S&S amount and it takes a few days for the authorizations to disappear. More irritation than anything.

 

I had a balance of a little over $500 and was planning on only using it for the S&S account anyway. Got a letter the last day that they couldn't authorize the last $3.22 on the card. Mind you that my total S&S bill was about $470...

 

After the trip I checked their website and saw the funky authorization system.

 

The fees for this card are minimal - I think it costs $12 to buy and 2.95 to load money on it. ATM fees are 2.00, but beyond that it works like any other card. I'd probably use it again.