... The card is sold in Foreign Exchange branches of the Post Office and, after loading up initially with £250+ worth of currency (sterling, euros or US dollars) should be able to be used at Visa Electron outlets worldwide for cash, purchases and services. A further attraction is that it can, ... Read review
Advantages: Straightforward to buy, some excellent "helpline" staff Disadvantages: Failure to activate, absence of 24 hour qualified support, no back up
...Foreign Exchange branches of the Post Office and, after loading up initially with £250+ worth of currency (sterling, euros or US dollars) should be able to be used at Visa Electron outlets worldwide for cash, purchases and services. A further attraction is that it can, theoretically at least, be topped up with £50 at a time via the phone* or at a branch - potentially by family or friends if necessary. This was probably it's main recommendation from ... ...of computer problems at the Post Office where it was bought and he was stuck in Belize, a fairly remote destination, with no money.
When things do go wrong the Post Office are frighteningly unable to cope. The "24 hour helpline"staff, while generally willing and sympathetic, can only actually attempt to resolve problems when the financial team are available i.e. not at weekends, evenings or bank holidays, and, in the event ... more
This product, promoted as "the safe and easy way to carry cash abroad", appears perfect for young people embarking on foreign travel, and the claim is no doubt sometimes fair. The card is sold in Foreign Exchange branches of the Post Office and, after loading up initially with £250+ worth of currency (sterling, euros or US dollars) should be able to be used at Visa Electron outlets worldwide for cash, purchases and services. A further attraction is that it can, theoretically at least, be topped up with £50 at a time via the phone* or at a branch - potentially by family or friends if necessary. This was probably it's main recommendation from my point of view.
The advice that "you can pop in...and walk away with your card" is also accurate but doesn't mention that it cannot be activated for up to 2 days. When we phoned 24 hours after purchase to activate the card the details weren't recognised. As my son was due to travel the following day we contacted the helpline and were told to try again the next day - the day he began his journey. In fact 6 days and countless phone calls later my son's card still could not be activated because of computer problems at the Post Office where it was bought and he was stuck in Belize, a fairly remote destination, with no money.
When things do go wrong the Post Office are frighteningly unable to cope. The "24 hour helpline"staff, while generally willing and sympathetic, can only actually attempt to resolve problems when the financial team are available i.e. not at weekends, evenings or bank holidays, and, in the event of computer failure, can offer no practical alternative to "waiting for an engineer" - we waited a further two days and were then informed that the files had been corrupted and that the data may have been lost. When asked (four days after purchase) how the situation could be progressed more rapidly, considering my son's dangerous position, one operative suggested writing to the Post Office complaints department - not a very helpful suggestion given the urgency of the problem and their current industrial action.
I have been assured that this kind of occurence is rare but I know from experience that computer failure is not that unusual and am concerned that an organisation of this size has no back up arrangements in place. If this is how they (fail to) deal with a fairly routine glitch in a Post Office branch what are the chances of their being able to efficiently "courier directly to your holiday destination" a replacement card in the event of loss or theft? From initially appearing the ideal product the Post Office Travel Money Card became a source of anxiety, frustration, endless unproductive phone calls and a ruined holiday.
The card was finally activated a week after its purchase and after I had already begun arrangements to wire money to my son in Belize, no mean undertaking given the difficulty of communicating with him in such a remote area. We have received no apology or recompense, in fact far from it - the Post Office decline any responsibility and appear very keen to disassociate themselves from their Travel Money Card when things go wrong.
The Post Office brand still carried for me an impression of reliability and accessibility which it no longer deserves - they are not competent to provide financial services.
* Apparently top ups take up to 48 hours to process so warn your kids not to leave it until they're already out of money!
Advantages: Can't think of any Disadvantages: Lose out on rate and could end up with no money as not widely accepted
...if you go to the post office and get your commission free euros, you will receive a much lower rate than you will in your local resort. Also, don't get collared for euro cheques either. Firstly, there is a charge to exchange them in Spain and you lose out if you bring any back too. The other thing to watch out for at your holiday destination is, if you see a red and white exchange bureau BEWARE, these usually state a higher rate with no commission ... ...is a service charge, hence you end up receiving a lot less than if you had shopped around for a genuine money exchange. Another don't is changing money at your hotel/ apartment reception, you will lose out there too. I would recommend you change a small amount ie around £50 before you travel (but take in to consideration landing time and day as some bureaus close on Sundays and evenings). Take the sterling with you and change it as and when you need ...
jeckmate 05.08.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Post Office Travel Money Card
Advantages: Could have been good! If they had done their quality assurance checks. Disadvantages: No help given when they have problems - left without money.
...operating this card for The Post Office appears to be the same one operating LLoyds Travel Money Card (I have the LLoyds version and the Manager wrongly introduced himself as Post Office earlier today!!!). My son has been stranded in Moscow for a week with no money because their systems have failed and the ATMs in many countries in the world cannot communicate with theirs in the UK. So much for a safe, reliable alternative to cash or travellers cheques ... ...up to date with changes in the international ATM systems and their software cannot cope. What makes it worse is their attempt to cover up what was going on even though they knew my son was stranded without funds. They offered no help to get him money and will not compensate me for a mercy flight with cash. I still have hundreds of pounds on useless cards - their systems have not worked for in excess of 10 days. DON'T TOUCH THEM WITH A BARGEPOLE!!!! ...
saperkins 03.03.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Post Office Travel Money Card
Quick review of Post Office Travel Money Card
I purchased a travel card in US$ and experienced a wide range of problems:
1) it was not widely accepted in the States.
2) the last five transactions are not immediately updated on their 24 hour helpline
3) when calling from abroad, the alleged "24 hour helpline" is an automated one, there is no chance of speaking to a human
4) we had a problem where a transaction for a substantial amount was deducted twice. Due to points 2) and 3) above we tried to sort this out after our return from holiday. However, we were informed that unlinke credit cards (where you have an automatic protection) the post office doesn't offer anything and we need to take it up ourselves. (nice one)
I would not recommend the product! ...
00vegas 09.05.2008
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Post Office Travel Money Card
Advantages: No surchage when buying Ryanair tickets. That's all, but worth it for frequent flyers. Disadvantages: Initial commission, poor exchange rate....need I go on?
I rated the Travel Money Card as three stars, but only because it gives you a relatively easy means of getting hold of an Electron type card for buying Ryanair tickets. This obscure card is the only type of payment Ryanair will accept that does not incurr a £4 per person per flight (ie £16 for two people return) surcharge. So if you want to play them at their own game, get a Travel Money Card.
Otherwise I'd agree, it's a naff product. The best way ... ...Nationwide Flex account and get it from ATMs when you are abroad. It's commission free and, as far as you could tell, the spot exchange rate - ie there's no exchange rate loading. I also use a Nationwide VISA credit card for the same reasons. It's certainly better than taking sterling with you and hoping to exchange it abroad, as Jeckmate suggested. ...
Typo56 08.08.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Post Office Travel Money Card
Advantages: Name you can trust, easy to apply Disadvantages: not sure if they have the best service
...now I think that maybe Post Office might be the best option as they do not charge. I know there are other FX cards like FairFX and Amex but in my opinion Post Office are trusted. I found them by checking out sites like this one and other comparison sites like www.whichwaytopay.com because you get proper reviews of each product and you know it's been testted out. I did have a bit of a wait when I tried to ring Post Office but that's to be expected ...
xenia123 06.03.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Post Office Travel Money Card
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