written by chelynnah on 14/12/2015
I'm in the UK and instead of buying cash this time for our 2 week Florida trip we saw the Travelex Multi-Currency Cash Passport and thought it would be a good idea, as I often visit 'home to Canada (with short trips into the US as my family lives on the border) and we sometimes make short trips to Europe from here as well. It sounded like a great solution to having all these spare currencies floating around after trips. The online rate was better than the Post Office. No charges for purchases or withdrawals (aside from those charged by the ATM bank), no Non-sterling transaction fees etc, it seemed perfect. Then I read the reviews here and panicked. We'd already purchased it, so not much we could do but hold our breath and see how it panned out. We brought along some extra US cash to start which we already had left over from our last trip, and we could always use our credit cards or debit cards if necessary. We also had read that people had success with the company providing their finds locally through Western Union when stuck, so we figured we should be ok. I set up the online account, and iPhone app so we could keep track of the balance and no issues there, so fingers were crossed for the trip. Our original plan was to use it simply as a cash card, but I decided to test it out in all scenarios. Our first day there I used it as a charge card at a small kiosk in an outlet mall. I figured if we'd have trouble charging anywhere it would be something like that. Everything went through fine.. A couple of days later we hit up an ATM for cash, again, no trouble. Straight forward transaction, with a small charge being advised from the ATM provider before finalising. We made a couple of charges on it for some things we would have paid cash for when we got a bit low, and made 2-3 more ATM withdrawals through the trip. All with no hassle. Checking in on the app or in a browser were simple, and everything clearly recorded. We didn't top up the amount as we didn't need to any more, but if we had, the rate was still fair, and no charges for doing so with the multi-currency card. We were able to actually (including the ATM fees) use all the money we had loaded bar about 25 cents. I know they start charging if you don't use it for over a year, but they only charge while there's money on it, so worst case scenario, they can have that :). so in this instance it worked perfectly, and I have no reason to think it won't on further trips to the US. I plan to test it on my next trip 'home' to Canada early next year, but I'm not expecting any issues there. After some reviews, I'm a little more nervous about tripping it in Europe, but I'm thinking bigger countries should be ok, so if we cross to France I'm thinking we should be fine, but I will probably test it out taking 1/2 cash and half on the passport to be safe. However based on my recent experience had I not read any of the previous reviews on this site I wouldn't be concerned at all with it, was very pleased, and it really did make our trip a lot smoother not having to carry so much cash, or have to pay a Non-sterling transaction fee on every bank withdrawal as we have in the past when just drawing cash from our UK accounts So currently on our recent experience, the Travelex Multi-Currency Cash Passport gets 5/5 I hope every one else has this experience moving forward.
written by on 01/09/2013
Having now used this several times, loading online is simple and there are no charges for using in the USA. Service was simple and online system easy to use, All in all could not be happier, certainly recommend to anybody.
written by AKC66 on 14/04/2013
Simply cannot understand the poor reviews! Have just been on holiday to the USA for 16 days (five different cities) and the card has been accepted everywhere. Just to clarify the comment below - it is true that if you use the card in a restaurant then a conversion of 1.15 applies - however, in our case, this was only whilst the payment was pending. When it was posted on to the account it reverted back to the amount that we had paid. We did pay tips though as this is customary in the States and to be honest, they were far more pleasant, accomodating and worthy of tips, unlike some places in the UK! Would definitely use this card again.
written by ladyoflothlorien on 13/01/2013
I have used a Travelex Cash Passport Globe card in Viet Nam, Kefalonia, UK, Corfu, Croatia and Italy in the last year or so with no problems at all! Did a lot of research on line before deciding on this card and very pleased with low charges and good rate of exchange. Can load up to £750 by 'phoning them with larger amounts transferred by my bank. Have just checked all my recent transactions on line with no problems at all. Will be using it in USA later this month. Other reviewers detail a lot of problems - perhaps I'm just lucky!
written by on 29/09/2012
I have used the USD card in the States and it was great for saving my spending money, everytime the rate was good I loaded some money. By the time we were ready to go we had our spending money and the card worked perfect in shops restaurants and ATM's (there was no ATM fees from the card but we shopped around as the banks in the US charged different ATM Fees, Bank of America was the cheapest $2.95). It was easy to reload via internet banking and I was emailed a receipt to confirm the load. Last year we used the euro card in Zante no problems there either. I would definately recommend these cards. My brother lost his and they arranged a western union no fee and sent him a card to our hotel, you do not get that from your Bank.
