Travelex Cash Passport ... Buyers Remorse...?

Relax. Travelex is a global well-known London-based company. Your money is safe & you shouldn't have any trouble withdrawing cash at European ATM's.

If your Travelex card is pre-loaded with euros, you'll be ahead of the game if the euro's value increases between now and September.

The debates you'll read on this message board about ATM/debit cards invariably are about fees, not about the reliability or trustworthiness of one card company vs another.

Thank you!

Per Tom's assurances, yes, Travelex is a reputable company, if overcharging is reputable.

Every prepaid card I have ever seen has been a ripoff, with excessive currency conversion rates.

The best way to get foreign currency in Europe is to use your ATM card. Although some major US banks will charge you too much for currency conversion, the Network that handles these transactions is very reputable.

As for concerns about losing cash, remember, if you lose cash, you can always get more with an ATM card. If you lose the card, you'll be in far more trouble. And what if you lose your Travelex card?

If the card is lost, it can be replaced within 24 hours delivered either to the person or a bank...the person's choice. There is also an option to have cash in hand within 20 minutes (account must be verified as well as all transactions that have been made to get the current balance on the card).

As far as a bad exchange rate, I got our prepaid card last month when rates were at their lowest and the exchange rate I received (approximately 5 cents over that days rate) is lower than what the current rate is now. I was not charged a loading fee or any other "junk" fee.

Lee,

I also don't understand your argument about "if you lose cash, you can always get more with an ATM card but what do you do if you lost a Travelex card". Well, what do you if you lose your ATM card? It's hard to get cash in that situation too. I'm just trying to understand what you mean.

One thing you can do to protect yourself against a lost card is to get a second card attached to the same account. If one of your cards is lost, Travelex (and I'm sure other companies too) has the ability to block just the missing card.

Kari, imagine being in Europe, thousands of miles from home, having to make long distance calls, trying to get new cards. Compare that with just losing cash and still having the ability to get more. And if you carry your cash in the same place, and lose them both, then you have no cash and no way to get any more.

The point is, you absolutely have to protect both your cash, and your cards. But if you lose one, you're better off losing the cash. It will cost you more, but it will be a lot less hassle.

I wasn't comparing an ATM card to a Travelex card, I was comparing cash to a card, any card.

However, your argument of paying less because the rates went up is more an argument for currency speculation. You were lucky. Think of how much more you would have lost if the rates had continued to go down, on top of a bad conversion rate to load the Travelex card. BTW, I use an ATM card with limited withdrawals (I've never reached it) at 0% conversion rate.

I just used the Travelex site. They quoted me $499.52 for a card loaded with €360.35. (I used ~$500 because that's the $ equivalent of my usual withdrawal). With my bank, I would get €396.97 (per Oanda). That's almost €37 more every withdrawal.

One thing that bothers me about these kinds of discussion is that the focus is on the negative side and can be very scary to new travelers. Unless you are unusually careless by carrying everything in the same place the probability of losing all your cards and money is very remote. A few people may lose some money, maybe a card to two, but most will have no problems. With a little precaution, multi-cards, cross carry, money belts, etc., you will have reduced your probability of loosing everything to near zero.

You have the Travelex card. Live with it. Probably too late to do anything different so chalk it up to a life experience. Probably not the best decision but we all have made poor decisions along the way. I would still carry a debit card as backup in the event, for some reason, the Travelex card doesn't work as advertised.

Come have coffee with us next Saturday (17th) and we will try to put you mind at easy. You are not headed into a den of thieves and you will not have any major problems.

Frank, Tom, Kari,
Thanks for the words... All we'll be doing is using it to withdraw money, and in my past travels to Europe when using a credit card I was hit with fees as well, so as you said, this can be a learning experience. After reading all the responses, I feel we'll be fine using the card merely to withdraw cash from ATM's, not using it for purchases or restaurants where more fees could come. Thanks all.

I'm okay with our decision to use the Travelex card. I did my research, watched the exchange rates, checked currency forecasts, and crunched the numbers. I didn't just get "lucky". No, I would not use this card for every trip. It would depend on the situation....just like it did this time.

Regarding the $90 we "lost", we'd most likely lose more if we wait to use our ATM cards in Europe. In today's market, I don't consider this lost money.

