Arse...just goggled reviews of these
http://www.reviewcentre.com/r140874_2_Travelex_Cash_Passport.html
Has anyone experience of these Sainsburys ones (says Travelex on the back)
No, I only got mine a few weeks ago but here's a foolproof guide (from 2010 )
"As I work for Travelex, I thought i would clear up the issues surrounding many of these complaints. Mainly for UK customers as other countries may have different rules surrounding the
Cash
Passport.
Firstly if you purchase the Card from Travelex itself either online or at any Travelex location there is no ATM withdrawl fee (some machines in some countries may charge, but these would state this before you proceed. Unfortnuately this is out of Travelex's control.
Thomas Cook, Co-operative Travel etc may also charge for withdrawls, but this is clearly stated to you before proceeding, if not ask more questions.
The Cash Passport can be used as a Cash Card as well as paying for goods in stores and restaurants that accept Mastercard, or Visa if you have a slighter older card.
People that state they cannot withdraw all their funds in one time, although within Travelex stated withdrawl limits, this is Some cash machines own withdrawl limits per day (especially if they are provided by the same Bank or other
financial institution) So we always recommend using the card for purchases instead to use up any of the extra funds, if you cant wait an extra day to withdraw more.
The reason for nasty 5.75% charges is a charge made by Mastercard and NOT Travelex. The charge is for the currency exchange eg A Euro Cash Passport being converted to £ Sterling from a ATM in the UK. The reason why the card will allow you to
withdraw more then you have is because Mastercard on each end of day process these transactions and are always more costly, so I would always advise NEVER to do this. The 5.75% charge is stated in the Terms and Conditions.
If you ever want your Cash passport emptying you need to either do it by Calling the Number on the back of your card, you will be charged a £6 fee but the money will be transferred back to
your bank account. Sometimes the rates offered outbeat other competitors so the £6 charge is well justified and in fact would end up saving you money, so please call the team to receive a quote on how much you would get back for your remaining balance.
Secondly to return to a Travelex location, there is no fees except a worse exchange
rate as the BUY rate is always worse then the SELL rate of which you purchased.
Thirdly as another option especially if you are not going away within the 12 months due to the inactivity charges is to withdraw all the
cash in the currency zone you are in ie you are in Europe and withdraw all withdrawable funds in Euros at an ATM. This way you would have the cash, if you were wanting to exchange this back to sterling you can always then take it back to a high street bank or other foreign exchange retailer which on most occassions can offer a better BUY rate then Travelex can, however as before you will not get back £ for £ what you orignially would have paid.
The card is never designed for Hotel deposits etc, as the
funds are held pending the final transactiion. Also the cards are never meant for Petrol Stations as they prefer cash, as they dislike the Cards (including credit and debit) due to fraud. So please always pay in cash or travellers cheques for petrol and other good you may purchase at a petrol station.
As for loading your cards whilst away, unfortunately it does take 3-5 working days to be loaded onto the card, this is due to the way your bank will release the funds. As to minimise Card Fraud and Anti Money Laundering these processes are in place to both protect you and to protect us as a
company. So please try to load your card in advance, if you know you are spending more then you expected to at any stage of your trip.
As for balances unavailable from machines, this is an issue that Travelex and Mastercard are looking into and hope to improve on in
the future.
If you travel in and out of country zones on a regular basis, we have a card called The Globe Cash Passport available to UK customers only at
www.travelex.co.uk , this is a Sterling Card that will replace your Credit Card, in the sense we are offering 1.49% card charge each transaction, rather then 3% by your provider. Also unlike the Cash Passport this card does not have the 5.75% charge attached when withdrawing any currency, eg Hong Kong Dollar. But a exchange rate determined by the country at that time will be put in place (usually a
competitive rate)
The Cash Passport is a great card if used correctly, ie for withdrawls in the currency the card is loaded in, for purchases etc. "