written by RNMISRA on 02/07/2012
The card worked wonderfully until I lost it, after one call to Travelex they had all the money that had been on the card waiting at a local Western Union in Peru within 10 minutes.
written by on 30/05/2012
Before I went on holiday to South Africa got my sterling changed into Rands on the travelex card.During my trip of 3 weeks I never had any bother with using my card.I loved that I didn't have to carry around extra amounts of cash and the card was welcomed where ever I went. I can't understand the negative reviews this card is getting.I'm going back to South Africa and have already topped up my passport card knowing I can use it without any hassel. I wouldn't be without it.Had no problems with the card whatsoever.I recommended this card to my son for his holiday in Canada he said it was great he had no problems with it and would use it again.So in my eyes it's a great way to take foreign currency.Well done to Travelex.I have never had any problems online either as everything is upfront about your spending so for me I will always use this card for travel.
written by on 22/05/2012
I really love this prepaid currency card. It's a Travelex Cash Passport card which I got from the local Tesco store and it didn't cost me a thing. Filled it up with Euros to the equivalent of £800 at a rate of exchange which as far as I could see was the best rate going that day. The lady topped it up without any fuss, with no commission charge, and with no hassle whatsoever. When I got home, I went to the home page, typed in some digits from the card, typed in a username and a password and there was my balance. Three days later I was on holiday in Benidorm, eager to try out the card. The first day I used it in a petrol station. No problem whatsoever. That night I used it in a restaurant and the following day in a local supermarket. Again no problem whatsoever. Took out some cash from the nearest hole in the wall and again very very easy. As a Visa electron card it was accepted everywhere. I soon realised there was no need to carry so much cash around with me. If I lost the card then I would just phone a number and it would be cancelled immediately. So that was that. When I got back to the UK I got back on the web page, logged in, and checked what I had used the card for. There they were. Each purchase, where and when it was made and with no charges whatsoever. That's right. No charges whatsoever, even with hole in the wall transactions. The purchases I had paid for were there, and nothing else. The cash passport card is now going on every holiday from now on. It is so easy to use and clearly a lot safer than either cash or a credit card. You just say how much you want to add to the card and that's it. No charges whatsoever. And very very convenient
written by on 22/08/2011
Plenty of negative reviews here but I can't figure out why. I took one of these when I went to Las Vegas this summer. The card was accepted everywhere and it gave me great peace of mind knowing that if the card was lost or stolen all of my money was protected. It was very easy to login to the Travelex site and see a fully itemised list of everything I'd spent (this was exactly like you'd expect from online banking with Barclays and NatWest)- I even did this from my iPhone. No problems at all with buying the card online at 11pm and picking it up the next morning from Gatwick; they even give a better rate on the card than they would with cash. I wouldn't travel without one of these again.
written by on 13/07/2011
I have had a travel ex card from thomas cook for a couple of years now and used it in Mexico, Australia and thailand without issue unlike my VISA card issued by MBNA which was blocked by them when i tried to use it in thailand despite me telling them i was going away.
written by on 01/03/2011
I have the old Version of the cash passport which uses the visa sign instead of mastercard when i was in Las Vegas the other year i did not have a problem worked in every shop and Atm machineand for paying for Food and trips the only time it did not work was on the plane home to pay for some presants ..i was very impressed ..going to use again in Vegas and New york this year ...just hope my mates Mastercard version is ok
Bit off putting the rate for buying Dollars is less for the card than exchanging for Pound to dollars cash
Im from the Uk if it helps
written by on 20/02/2011
Excellent. Easy and simple to use abroad.
written by on 28/11/2010
As I work for Travelex, I thought i would clear up the issues surrounding many of these complaints. Mainly for UK customers as other countries may have different rules surrounding the Cash Passport.
Firstly if you purchase the Card from Travelex itself either online or at any Travelex location there is no ATM withdrawl fee (some machines in some countries may charge, but these would state this before you proceed. Unfortnuately this is out of Travelex's control.
Thomas Cook, Co-operative Travel etc may also charge for withdrawls, but this is clearly stated to you before proceeding, if not ask more questions.
The Cash Passport can be used as a Cash Card as well as paying for goods in stores and restaurants that accept Mastercard, or Visa if you have a slighter older card.
