Post Office Foreign Currency Card

shaz77_2

Hi All,

A friend advised me of the above card which allegedly has no charges associated with it, does anyone know anything about it and whether or not it's worthwhile getting? I'm planning to travel to Australia soon and this card may suit my needs.

worried_jim

I though that they were only useful if you were going to U.S. or Eurozone as they can only be loaded with US$ and Euros but not A$.

Wannie_2

It's a horrible card.

If sticking with Prepaid, you need a Global card, the best of which is the Travelex Cash Passport Globe.

Alternatives are CaxtonFx Global , Kalixa and FairFx Anywhere.

You can try purchasing via cashback websites.

Doshwaster

shaz77 wrote: »

Hi All,

A friend advised me of the above card which allegedly has no charges associated with it, does anyone know anything about it and whether or not it's worthwhile getting? I'm planning to travel to Australia soon and this card may suit my needs.

There are fees. Cash withdrawals have a charge plus the PO website doesn't say what the foreign exchange loading is.

http://www2.postoffice.co.uk/travel/travel-money/travel-money-card/fees-and-limits

If it's the same as the cash rate then you are looking at a loading of around 3% which is much more than other prepaid cards. As with other services, you pay more through the Post Office as they take advantage of being a "trusted" brand.

Plus it's ghastly yellow colour. I wouldn't want that in my wallet!

stephb34

Thomas Cook do an aus$ one and they have a special offer on at the moment, if you load any card but the sterling one you can have a sterling one as a back up for free instead of the usual 2% commission charge. So you can put lots on the sterling one (only 1 load free) and if you don't spend it you get back what you put on and thomas cook don't keep any of it. The only time there is a charge with these is if you use a cash machine to draw out cash if you use it in shops, bars, duty free etc then theres no charge.

Wannie_2

stephb34 wrote: »

Thomas Cook do an aus$ one and they have a special offer on at the moment, if you load any card but the sterling one you can have a sterling one as a back up for free instead of the usual 2% commission charge. So you can put lots on the sterling one (only 1 load free) and if you don't spend it you get back what you put on and thomas cook don't keep any of it. The only time there is a charge with these is if you use a cash machine to draw out cash if you use it in shops, bars, duty free etc then theres no charge.

Surely you should state that you work for Thomas Cook when you make these 'recommendations'.

Thomas Cook cards are terrible. You didn't mention that they will take a 5.75% commission for any use abroad with the Sterling card.
So usually, you would pay 2% on loading and 5.75% on spending plus another £1.50 for cash withdrawals. Withdraw the equivalent of £100 abroad and it costs you £9.25.
Terrible. Avoid.
Their AUD card is no better, with poor rates and cash withdrawal fees.


Please be honest, rather than trying to sell Thomas Cook products via this board. Have seen you do it a few times now.

stephb34

Wannie wrote: »

Surely you should state that you work for Thomas Cook when you make these 'recommendations'.

Thomas Cook cards are terrible. You didn't mention that they will take a 5.75% commission for any use abroad with the Sterling card.
So usually, you would pay 2% on loading and 5.75% on spending plus another £1.50 for cash withdrawals. Withdraw the equivalent of £100 abroad and it costs you £9.25.
Terrible. Avoid.
Their AUD card is no better, with poor rates and cash withdrawal fees.


Please be honest, rather than trying to sell Thomas Cook products via this board. Have seen you do it a few times now.

Im not trying to sell Thomas Cook products i don't make anything from this i'm saying its a better card than the post office one and usually the rates are better than the post office. I did state there is a charge for cash withdrawals and i said on this occasion the sterling cash passport is free and the loading on spending abroad is 5% not 5.75% which i'll admit i didn't know but surely some of this fee is offset by the fact you get a better rate on exchanging money abroad.
There are better cards on the market but generally these are by purchasing on the internet some people just want the convenience of instant access on the high street.
I'm not happy with your comment that im not honest, im an extremely honest person and was offering a suggestion like most people on this forum im not forcing the op to purchase it, its all about choice and the more options you have to research the better, i wouldn't purchase something reccommended on here without researching it first, as everyones opinion is different.

dzug1

stephb34 wrote: »

but surely some of this fee is offset by the fact you get a better rate on exchanging money abroad.
.

You don't get a better rate - that is only true when changing CASH in SOME countries

Wannie_2

stephb34 wrote: »

Im not trying to sell Thomas Cook products i don't make anything from this i'm saying its a better card than the post office one and usually the rates are better than the post office. I did state there is a charge for cash withdrawals and i said on this occasion the sterling cash passport is free and the loading on spending abroad is 5% not 5.75% which i'll admit i didn't know but surely some of this fee is offset by the fact you get a better rate on exchanging money abroad.
There are better cards on the market but generally these are by purchasing on the internet some people just want the convenience of instant access on the high street.
I'm not happy with your comment that im not honest, im an extremely honest person and was offering a suggestion like most people on this forum im not forcing the op to purchase it, its all about choice and the more options you have to research the better, i wouldn't purchase something reccommended on here without researching it first, as everyones opinion is different.

How did you determine that it is better than the Post Office card?

The Thomas Cook £ card charges 2% to Top up, 5.75% for purchases abroad and an extra £1.50 for ATM withdrawals.
The PO £ card charges 1.5% to Top up, 3% for purchases abroad and an extra £1.50 for ATM withdrawals.

If you, who works there, do not understand your products, why are you recommending them?
I certainly would take anything told to me by a TC employee with a very large pinch of salt.

They are both horrible products, but the Thomas Cook card is much worse.

Merchant transactions and ATM withdrawals in a currency other than the currency of the Card will be exchanged to the currency on the Card at an exchange rate determined by MasterCard on the day the transaction is processed, increased by 5.75% for all currencies.

http://www.cashpassport.com/1/en/thomascook/About-Cash-Passport/Fees-Limits/

That is 5.75%, not 5%.

If you want to sell it as a card that you can obtain from the High Street, then at least be honest about the caveats. It should not be left to independent posters.

In my opinion, they are the worst example of all of the resold Travelex products.
The versions from the major supermarkets(ASDA/Tesco/Sainsburys) at least don't have ATM withdrawal fees. So in an emergency and if there was no Internet I would choose them over Thomas Cook.

Best of all, avoid them all and purchase the Globe product online.

Wannie_2

dzug1 wrote: »

You don't get a better rate - that is only true when changing CASH in SOME countries

Hard to imagine that you would be gouged 9.25% for changing cash in any country.