Visa gift card not usable outside US. Alternatives?
 

My daughter is going to Thailand over Christmas, and my "brilliant" idea was to give her a Visa gift card to use for some nice kind of treat while she was travelling. Then I read the small print on the card -- it's only valid with US merchants. I could give her cash, but that seems a bit of a copout. Is there a card I can buy in the US that can be used outside the US?

There are pre-loaded travel cash cards that you can get. I don't know the details, but from what I understand, they are a pretty expensive way to carry cash - pretty heavy on the fees. If it was me, I'd just give her cash or give her a check to deposit into her own account so that she can then get cash from an ATM in Thailand.

capitalone.com best no fee Visa CC I use taken

widely I getdouble miles on everything.

The exchange rate is excellent.

Visa many others have preloadedtravel debit cards

but you have 100% of the risk if stolen.

No liability with CC I always go for that

Avoid the currency cards like Travelex terrible exchange rate.

Good luck!

Offering the security of traveler's checks along with the convenience of a Visa debit card is what you receive when using the Visa Travel Money card. This can be used ...

usa.visa.com/personal/cards/prepaid/visa_travel_money.html

I assume she has a checking account that has an ATM card that she's planning to use for cash while she's there. Just give her cash/a check to deposit into that account.

If she has a credit card that she's going to use, offer to pay $X towards that credit card for travel gifts/expenses.

Yes, Thomas Cook sells pre-loaded cards from which you can withdraw local currency. But the exchange rate is lousy. I'd give her the cash.

It's not glamorous, but that's the best answer. Give her the cash to put into her account (that hopefully she has an ATM card she'll be using to withdraw funds on her trip).

Any kind of preloaded temporary gift card I've ever heard of has extra fees (to open, to close, to use, bad exchange rates, etc.).

Thanks for the suggestions.

In the end, I decided to get her Thai bhat so she has currency on landing and doesn't have to worry about ATMs with big-time jet lag!