"cash Passport" From Travelex

[GungaDin]

Local coach driver was telling me about this card last night, he uses the card in Thailand every trip & regards it as safer than a credit or debit card for withdrawal of cash only.

Q: Which card should I take?

A: Take the EUR card to European countries, the GBP card to Great Britain and the USD card to the US. To other countries we recommend the AUD card.

He gives one to his TGF........

http://www.cashpassport.com.au/faqs.html

Any experiences from members?

[endure]

The Post Office and Tesco do similar cards in the UK

[ClaytonSeymour]

The FairFX currency card is worth checking out too. It seems to come out tops in most of the reviews.

http://www.fairfx.com/

[GungaDin]

No users?

[harrry]

You may want to check out

http://www.commbank.com.au/personal/apply-...ntsOverseas.pdf

if you have a CBA netbank account and buy the card on it you can reload through netbank which can be useful.

In general I am not sure if you will save anything as compared to using a cirris enabled debit card to your normal account.

[0Mix1up]

they have the poorest exchange rate of any

they sometime will not tranfer the money quickly and it will be frozen over the week end

using them costs more or the same as western u

im trying to find a resonable deal but as yet

i only find thieves and lousy business practices

DONT BOTHER WITH Travelex Cash Passport

[Tolley]

You may want to check out

http://www.commbank.com.au/personal/apply-...ntsOverseas.pdf

if you have a CBA netbank account and buy the card on it you can reload through netbank which can be useful.

In general I am not sure if you will save anything as compared to using a cirris enabled debit card to your normal account.

I have a Commonwealth travellers cash card but the problem with it is that you pay a foreign currency convresion fee and an ATM fee so in actual fact it is cheaper just to use your keycard.

The only real benefit is if you have a wife or girlfriend and you want to top up the account via the internet when you are in Australia or elsewhere and she is in Thailand.

The absolute cheapest and best deal is the Wizard Mastercard which has no ATM fees and no foreign currnecy conversion fees but this is a credit card.

[harrry]

The only real benefit is if you have a wife or girlfriend and you want to top up the account via the internet when you are in Australia or elsewhere and she is in Thailand.

The absolute cheapest and best deal is the Wizard Mastercard which has no ATM fees and no foreign currnecy conversion fees but this is a credit card.

If you buy the card through your Commonwealth bank netbank (not at the branch) you are able to top up using billpay on netbank.

Same thing applies to the card ANZ sell but I believe that is not available in AU so would be a double conversion fee.

[GungaDin]

The only real benefit is if you have a wife or girlfriend and you want to top up the account via the internet when you are in Australia or elsewhere and she is in Thailand.

I think that is a major reason Gazza (coach driver) likes the card.

[Tolley]

It would be easier to just have a commonwealth bank account in your name of course and give the card to you wife/girlfriend and do internet transfers to top it up.....less charges and just as convenient

[GungaDin]

they have the poorest exchange rate of any

they sometime will not tranfer the money quickly and it will be frozen over the week end

using them costs more or the same as western u

im trying to find a resonable deal but as yet

i only find thieves and lousy business practices

DONT BOTHER WITH Travelex Cash Passport

I'm sure we'd all like to see some evidence.

Can do?

cheers

[egg]

No users?

Yeah ,, l used it ,,,but looking at Western Union prices and exchange rates now ,,, cashpassport works out a bit more expensive,, dunno about other cards though ,,,

cheers

egg

[Farma]

I’ve heard very good reports from people with the wizard card.

The commonwealth bank card account idea is a good one too. I know a few people using this method. I’d recommend not linking it to your other accounts, if she loses the card and reports it, all linked accounts will be frozen. It also prevents her cleaning out your other accounts if you have a falling out.

[Tolley]

I’ve heard very good reports from people with the wizard card.

The commonwealth bank card account idea is a good one too. I know a few people using this method. I’d recommend not linking it to your other accounts, if she loses the card and reports it, all linked accounts will be frozen. It also prevents her cleaning out your other accounts if you have a falling out.

