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Travel Advice - A cash card for travelers?
Credit card companies now offer prepaid money or
cash cards issued in US
dollars or, in some cases, in foreign currencies (principally the Euro and the British Pound
Sterling). These cards can be used at ATM’s that accept the issuing
companies credit cards or for purchases at any of the retailers that accept the issuing
company’s credit cards for transactions.
The most widely available currency card is the American Express TravelFunds
Card but Visa is beginning to market its TravelMoney Card. More
information is available about the TravelFunds card and well we examine
that more deeply than the TravelMoney card, which we describe towards
the end of the article
Description - Amex TravelFunds
Card
- You sign-up for the card online (www.americanexpress.com) or by phone and use another
credit card (e.g. Amex, Visa, or Mastercard) to pay the amount you want
available on the TravelFunds Card.
- There is a sign-up fee of $14.95.
- The
minimum value you can place on the TravelFunds Card varies based on the
currency selected but equates to $300.
- The maximum value that you can
prepay is approximately $2700.
- If you spend down the amount on the card,
you can “reload” anytime by phone but you cannot exceed $2700 during any
two-week period.
- The reloads must be for a minimum of $100 or in multiples
of $100 and bear a $5 reload charge.
- For security purposes, the card has a
three-year life span and, then, expires.
- You can either retrieve any
outstanding amount ($10.00 fee) by contacting American Express or transfer
the amount to a new card but you must bring the base up (reload, a $5.00
fee) to the minimum required for the card, currently $300 .
- Withdrawals at ATMs are limited to $400 per day but this is independent
of purchases that you make using the card.
Other Issues
- One of the major advantages of using this type of card is that the card
account number is not linked to your bank account or credit card account
and should provide greater protection than using your debit cards at ATMS
or your credit card for purchases.
- The service agreement with American
Express prohibits you from using the card for transactions that have the
nature of cash advances (e.g., you are not allowed to use the card to
reserve a car or a hotel room). However, you can use the card to pay for
the rental car or the hotel room.
- An added advantage of the TravelFunds Card is that it comes with the
American Express Passport and Credit Card Replacement Assistance programs.
Disadvantages
One major disadvantage of this type of card is that you have pay for
the start-up and refresh amounts from a credit card.
- Check to see if your
credit card holder will consider the transaction a cash advance and charge
you interest on the amount from the date of the transaction.
- Also, note
that your card has a cash advance limit that may limit the size of the
transaction.
- American Express has stated that
it will not charge a cash advance fee, if one of its credit cards is used
for the transaction. .
- Next, the TravelFunds Card at can be used only at “Express Cash” ATMs.
Using the Card at an Express Cash ATM will result in a $2.50 fee for ATM
use. Additional bank fees may apply if the bank owning the ATM charges
additional transaction fees on “out of network” cards.
- There are no
fees to make purchases at merchant locations.
- If you want a paper report on the transactions that you made with the
card you will be charged a $5.00 fee but you can access the same
information by phone without a fee.
- Finally, if you use the card in for a transaction that involves
currency exchange you will be subject to an exchange rate charged by AMEX
or the rate charged by the retailer for currency transactions (or both).
Description - VISA
TravelMoney Card
Visa offers a similar
card called Visa TravelMoney that is available through your local AAA
(check in advance),
www.mytravelwallet.com, and by phone at 1-877 886-3755.
Accepted at all locations that accept Visa debit cards and
more than 870,000 ATMs, Visa TravelMoney provides the following benefits:
Fees
-
The minimum card load is $250, the minimum order is $300, maximum
order $1,500
-
There is an activation fee of $4.95.
-
Reloads are $250 minimum by calling
-
A second card can be taken for a fee of $2.00
-
Card cash out fee is $15
-
An optional monthly statement can be
ordered for $0.50 per month,
-
Inquiries by phone are $0.50 each, there is
a $1.25 monthly maintenance fee after 12 months of inactivity.
-
No fee for ATM balance inquiries.
-
Online balance inquiries are free
-
Cash advance fee (in-bank) $10, $350 limit per advance
-
ATM withdrawals in the
US are
subject to daily and weekly maximum amounts of $350 a day and $850 a
week, maximum international withdrawal $2000 per 24 hour period.
-
ATM withdrawal fee: Domestic: $2.50 International: $2.00
-
Reload fee: Free (maximum of 3 reloads per card life)
Summary
You should decide on your own whether the convenience of prepaid money
cards outweighs the fees and restrictions placed on the cards by their
issuers. Although, we believe our article to be factual we recommend that
you Always read the terms and conditions that bind your use of the
cards before you agree to purchase a cash card.
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