Has anyone used the AMEX trevellers cheque CARD?

[dossie]

Just wondering if anyone has bought dollars via the AMEX travelers cheque card that Thomas Cook are doing at the moment. I put some dollars on one the other week as the rate was 1.94 - so think I got a really good deal.
Only now I'm concerned in case I get out there and can't use the thing!!
Can anyone allay my fears please?

 

[coastergirls]

You will have absolutely no problems whatsoever using it. I used it last year and it was accepted everywhere. Suggest though you don't use it for drinks from carts etc for low amounts as you will totally lose track of what you have spent. That was the only downside the fact that you had to be careful about recording what you had used.
Have to say $1.94 was excellent. I will not be using mine again as I was missold it last year by TA and the rate I got was really poor. The card itself and Amex were great but Amex had to take issue with the travel agent about how it was sold and rate etc. Good product if you get a good rate.

 

[dossie]

Sorry to hear you had a bad deal but thanks for the reassurance

 

[mark&sue]

You can use it easily around WDW but I do find it really hard to keep track of what I am using.

susan

 

[alisonbestford]

We had one and absolutely loved it

Only place I was unable to use it was for Crazy Golf at the beach

Personally, I had no trouble keeping track of what we were spending but then I'm used to keeping a close eye on spending at home too
I just jotted notes in my diary as we went along and checked, online, a couple of times during our stay

We were lucky enough to get a Thomas Cook 'buy a card for $2000 and get $250 free' which more than made up for any ATM fees we needed to pay.

I made a couple of ATM withdrawals to have ready cash for tipping etc.
Other than that I used the card for everything
Every Publix we shopped at (and there appears to be one on almost every corner) had an ATM

 

[Danauk]

DH and I both have Amex TC cards and we love them, they are so easy to use. We keep an eye on the exchange rate and top our cards up when we see a good rate. Last week we topped our cards up at $1.89. I'm waiting until it gets to $1.90 to top them up again. We do keep a track of our spending when on holiday so we find them easy to use.

 

[kristieuk]

Just to add to the reassurances you have had - there was only one shop I think I tried to use the card, but it didn't accept Amex, so I had to use another method of payment. Other than that, just try to keep a rough note of your spending, and I'm sure you will be really pleased. Far more convenient than normal traveller's checques imho

 

[squitty]

Just to say that we will be using ours for the 3rd time. It's so easy to use, easy to upload funds to too.
If you would like or need a balance on what you have spent, Super Target or Target print the balance on the bottom of their till reciepts. You can check your balance online.
Also we hardly used it for withdrawing cash from a ATM as there is a $2.50 fee for doing so.
Have a look here for more information on it.

 

[pauldolling]

We also used it last year and we will be using it again this year. We had no problems using it and I can highly recommend it.

 

[jtlover]

We used it last year, stayed at AKL and GF and just paid the one bill at the end with the card

 

[Nubbedy]

I used it too with no difficulties and would recommend it. As other people said, just keep a note of what you are spending off it. I used mine mainly for larger amounts like meals and bills in shops (often quite large amounts!).

Sara.

 

[dossie]

Thank you so much for all of your positive replies
Even more excited now!!

 

[mozzman]

one word of caution if you did not know,if you say buy a item of clothing or a electrical item for instance then want to return it for a refund,it will take about 7 days for the money to come back on the card.i will use mine for mainly meals if i return their food back after i have eaten it i probably won't get a refund anyway

 

[AnitaCB]

We used ours October last with no problems. To keep track we kept all receipts from each day and just totted them up at night. The only problem we had was trying to get a refund on it from Virgin which took two months. However it was Virgin's fault, not Amex who were very helpful.

 

[Goofysmate]

have been in Thomas cook today to ask about this card and was told that the card cost £20 to buy ?
Has this been the case for everyone ?

 

[alisonbestford]

have been in Thomas cook today to ask about this card and was told that the card cost £20 to buy ?
Has this been the case for everyone ?

Not the case for us but I think it depends on when the offers are available.

Try Thomsons too as I believe they occasionally have offers

 

[mozzman]

i got mine when they were new and actually recieved £30 to have one

 

[Goofysmate]

Thank you will do some more research onto this and go back to Thomas cook to ask why they are charging for this card and will contact American Express to see if they will be charging £20 also.

 

[Young Pooh]

I was checking out Travelsupermarket.co.uk yesterday to compare travel money etc and they were showing the AMEX card as having a £20 fee.

 

[alisonbestford]

Lloyds TSB appear to be offering the card for £7.50 and NatWest £15
Presumably you will need to be a customer of either.

Personally I would go into Thomas Cook and see whether they might be able to waive the fee - I know when we loaded ours up last year the offer was 'free' $250 for a $2000 card
If you don't ask.........