Yes that is the way to do it...no link to other accounts and a balance only as much as you want to send.

I did a lot of research and the Wizard Mastercard is the cheapest and best method to access your funds overseas.

[tw25rw]

Travelex always have bad rates. They're as bad as Western Union. There are other prepaid cards around.

[DizzyLizzy544554]

Be very wary of Travelex cashcards.

I was traveling to Malaysia to make a big purchase and transferred funds to the Travelex card five business days beforehand so the funds would be there (their website says two days processing). When I got to Malaysia the funds werent on the account so I had to use my visa card. Not happy. When I got back on May 17 I submitted a form to Travelex to get my money refunded. After a week the money still wasnt in my account so I rang the bank. After a few days of phone calls they told me that Travelex had lost the form. I sent another form on June 3 and the bank called Travelex and asked for urgent processing as by now I was incurring hefty interest fees on my visa account. It is now 10 June and my money has still not been refunded.

Also, when I tried to use the card overseas it wasnt accepted at a lot of places as it doesn't have the security chip all the new credit cards have.

Due to the extremely slow (archaic) processing of Travelex I have now incurred hundreds of dollars of fees on my visa and I STILL havent received my money back from Travelex. I also couldnt use it overseas in a lot of places. I would never again waste my time or money with a Traveles cashcard.

[RCR]

Be very wary of Travelex cashcards.

I was traveling to Malaysia to make a big purchase and transferred funds to the Travelex card five business days beforehand so the funds would be there (their website says two days processing). When I got to Malaysia the funds werent on the account so I had to use my visa card. Not happy. When I got back on May 17 I submitted a form to Travelex to get my money refunded. After a week the money still wasnt in my account so I rang the bank. After a few days of phone calls they told me that Travelex had lost the form. I sent another form on June 3 and the bank called Travelex and asked for urgent processing as by now I was incurring hefty interest fees on my visa account. It is now 10 June and my money has still not been refunded.

Also, when I tried to use the card overseas it wasnt accepted at a lot of places as it doesn't have the security chip all the new credit cards have.

Due to the extremely slow (archaic) processing of Travelex I have now incurred hundreds of dollars of fees on my visa and I STILL havent received my money back from Travelex. I also couldnt use it overseas in a lot of places. I would never again waste my time or money with a Traveles cashcard.

DizzyLizzy - I think you are talking about another Travelex product. I opted to stay with the basic ATM card and not upgrade to the VISA/EFTPOS card.

We're resurrecting a 2008 thread here. However, folks are always asking how to handle money when visiting Thailand. So, in defence of the Cash Passport card -

I've used an Australian Travelex Cash Passport card since late 2005. I think that's when they first started. I've always been very happy with the service. The fees are high, but you pay for the convenience. (They had a special deal last Christmas, waiving the 1% reload fee).

The good things:

- They seem to work in any Thai ATM with the visa symbol.

- You get two cards, Store them separately. If one goes walkabout, just use the other.

- They aren't tied to any bank. If one gets lost or stolen, you don't need to do the police report/bank report dance. Just change the PIN online and use your backup card.

- My account has functioned perfectly with no stuff-ups for over four years.

The bad things:

- The Travelex website looks really clunky and cheap.

- The new method of reloading is a bugger. It now requires going to their website and applying for a unique biller code and reference number. Then going to your own online bank and bpaying to Travelex using that data.

- Reloads take two business days.

I've been with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and ANZ Bank for over 30 years and have several accounts with them. I checked their versions of the Travel Card. They looked too complicated and had fees just as high. Also, because their cards are linked to the bank, if your card gets lost/stolen, you have the police report/bank report hassle.

For anyone who makes frequent trips to Thailand and is wondering about whether to take cash/Travelers Cheques/ATM cards/visa cards - the Cash Passport card is something to consider.