travelex cash passport redemption query ??

joylikes2shop

I'm interested to hear if this sounds like a 'rip-off' or 'fair' exchange rate from Travelex...

Prepaid Canadian dollar currency card bought online from Travelex.com in June 2011... £600 bought $931 Canadian dollars (exchange rate 1.5501)

$143 spent in total (in July 2011) leaving a balance of $788 Canadian dollars

After 12 months inactivity, a fee of $4 per month is deducted - the last 11 months inactivity has incurred a fee of $44 to date.

Todays online Travelex exchange rate ( to buy Canadian Dollars ) is similar to the rate 2 years ago ( 1.53)

Card redeemed today at local Thomas Cook outlet which used an exchange rate of 1.7758 ( $744 @ 1.7758 = £419)

Whilst I appreciate financial institutions have different rates for buying and selling currency each day, and that exchange rates can vary from day to day/ year to year, I feel that the exchange rate Thomas Cook used today ...in addition to Travelex $44 fee for 'inactivity' for the last 11 months seems to be quite significant in my opinion.

Is there some other way I ( or potentially others) should have redeemed the balance of my Travelex Cash Passport prepaid currency card to minimise the charges ?

dzug1

Buying rates for foreign currency are nearly always significantly worse than the selling rates, so not sure what you could have done apart from taken it out in Canada and spent it. As it's in $CAN there's not much you can do with it here apart from keep it for another trip (too late...) or cash it in through Travelex.

A sterling card might have been better - more flexible as to where it can be used at reasonable cost

Prepaid cards for a one off trip do have their drawbacks.

fire54

I also placed £50 on a cash passport in 2010 with Airmiles, didn't use it, when I rang them today apparently They have used the balance to pay their monthly fee! I'm not happy but apparently it was in the T & C booklet I received, so its tough luck. Ive closed the account & won't be using this method ever again.

hgotsparkle

It does stipulate this is the T&Cs, and its not in small print either, its actually quite large on the back of the form, and I know it is made very clear in bold writing when buying one online.

If you had CAD$ in cash and decided to change them back to £, would you question the rate then? As its the same thing.

stephb34

Did you have a travelex card or a Thomas cook card? because they're not the same thing. It clearly states in the t&cs there's an inactivity fee so that's not a rip off. There's always a difference between buy and sell that's how businesses make a profit, you certainly wouldn't be moaning if the Canadian $ had dropped unless of course you were wanting to buy.