In the post “One card to rule them all” I introduced the idea of buying Vanilla Reload cards at Office Depot and using them to load money onto American Express Prepaid cards. For Ink Bold cardholders, this is a great option for earning extra points with your credit card. One of the lesser known features of the Amex card, though, may be of interest to almost all cardholders: the Amex Prepaid card has no foreign transaction fees.
These days, there are many good options for credit cards with no foreign transaction fees (e.g. Ink Bold, Sapphire Preferred, Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve, etc.). So why would anyone be interested in using the American Express Prepaid card? Here are a few great reasons:
You want to increase spend on a card that does have foreign transaction fees. Suppose, for example, you are working on meeting a credit card’s minimum spend in order qualify for its sign-up bonus. Or, maybe you’re trying to earn elite status with your Delta Reserve card or your Hilton Surpass. There are many reasons why you might want to pump up spend on a variety of cards.
You want to take out cash at ATM machines. With most credit cards, you will be charged for a cash advance if you take out money at an ATM. And, with most ATM cards, you will be charged a foreign transaction fee for withdrawing money outside of the United States. The American Express Prepaid card simply charges a flat $2 fee after the first withdrawal each month. Of course, the ATM owner may (and usually will) impose a fee as well. One great thing about using the American Express Prepaid card is that you will have earned points on your credit card for loading it (because you used your credit card to buy Vanilla Reload cards).
If either of the reasons given above appeal to you, then do the following before your trip:
- Use your credit card of choice to buy Vanilla Reload cards at Office Depot (or elsewhere if you can find them).
- Use the Vanilla Reload cards to load money onto your American Express Prepaid card(s).
Reader Experiences
Have you used the Amex Prepaid card outside of the United States? What has your experience been? Has it been widely accepted? Have you had success in using it at ATMs?
Related Posts and Links
- One card to rule them all
- American Express Prepaid Card FAQ
- Where to buy Vanilla Reload Cards
- Order the American Express® Prepaid Card for free (affiliate link)
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[…] Amex Prepaid cards for foreign travel […]
Tried to use Amex prepaid card in an ATM in Canada; it didn’t work.
Just got back from a Baltic cruise, with train rides before, after and during. Had mixed results using the Amex prepaid card. The first problem, as noted by Daniel P., is that a great many places in europe don’t accept American Express. Visa is always accepted, and I wish I had bought a Visa prepaid as a backup. The second problem is absence of a chip on the Amex cards. Even though you have a pin number, the chip seems to be required in many ATMs and/or train kiosks.
Overall, I was successful in using the Amex prepaid card just under half of the time, sometimes by going to the human being at the ticket window as opposed to the kiosk. Could often use my (chipless) bank VISA debit card in about another third of the cases.
My bottom line: If you want a hassle-free experience, definitely get a card with a chip (and a pin number) before going to Europe. I didn’t have one, and while that wasn’t disastrous, it was a nuisance.
Interestingly enough I couldn’t use the card to pay my express way tolls in Japan yesterday.
I could not use the initial Prepaid Amex in Italy. This was the initial card you buy from OD, not the permanent card you get in mail and reload. After I couldn’t use it oversees, I didn’t buy the permanent card.
I can confirm that the card works for fee-free ATM withdraws at Japan Post ATMs.
This is possibly the most amazing card ever!
@bexho2000, I swung by the Ridgedale OD on Sunday and they were also out. Did you call the downtown one to check? It surprises me that they’re all out of stock. Obviously the product is moving well.
@Grant Thomas – Thanks! Called and found the last 2 in Coon Rapids…that store is out too! The only one left is the OD in downtown MLPS.
Used the ATMs in Stockholm and Copenhagen. Didn’t work on the machines in airport but worked on the ones in train stations, which had Amex sign displayed on the machine. One thing to watch out is that some hotels will put a hold of certain $ amount on your card and you won’t have access to it when u need it. Think the funds can take up to 8 days to get released. We had to use a third card because we only loaded ~ $1k on the 1st 2 cards.
Indeed, Allpoint is not always free. I used their website to search for local locations and Target was listed. Since Target offers its own prepaid Amex product, I thought my odds of no fees was good. Machine was labeled Allpoint, but I was still charged $3.
@ Bikeguy
That is not true. It is only surcharge free if the bank associated to the card belong in the Allpoints network. This amex card does not, therefore the amex prepaid cannot be used to withdraw money for free using allpoint atms.
Allpoint is indeed surcharge free. And they have 43,000 machines worldwide.
http://www.allpointnetwork.com/
Mariana – I tried using the Amex Prepaid at ATMs in Vietnam with no success. Very few ATMs in southeast Asia take American Express. Plus, keep in mind that you can only take out $400/day.
I tried using my AMEX prepaid at an ATM on a recent trip. In australia, I was able to withdraw money fine. but in Bali, I tried several ATMs and could never get it to work. I might’ve been messing up the PIN, but I also tried multiple PINs and never got it to work.
@ Chris,
Allpoint ATMs claim to be surcharge free, but when used, they still add the $3 convenience fee, so not technically free.
I am still trying to find any local surcharge free atms and have been unsuccessful so far.