Travelex Travel Money Card

Beware predatory fees. After 12 months of inactivity they will start to charge a £2 monthly fee. In addition, to close the account over the phone they also charge £6. To avoid this you have to visit one of their branches in person to withrdaw it and maybe still pay fees in person, spend precisely the amount on the card to bring the balance down to 0, withdraw it at an ATM (in my case there isn't enough left on the card to withdraw), or donate it to their chosen charity. Avoid this card at all costs.

While using the Travelex cash passport abroad is as easy as finding an ATM it is astoundingly frustrating if you wish to reload it. Whether you use Microsoft or Apple, whether you leave your computer wide open to viruses or hacking by removing every possible block or use default safety settings you will find that the address finder freezes and then you are timed out, leaving you no option but to start from the beginning, entering personal information all over again. There is no facility to enter home address manually and so far I have lost the best part of three days trying to reload ready for travel in Europe. I wish I had taken any other "cash passport" and once my balance is zero will certainly cut it up and bin it. Most disappointing! If you are tempted - don't bother - you can't reload by telephone, even if you are willing to pay a fee. One would have thought that such a company with international business dealings would at least have sorted out simple website problems.

The commonwealth travel money card has been nothing but trouble, expense and timewasting on my 6 week trip in the USA. Trying to put money on takes 3 days to clear. If you can't find a computer with internet explorer you can't check your balance or transactions. That means anyone with a mac, firefox or safari can't use it. Then try to find a net cafe around. Not that easy. It is also not safe. Often not requiring a pin or a signature. If you think you are saving on atm fees. Think again. Most ATM's charge up to $3 US to use. It frequently doesn't work as a purchase card. And the worst part, it has twice not given the cash out of the ATM but has actually come out on the balance. Don't bother with this card. A massive waste of time and money.

Travelex Travellers cheques are really easy to use. I found that it was easy to cash in the cheques and I had and only one place that wanted a charge for them. The best place I found though was the Hotel we were staying in, in Paris as every morning we would just cash in what we wanted for the day and would not have to worry about loosing our money. Another good thing about Travellers Cheques is that you get a better rate for them than foreign currency and buy choosing Travelex you don't have to pre order just buy at the airport.