Difficulties using Travelex Cash Passport

twoodat

On our recent vacation in Vancouver, Canada, my partner and I decided to get half of our dollars in cash and half on a 'Mastercard Cash Passport' debit card from Travelex. It worked out better value and suited us better to order online and collect from the airport and that was where the fun started.

The Cash Passport is a pre-loaded debit card. The alleged benefits of a Cash Passport, apart from being safer than cash, are that you can check your balance and withdraw cash at an atm and that you can also register online to check recent transactions and top up currency from your bank account if you run out. However, as we found out, none of the ATMs in Vancouver were actually able to show the balance. We tried all the major banks as well as the smaller ones.

I was able to register my card online thankfully, as my details including security questions were correctly loaded onto the system. My partner was not so lucky and ended up unable to access his account balance because the system kept insisting his mother's maiden name was incorrect (we checked each other's security info forms before we went to the desk - I know it was correct). We're guessing it was human error but because of this he couldn't even talk to them on the phone as they had incorrect answers to his security questions. Neither of us had intended to bring the cards back with a positive balance (there is a fee if you keep it inactive) so we ended up having to manually go through receipts every night to work out the account balance. He was also unable to top his card up.

Thankfully we were staying with friends who have broadband, but if not I would have had to pay to use internet in cafes which can be quite pricey just to get my account balance. Has anybody had a similar experience? I understand Canadian banks may not be under any obligation to show balances at their atms for this card and that's fine, but why do Travelex offer this card saying you can?

That was a long rant!

Little_Otter

Hi
can you help RE cash passport - I have never even heard of it until today - trying to get travellers cheques from co-op travel before my holiday to Skiathos on Friday - the agent said this card is the 'new' way to spend better than travellers cheques which are hard and long winded to change
I need to know:
How the card works?
do I use it like a cc/debit card and pay on it for meals etc?
Do I get cash out of the ATMs?
What would the exchange rate be like? better/worse?
I have read mixed reviews and am not sure what to do....
Thanks
LO x

Pamelia

I got a card in November from Co-op travel and yes used it in Spain to pay for meals where they take cards also get money from ATM.
This year I got a Travelex card from Tesco, it was easy I got the rate they quote in store which is lower than on line but I didn't have to pay anything to load it and I can also top it up at the Tesco store without a fee. The rate was still better than a lot of other places quoted on MSE list. I used it in Supermarkets, petrol stations and for restaurant meals too. I'll be using this card again. Not available at all Tesco stores though.
P.

Donnie

Stay away, it would be better to get a FairFx Card. Preferably the Anywhere card, so that you can use any left over cash in the UK without having to convert again.

twoodat

I personally would not get one again because the staff were inconsistent and the services they promised weren't actually available. The one I got was from Travelex. The lady who served me at Gatwick South Terminal airside was lovely and handled my transaction efficiently. The lady who served my partner seemed half-asleep and didn't know what she was doing. She keyed his information into the system incorrectly which meant he had no access to the top-up facility or his balance. Also they tell you that you can check your balance at the atm. This is a lie. The only positive is that there is no transaction fee for using it as a debit card, although it costs to draw cash.:(