Cash Passport

[stba2006]

A friend of mine told me that she had seen something called a cash passport advertised in Tescos.

Its a pre paid card that you can buy dollars or euros etc on and aparently you don't get charged for cash withdrawals at ATM's

Has any-one used on of these, or even heard of them?

The first time we went away, we used a pre paid card that we got from the post office, but we were stung on charges pretty badly so now my bf won't use one, although i thought it was quite handy (apart from the charges)

Does any-one know what are the charges on these cards (espcially the ones in the real fine print )

 

[crabbie1]

nope never heard of the tesco one.Fairfx do one which is the same but they charge to withdraw cash and you cannot check balence at the cashpoints. If you have access to the internet whist in orlando then great.I just keep reciepts spent on the card so I can keep a rough track.Great though as you can use for any amount even an ice cream at one of the stands in the world. Fairfx have the best rate I have found and the card is free through certain sites just search on google.
Interested to hear about the tesco one

 

[wilma-bride]

It is the Travelex Cash Passport they are providing. There is some detail about it on Tesco's site here but the Cash Passsport also has it's own website www.cashpassport.com

As far as cash withdrawals go, it does state that the card provider doesn't charge you for making cash withdrawals at an ATM, however the ATM provider may charge. I am not familiar with using ATMs in the states, so I don't know how many ATM providers there are that DON'T charge a withdrawal fee. I'm not sure whether it's like this country, where you only pay a fee at certain ATMs.

The downside of the Cash Passport is that, if you have any money left on it and you decide to save it for a future trip, there is an inactivity fee which kicks in after 12 months - you are then charged $3.50 a month each month you don't use the card.

We use a Fairfx card but have also used Cash Passport in the past. The only reason we now use Fairfx is because of the inactivity fee on the Cash Passport - we tend to leave money on the card for future visits. However, if you are likely to spend it all or withdraw any remaining cash on your return, the Cash Passport may work better for you.

The best thing you can do is look at the Terms and Conditions for both of the cards (Cash Passport and Fairfx) and the charges, whcih should be freely available on their websites. Compare the two and decide which one would work for you.

ETA: I am also not sure how the rate offered by Tesco on the Cash Passport compares but, generally, their exchange rates are not great.

 

[shali123]

Last time i travelled to orlando i used a cash passport which i got from co-op travel. (local travel agent). I found it better than carrying lots of cash plus it was insured incase lost or stolen. I am going to orlando again in september and will be using a cash passport again, I didnt get charged for using it abroad but when i returned home and cashed it in i did. I didnt mind the charge when cashed it in as it was safer than carrying lots of cash so was worth it.


Shali.