Ryanair and Easyjet charged a fee to book the flight by Debit Card / Credit Card.
With Ryanair, you are charged £5 each direction for each passenger; i.e.
if you booked a flight for two passengers from Luton to Bergamo return, the fees would be £20.
If you paid by Electron Card, there were no charges from EasyJet or Ryanair.

Since the 1st January 2010, Ryanair now charge if you use an Electron Card to pay the flights. I understand that this has been due to so many people getting an Electron Card to avoid the fees and obvioulsy Ryanair loosing profit as a result.
However, Ryanair in order to advertise cheap flights must offer a method of payment of the cheap advertised flight. They are therefore offering payment using a PrePaid MasterCard.
Basically you obtain a card from a company and you top it up with money and then you use it exactly like a Chip and Pin Debit/Credit Card.

There appear to be a load on the market with lots of permutations for commission payable either on purchase of item; withdrawl of cash; top up etc etc.
http://www.what-prepaid-card.co.uk/f...s-prepaid.html

Initially these cards appear to have been brought out for poor people and those that cannot manage there money (i.e. would spend more than they have on the credit card) as the Electron Card did.

I actually like the idea of toping them up with cash at banks and Post Offices because I like to avoid traceablity.

I have also found this one which seems really good; though you have to upload it through a bank or credit card/debit card in the users name.
http://www.fairfx.com/
The real advanatage is that you can get it in Euros (or Dollars) which menas when you buy things abroad, you don't get stung by the currency charges the card operators charge.
There has to be a downfall somewhere with this card but unfortuantely I can't find it; or do you think it will be on the currency exchange when you top it up?

My other question is; do they have such cards in Switzerland and if so are they any good and where do you get them from?

Well, I am now having the same issue as well, trying to decide between Prepaid or normal credit card. As I said in my other threads here, the only thing that I don't like about Prepaid is one has to upload cash first then only can pay using them (am I correct?...that's what Prepaid is for...). And each upload costs a certain percent commision. And I need to have the money in the card first only can buy. It means I have to prepare, let's say, 500 CHF in the card, just in case I need to but a flight suddenly to use them immediately. I don't intend to take credit, I would pay instantly the next day, but I reckon it's still not the way a Prepaid works right?

Else for Prepaid I reckon the choices are either Migros Master Card or SBB Visa. Maybe there are others as well like Cornercard, but as I am not sure whether I would like to stuck my cash in a card (and I don't know how much it would charge if I need to cancel the card and withdraw it one day - SBB charges 20 CHF I think...), I think I will try to get a normal credit card, albeit it may be hard and I need to wait long and pray...

Well, it may not answer what you asked actually. Sofar I realised only Ryanair (I may wrong) that requires Mastercard Prepaid for free payment, other airlines like Easyjet and Airlingus require Visa Electron for free payment which is too bad not available in CH; so it doesn't really matter much for me whether Prepaid or not as I don't fly Ryanair so often.

Hope to hear what other think though...Thanks.