People that state they cannot withdraw all their funds in one time, although within Travelex stated withdrawl limits, this is Some cash machines own withdrawl limits per day (especially if they are provided by the same Bank or other financial institution) So we always recommend using the card for purchases instead to use up any of the extra funds, if you cant wait an extra day to withdraw more.
The reason for nasty 5.75% charges is a charge made by Mastercard and NOT Travelex. The charge is for the currency exchange eg A Euro Cash Passport being converted to £ Sterling from a ATM in the UK. The reason why the card will allow you to withdraw more then you have is because Mastercard on each end of day process these transactions and are always more costly, so I would always advise NEVER to do this. The 5.75% charge is stated in the Terms and Conditions.
If you ever want your Cash passport emptying you need to either do it by Calling the Number on the back of your card, you will be charged a £6 fee but the money will be transferred back to your bank account. Sometimes the rates offered outbeat other competitors so the £6 charge is well justified and in fact would end up saving you money, so please call the team to receive a quote on how much you would get back for your remaining balance.
Secondly to return to a Travelex location, there is no fees except a worse exchange rate as the BUY rate is always worse then the SELL rate of which you purchased.
Thirdly as another option especially if you are not going away within the 12 months due to the inactivity charges is to withdraw all the cash in the currency zone you are in ie you are in Europe and withdraw all withdrawable funds in Euros at an ATM. This way you would have the cash, if you were wanting to exchange this back to sterling you can always then take it back to a high street bank or other foreign exchange retailer which on most occassions can offer a better BUY rate then Travelex can, however as before you will not get back £ for £ what you orignially would have paid.
The card is never designed for Hotel deposits etc, as the funds are held pending the final transactiion. Also the cards are never meant for Petrol Stations as they prefer cash, as they dislike the Cards (including credit and debit) due to fraud. So please always pay in cash or travellers cheques for petrol and other good you may purchase at a petrol station.
As for loading your cards whilst away, unfortunately it does take 3-5 working days to be loaded onto the card, this is due to the way your bank will release the funds. As to minimise Card Fraud and Anti Money Laundering these processes are in place to both protect you and to protect us as a company. So please try to load your card in advance, if you know you are spending more then you expected to at any stage of your trip.
As for balances unavailable from machines, this is an issue that Travelex and Mastercard are looking into and hope to improve on in the future.
If you travel in and out of country zones on a regular basis, we have a card called The Globe Cash Passport available to UK customers only at www.travelex.co.uk , this is a Sterling Card that will replace your Credit Card, in the sense we are offering 1.49% card charge each transaction, rather then 3% by your provider. Also unlike the Cash Passport this card does not have the 5.75% charge attached when withdrawing any currency, eg Hong Kong Dollar. But a exchange rate determined by the country at that time will be put in place (usually a competitive rate)
The Cash Passport is a great card if used correctly, ie for withdrawls in the currency the card is loaded in, for purchases etc.
Written on: 05/12/2010
I found this review helpful because...it clarified the fundamentals of the way to use the card. If considering obtaining a Cash Passport, like everything else the potential purchasers should read the terms and conditions first, then they will not experience any nasty surprises. I have two cards, one Euro and one AU$, which suit perfectly. The Euro is my backup card when I go on holiday and the AU$ is an emergency card for my daughter who is currently travelling in Australia. Here in the UK I can monitor the balance of her card and top it up free from here, that way no worries of her being stranded, penniless abroad. It is also covered for loss with a free replacement offered, which is also great as it gives further piece of mind. Travex Cash Passports definitely work for me :o)
Written on: 01/09/2011
i recently had a cash passport and thank god i took cash as well because i could not keep track of what i was spending due to not being able to get a balance any where and when my card did run out or so i thought it had (19 euro) i felt that i had not got my full value ,,, never will i ever get a card again and no one likes to take it they prefer cash every where
Written on: 19/03/2011
I found this review very helpful because... I also work for travelex and most of the bad reviews can be fixed, e.g doing it a diffrent way like instead of trying to get through to cusotmer services try going to the nearest travelex and ASKING them. or unload it from them instead of paying a charge, its simple and glad somebody has helped clear things up.
Written on: 21/02/2011
this is why the cards are good:
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<br/>1. They are a replacement for currency and travellers cheques - you lose them and they are lost forever. Lose a Cash Passport there is a fee to pay to replace, but that's fair enough because at least the card is protected by chip and pin so at least your don't lose the contents!!
