Travelex cash passport

[daffodiliaz]

Anyone have any experience using the Travelex cash passport prepaid currency card? The chip and pin version is a Mastercard. Is Mastercard as widely accepted as Visa? It seems like a safe way to travel overseas since it's not linked to a bank or credit card. I would prefer to leave my personal cc in ship safe.

 

The card fee (issuing fee?) apparently varies by location. If anyone's used it, do you recall what that fee was?

 

http://www.cashpassport.com/

[hkto]

I don't see any advantage in it vs regular credit card. Travellex will charge F/X fees when card is loaded and some other fees when used or terminated. I understand that Capital One cards issued in the US (but not in Canada) don't carry F/X fees and basic ones (with any rewards) are issued for free.

[riffatsea]

Mastercard is used all over Europe BUT Travelex gives the worst exchange rates I've ever seen!! Even my own bank, Wells Fargo , gives a better exchange rate and also has a special travel card you can load.

I'd shop around before I buy anything from Travelex!!

[Hlitner]

Travelex involves fees and a less than acceptable exchange rate. For travel most will do much better simply using their regular ATM/Debit card (have a 4 digit numerical PIN and notify your issuing bank before your trip). As to credit cards, IMHO the best card for Americans who travel internationally is the Master Card issued by CapitalOne. This is a no fee Master Card which is currently about the only US issued card that charges no foreign exchange fees as opposed to most other credit cards that charge anywhere from 2.5 % to more then 4%.

 

Hank

[hubofhockey]

If you don't want another bank debit or credit card (like Capital One), a great alternative is the PayPal debit card. If you already have a PayPal account like most people do, there is nothing to it. The only charge is a $1 fee at ATMs. You get the official exchange rates with no juice. It is also easy to move money from your bank to PayPal and can be done online. We did it on the ship last summer and it took only three business days.

 

Edit - oops, PayPal does charge a 1% fee in addition to the $1 in ATMs outside the US.

[riffatsea]

Ljberkow, I didn't realize that having a Pay Pal account was something that most people did?? Why?

My husband uses it to pay on E-bay but why else would one have that sort of account?

[daffodiliaz]

I don't see any advantage in it vs regular credit card. Travellex will charge F/X fees when card is loaded and some other fees when used or terminated. I understand that Capital One cards issued in the US (but not in Canada) don't carry F/X fees and basic ones (with any rewards) are issued for free.

 

I guess to me it just sounds safer than carrying a regular credit or bank card. If it's stolen, the funds can be replaced, but if my one credit card is stolen on this trip, that could be a problem. I'll probably just use cash and not carry too much on my person. And it will lessen the credit card bill I'll come home to.

 

Thanks everyone for your input.

[Hlitner]

Ljberkow, I didn't realize that having a Pay Pal account was something that most people did?? Why?

My husband uses it to pay on E-bay but why else would one have that sort of account?

 

PayPal actually has some very good options when it comes to foreign transactions. Besides their ATM card (already mentioned) we have often used PayPal when we need to move a large sum of money from the US to somebody in Europe. For example, when we rent an apartment in Europe the owner will usually want a hefty deposit in advance and it must be paid in Euros. The two options are usually to do a bank transfer (quite expensive and often difficult if you need to put a specific amount of Euros in an account), or one can simply use Paypal, go online, just indicate the amount you want to go to somebody in nearly any type of currency (such as Euros) and the transaction is done in seconds. Although there are fees with Paypal, we find its cheaper then messing with bank transfers and much easier.

 

Hank

[MAHA]

Everyone mentions the Master CArd by Capital One, but do their Visa cards work the same with no foreign tranaction fees for charges in Europe?

Mary Anne