Cash Passport Card
 

I thought I'd stick this up here as it can be pertinent to Spanish expats

I went to the currency company this month to buy some $ in travellers cheques> When I got to the counter they eventually persuaded me to not have TC's but to have a cash passport card. Just like a credit card but it gets loaded with the currency you buy and then (I was told) you can go to any ATM and withdraw with no fee, and you can use it safely in restaurants etc as you use your pin no.

Off I go to the States, and to cut a long story short ..... every ATM I used without fail charged up to $3 per time. On going to shops and restaurants all they did was swipe the card Only a handful of times was I asked to use a pin, and once when a signature was asked for my wife signed instead on me (I was the signature on the card) and nothing was said.

So ..... if you go to a currency company and they try to persuade you to have one, just remember that you will possibly incur fees at ATM's, and the system is not secure. If you lose your card, then you have lost your money because whoever finds it can use it.

Re: Cash Passport Card
 

A friend in Uk fell foul of the Post office one. I promised you would not be stuck without money when abroad. If the card was lost or stolen you would have money within 24 hrs NOT My friend had her purse stolen when we were out to celebrate my birthday. Over a week later when she was home again she still had no money ! Thankfully she had been staying me and not a hotel or travelling, she would have been well and truly up the creek with a paddle. It took her ages to get the money back and the offered in compensation was paltry. She suggested a place to put their offer of another card.

Re: Cash Passport Card
 

Very good point Mtzyboy, and don't you think since chip and pin came in it's even less secure in the UK?

In the UK, My OH and I often use each others card and simply put it in the machine and enter the pin No', and we are a different sex, they never see the card. I must add it's a little different here in Spain as they often ask for NIE or passport if they don't know us.

Re: Cash Passport Card
 

I have never been asked for a pin no. in the USA for any of my credit cards, they just don't use them.

Re: Cash Passport Card
 

You're right, and with a credit card it's not quite so much of a risk as you do have some guarantees, but with a cash debit card you could easily be royally stuffed