Our bank charges 3% plus $3 per ATM transaction with a $500 per day limit. Travelex charges 1.75 euro per withdrawl with a $1000 per day limit. In our case, I come out ahead with Travelex.

My husband and I each have a Travelex card just like we would each have a debit card (which will be our back up card for our trip).

I'm not really worried about theft. We have our money belts and know not to put everything in one pocket or purse. We know to keep our passports, credit cards, and the majority of our cash in our money belts. I've done everything I can to prevent anything from being stolen but if something happens, I'll be prepared to deal with it.

Differing opinions and advice are what this board is all about. However, everyone should be treated respectfully. Just because I'm a novice to European travel doesn't mean I'm dumb. Because my thought processes came out to a different conclusion than yours, doesn't mean either of us is wrong. What works for one person may not work for another. Maybe this Travelex card will indeed prove to be a mistake...time will tell and I will learn from it.

Do I hope to change anyone's mind about Travelex? No but I do hope I made the original poster feel better and not worse about her decision.

Frank - Thanks so much for the invitation! I can't make it this month because we're celebrating my dad's 80th birthday. I'll try to be there next month though.

Kari, BTW, check out 1st Bank of Colorado. They charge 1% over the Interbank rate plus $2 for an out-of-system fee. So for $500, that's 1.4%. I've used them at ATMs six times in Germany/Austria.

I'm back from a 4th trip using the ATM card for my Capital One Direct Banking money market fund.

No fee from Capital One, and no fee from the European banks.

The rate used on each withdrawal is so close to what a Google search says the exchange rate was that I wonder if Cap One is not passing on any interbank fee, like the Cap One credit card doesn't pass one any fee for foreign transactions.

I used a prepaid card for my first trip ever to Europe, but the Cap One ATM and credit card are my plastic of choice, now!

I used the Mastercard equivalent of the Travelex Cash Passport on my recent trip to China. I carried the primary card in my wallet and the secondary card in a 'safe place' elsewhere.

The biggest advantage was the peace of mind - knowing that I was not carrying any information linked to my bank accounts and credit cards (both of which are joint accounts with my hubby). Had my wallet been stolen, I only had one card to cancel.

Although the exchange rates aren't great, I viewed it as cheap insurance for my / our finances.

Hello, We are going to europe this June and have looked into the Travelex card also for $2500. How did it work out for you? I like the idea of having all that cash on a debit card without carrying cash.
Did hotels take it? Thanks, Hope you had a great trip

Janet, read the small print. Last times I checked, Travelex was getting 7½% for currency exchange vs 3% for large banks, 1% for small banks and credit unions. Maybe they've reduced their "published fees", but I am sure they're still getting it somewhere. Betsey, Fees from European banks is a non-issue. In eleven and a half years of traveling in Europe, I have never once been charged a fee by a European bank's ATM. I understand that some non-bank ATMs charge fees, or some Travelex ATMs in London do, but I have never seen it.

The good news is the Chip & PIN feature may be of some benefit if you plan to purchase rail tickets from a machine in the station rather than stand in line. The bad news is that you have paid $300 to transfer your money from your bank account to a Travelex account. Today's XE rate is 1 Euro for 1.27 Dollars. The Travelex site charges you 1.38 Dollars per Euro. My advice is to use a debit card on your checking account to get a reasonable amount of cash from an ATM for minor purchases in cafes, convenience stores, tips, etc. and use a no-fee credit card for everything else. Even if you use a fee credit card, its cheaper than Travelex. Just don't use the credit card for a cash advance.
That'll make Travelex look like a charity,

This is a two year posting with much out of date information. This is an area where fees and policies are rapidly changing. State a new question instead of hijacking an out of date thread.

@Frank, I think it is better to retain an old thread bumping it than creating the same threads all over again (how many threads about "are there kettles in Italy's B&Bs?" we've got?) ========================= I think people should have a Cash Passport as a matter of convenience, at least. You don't need to have it loaded with lots of money, but having one such card ready is a 2nd, or 3rd option to have funds wired to you in Europe should something happen while you are on the road. Unfortunately, the conversion rates for Euros in US for Travelex are not that great, but I still think it is worth to have US$ 400-500 loaded on a pre-paid rechargeable card, only in the even you need a replacement quick and fast.

I agree with Frank here. Too many people will start reading the answers, not noticing the date, never getting to the bottom, and go away with bad information. It's better to start a new thread.