Hassle free virtual debit card (Entropay.com)

Member Name: mrjoegoodwin

Product:	Entropay.com
Date:	15/06/09 (75 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Avoid Ryanair card fees, quick and easy to use, good customer service

Disadvantages: 4.95% fee

If you ever use Ryanair to book cheap flights, Entropay is a website well worth paying a visit to.

A recent £1 each way deal for me to travel between Manchester and Dublin ended up costing over £50 once I paid Ryanair for the privilege of using my regular Visa Delta debit card (the same fees apply for credit cards, Maestro, Switch etc). The only card that allows you to pay no fees when booking a flight is the Visa Electron card, which is not as frequently distributed by banks and building societies as other card types. What to do? Some banks (Halifax) can issue a Visa Electron card with some accounts, other customers may get one automatically depending on their profile. For anybody else, it seems a bit steep to find such a good flight deal and then have to pay extortionate card fees on top, rendering your 'bargain' far less appealing!

Entropay is...the answers to your prayers! Entropay is a 'virtual' debit card, working in a similar way to sites like PayPal. You top up your Entropay account with money from your bank account, and they provide you with a virtual debit card to use anywhere online. And the best thing about it? Ryanair recognises the Entropay virtual card as a Visa Electron card! So, top up your account with sufficient funds, and those £1 flights can go from a dream to a reality.

Things to take note of: Entropay will charge you a handling fee of 4.95% when you add funds to your account. Not a massive amount, but worth bearing in mind - you may need to add slightly more funds to your account than you planned in order to cover the handling costs.

Using Entropay, I was able to fly from Manchester to Dusseldorf (well, a small airport on the outskirts - typical Ryanair!) for £1 each way, paying no card handling fees and maximising the bargain factor of my holiday!

Entropay can be used elsewhere online, but for travelling on a budget using Ireland's favourite airline, it's an essential bookmark for your internet browser.

Summary: Essential if you use Ryanair