Travelex Cash Passport Card

The only downside is the exchange rate you'll get when you buy the Cash Passport card. For example, this morning the euro is around $1.35 and per their website Travelex is charging $1.44. That is how Travelex makes its money. Of course, if the euro goes up after you've bought your card it's nothing but gravy for you.

" I've never heard this mentioned on this forum." Travelex gets discussed periodically. Do a search. I can't believe Kiplilngers would recommend them. They've gone down in my estimation. 1.44 (vs 1.35) is still a 6.66% exchange rate; that's good for them; last time I checked their rate the were about 7½% My local bank only charges me 1% (plus a non-system bank charge, just like in this country, of $2, or 1.4% on $500.

It is all in the exchange rate and the fine print. Right now I cannot find the fine print. If you purchase the card today you will pay a mark up of 6.6% plus any other fees that could be charged to set up the account or to use ATMs, etc. That would be in the fine print that I cannot find. Second, when the trip is over you may have left over funds. I will bet that the buy back also has a 6% fee. Since the highest currency conversion fees I have see is s3%, how is a 6.6% fee an improvement. Find a credit union or a bank that charges min or no fees. Edit -- Continuing to play around with the site. There is a $10 fee for home delivery. But they will buy back at no charge.

AHH I wondered what the catch was. Of course if it goes down, you've lost more money.
Christine

You can bet the hairs on your head that if its Travelex (or any Forex company) they will make their wodge somewhere, and a pretty big wodge it will be, I'll bet.

Is the travelex card a chip & pin card? If so, that's the only reason it might be worth it to put a modest amount of money on one. I could see using it just in the automated ticket machines where my U.S.-based card wouldn't work. But I'd do it for convenience only. It obviously makes no sense to pay a higher rate than that charged by U.S. banks. It is an extravagance, but sometimes, on vacation, an extravagance is worth the cost.

Yes, the travelex cash passport is a chip and pin card, they actually give you two, one is a backup incase the first one is lost. I got one just for train travel in Italy plus a little extra for shopping for little things, mostly for convenience. In general I will use my ATM cards with accounts at a credit union and capital one, so no fees there. When I was in Austria a few years ago a couple times I had to run off to an ATM for extra cash because my US Visa card wouldn't work because it wasn't chip & pin.

Check the Travelex fees and limits page: http://www.us.travelex.com/US/For-Individuals/Cash-Passport/Fees-and-Limits/ The free ATM withdrawal is only at Travelex ATMs, else it is £1.25 or €1.75. I calculated today's markup on the euro 8.1%. $10 delivery adds another 1% to a $1000 purchase. I am not going to find anything better than the 0% markup on my Capital One card and the 0% markup with no withdrawal fees on my regular ATM card.

Thanks. I figured there was a catch. I'm wondering if I should write a letter to Kiplingers. I can't believe they recommended this!! Christine