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<br/>2. They are good for avoiding expensive Debit Card withdrawal fees. Believe me, paying a small cash withdrawal fee and getting the currency at the rate you agreed is better than paying the load fee your banks charge if you use your debit card.
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<br/>3. They are good for paying for cash items using chip and pin e.g. food and drinks. If the Petrol Station and Retailer doesn't accept, why haven't you got another card as back up???? Furthermore, you must think this card is better than the back up card otherwise you wouldn't be using it!!!
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<br/>Summary
<br/>They were never intended for every transaction. Because it's a card and it's got a chip and pin people have assumed it is to replace Credit and Debit Card, but it is not.....
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<br/>I take a Santander Zero Credit Card and a Cash Passport abroad with me from the UK. I have a Dollar one for US and a Euro one. I take my Debit Card to use in Emergencies, but generally keep it locked up in a safe (as long as I trust the hotel)
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<br/>These are a great replacement for Travellers Cheques and never had a problem with using it anywhere I have been.
Written on: 27/01/2011
I found this review not helpful because it's too complicated and clumsily written.
written by on 15/10/2010
My wife used her cashpassport whilst in Ireland, and it worked terrific. Had one mishap with an ATM malfunction, but Cashpassport were great in rectifying the situation. I monitored the balance online at home to ensure she didn't run out of money. My wife will again be using her cards when revisiting Ireland in December.
written by on 26/09/2010
Travelled Thailand and Indonesia for six months, lost my debit card during second week of travelling. Would have had problems if it wasn`t for the dollar cash passport card I took with me fom the uk. It worked every where I travelled, I had no problems with it being accepted. I transfered money onto it as I was tavelling, it worked fine. I then travelled to France before I left UK I got a euro cash passport card again worked fine, used it in Biarittz and Hossegor with no problems.
written by luvfamilytravel on 16/09/2010
I am not sure that people are using this card correctly we have travelled a few time through Thailand and The South Pacific with 1 and will use again next time we travel. You should try to load it only once because there is a fee to load and leave a copy at home with family just in case of emergency and whe you withdraw from it take out enough cash to last you a couple of days because there is a fee to withdraw (obviously you need to be careful doing this because you have a lot of cash with you but you need to be careful with everything when travelling passport credit cards etc!) Aloso when buying things you always get a better buy when you pay cash. Use it wisely and think about what you are doing and you cant go wrong! When withdrawing money from it in Australia dont do it through the ATM this is really costly! Easier and cheaper to close the account and just open up a new one next time you travel.
written by on 11/09/2010
Charged up my Euro cash passport initially at Thomas Cook branch and then by transfer using internet banking. The first advantage of this card is that the exchange rate seems to be the best available. Second advantage is that it can be used like a debit card with no transaction costs at all. Cash withdrawals are only 2 Euros a time. I had no problems withdrawing cash at ATMs in Italy and France, and used the card in restaurants, petrol stations, shops, French road tolls, etc. Very convenient and good value. Only criticism is that you can't check your balance at the ATM, although you can check it online and elect for a low balance warning by text. I was also warned not to use the Euro card at a UK ATM as my Euros would be converted back into sterling.
written by on 20/05/2010
I took a Cash Passport on holiday as a backup having lost my credit card the previous year and ended up using it more than I thought. I've just bought one for my daughter who is off to travel in Australia as I know I can topup easily online in and emergency. Very handy indeed!
written by on 28/03/2010
When my daughter was travelling we purchased these cards, we had 2 cards for the same account and when she ran out of funds we were able to top up our card and she was able to use hers to access the funds. It gave us peace of mind and when we needed the customer service area they were fantastic.
written by on 17/03/2010
Fantastic card....if you use it for the reasons its meant for...
i went to the cook islands...loaded it once only at the start of the trip (as there is a loading fee)...
had no problems whatsoever..withdrawing money from atms and even checking my balance on some atm machines....- both these services were free of charge...
also the card is very easy to obtain..order online and pick up at the airport..directly from a travelex store and not thomas cook etc..
nb i believe the card is meant primarily for withdrawals not for over the counter purchases / deposits / security...and if used in the withdrawal capacity...i highly reccomend it.......RS
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Guest's Comment
Written on: 10/07/2012
Glad i have read this review, going travelling to dubai thailand & australia & really dont fancy carrying cash around with me but was a bit put off when i read the bad reviews