Is the easyJet Euro Currency Card worth a look?

I wrote a long piece last week about the avios.com and British Airways ‘cash passport’ products. These are reloadable cards which can be used instead of credit cards for making payments abroad. I wasn’t impressed.

Two people have asked me about the new easyJet Euro Currency Card, and whether this is worth a look.

The home page for the easyJet Euro Currency Card is here.

The good news, I suppose, is that the card is not orange! The issuer is R Raphael, who also run the avios.com and BA cash passport cards.

This card is impressively free of fees. There is no transaction fee (as long as you buy items priced in Euros) and there is NO CHARGE for topping up the card using your debit card. (This compares to the 2% fee on the Avios cards.) You can also use a credit card, although there is a 2.5% fee – it is not clear if it would go through as a purchase or a cash advance.

There is also no fee for using the card at an ATM in Europe, although the bank you use may impose its own charge.

As the card is fee free, the only item to look at is the exchange rate. Putting in a test order, it showed a rate of £1 = Euro 1.1272. The spot rate was Euro 1.1567. This means that the spread is 2.3% – surprisingly decent.

However, looking at the same time at the American Express travelmoneynow website, they offered a rate of Euro 1.137 for a pre-ordered transaction, collected at the airport. Not only is this a better rate, but the transaction would be treated as a purchase if charged to an Amex-issued American Express card.

Now, of course, you may not want to carry cash around. However, pre-ordering cash from Amex will get your more for your money than getting an easyJet Euro Currency Card. You also have the issues around emptying out the easyJet card after your holiday.

Compared to using a miles and points credit card, the easyJet card is better value. All miles and points card charge a 2.75%-2.99% spread compared to 2.3% on this card. However, once you factor in the value of the miles and points you would also earn on the transaction, using a normal credit card would be a better deal.

If you really must have a prepaid currency card – perhaps to give to a young person who cannot get a credit or debit card – then this product does offer decent value for money. For the rest of us, though, I still don’t see the point.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2025 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review