I’m new to Mondo (just got access today) so if this question has been asked, apologies and if someone could point me to the right direction.
I’m taking a trip to the US soon and want to see basically how Mondo plays up there. My debit and credit card charge heavily for international use, especially in the US. My wife has a bank-card with Norwich and Peterborough building society which seem like the only bank that “doesn’t” charge for international use; for example, it’s like she’s just using the card in the UK - you don’t get charged for that.
How does Mondo fare up with that? I see on the website that it’s showing there’s no charge from Mondo but there is the standard MasterCard charge? Is that how it works with all cards? So technically, my wife on MasterCard would be charged internationally?
I basically want to use Mondo as much as I can there, as a real-world test, but I just need to understand the rates here, going forward. Any help would be much appreciated.
Hi Amit! With your Mondo card you will indeed get the MasterCard rate, with no fees. Traditional banks usually charge a fee, and overheads built into the bad exchange rate they give you. I don’t believe there’s a place where you can check the MasterCard exchange rate before you make a transaction, however lots of users have reported that it’s a super good rate. I’ve personally found that it’s similar to the rate you would get if you Googled a currency conversion. You can also find historical MasterCard exchange rates here!
Ah james - thanks so much for the response and that’s just perfect. Honestly really convenient and I’m happy to finally be part of the Mondo community! I can’t wait to try it out. Thanks again for the prompt response
Hi Amit, Welcome! I used Mondo card in Portugal. The ATMs and merchants may give you an option of charging your card in GBP. Just decline it. You will get the worst rates. Choose the option of charging in local currency. Some interesting discussion here: Transactions abroad or in a foreign currency
Also, please carry a backup card as a precaution. Some small retailers may not accept pre-paid cards. Very rare but possible.
Hi Amol, many thanks for the reply here and the link. It’s so good to hear you’ve used this abroad in Portugal because that’s something I want to do with this card - use it in many places. It’s also really great advice with the local rate. I used to have a Metro card (the Metro bank in the UK) which offered free transactions to the States, but they don’t anymore. In fact, only Norwich Building Society and Mondo are the remaining outfits which don’t charge internationally. It’s a fantastic service. I’ve set up my Mondo and I should be receiving it this weekend!
I have the Halifax Clarity credit card , but having to wait until next months statement was a bit of a pain, whereas Ive used the Mondo card a lot in Austria and the benefits of great exchange rates, instant notifications, and ability to check what amounts you are being charged in real time has relegated my Halifax card to being a back up card.
Thanks Dave and Lansilversides - this is super helpful. Honestly, this sounds incredible and because I have a trip later this year for a month abroad, this would be really useful because I was fearful of paying through my nose for the fees with Barclays. This is honestly really helpful - thanks so much everyone! I can’t wait to get started.
Also Amit - Ive said it before on this forum - transactions are limited to £1000 / transaction - so if paying hotel bills you may have to do it in more than one transaction - also instant notifications are of course limited by internet connection.
Instant top ups are also a great benefit that you don’t have to have vast amounts available on your card throughout your holiday /trip only when required for large bills - I topped up for my hotel bill about 1 minute before paying it - a great comfort re security
That’s just such a great feature. And really good to know about the £1000 limit per transaction. I’m happy that my hotel on this occasion is already paid, but the “tax” at the end of the trip, or the car rental are definitely things I’m going to be trying this out with. I’m also going to try it out with general shopping, meals, etc. I’ll of course have a backup card, but the instant notifications are quite incredible. I just heard the podcast from Tom: https://blog.reevoo.com/tom-blomfield-ceo-mondo/ and I just cannot wait to use this. It looks like it’s going to be a major part of my payment program.
That is actually really interesting Dunsford. In fact, I was just asking Amazon on Twitter about this the other day - could I order from Amazon US with a UK address and credit card, etc. So to do this, would I just add in the Mondo card details to my Amazon UK account and perhaps, put the address of my hotel for shipment?
All I did was change my Amazon payment details to my Mondo card - for me the delivery address stayed the same. I’ll see if I can get you a screen shot later.
i just got back from vegas, the mondo card was great and 2 days ago offered me a $1.46/£1 exchange rate.
The negatives:
can only withdraw £250 every 24hours
in America they swipe your card for authorisation - a couple of times i got pre authorised twice and the money still has not got back to me for the second authorisation. So beware on budgeting.
Jack that’s absolutely fantastic. I am in fact off to Vegas itself in 2 weeks and me getting the card (which I just received today) was for use in Vegas. That’s very interesting about the swiping for authorisation and good to know that you didn’t get it back yet, for budgeting purposes that’s extremely helpful. The rate is also spot on. Thanks Jack - great advice.
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