I am taking an overseas trip shortly and I applied for an Ozforex travel pre-paid master card. The website claims to show that their rates are excellent and also has a section to check the conversion rates. So I applied for the Ozforex travel pre-paid master card. It took 7 business days to arrive by postal mail.

There is nowhere on the website that tells that the exchange rates provided for the pre-paid credit card are different to the rates shown on their website. Moreover, you can only find out the actual rates when you transfer the money to the pre-paid credit card and when you want to convert that to the foreign currency.

Other than losing your money, you are gaining nothing from this card. When you lure customers by showing incorrect exchange rates on the website, this is what I call as a dishonest business. The Golden Lesson learned — use your normal credit card when traveling overseas.

Other than losing money, I did not get anything. Mid-market rates are derived from mid-point between the buy and sell rates of large-value transactions in the global currency markets. The buy or sell rate you would receive from OzForex would be close to the mid-market rate but would include our margin that reflects the size of your transfer.

OzForex does not guarantee the accuracy of the rate or currency calculations. Please read the terms of use". On the website, the rate they quoted was 1. This is the midrate. You are never going to get that rate from anyone. It looks like you got around 3. It isn't as good as a post-paid card, but I'd say it isn't that bad compared with other prepaid travel cards.

The only benefit I can see for these prepaid cards is if you want to lock in an exchange rate. It is all part of the risk vs convenience vs cost tradeoff.

OzForex Travel Card - Prepaid Travel Money Card Review | bozunoteyuta.web.fc2.com

You just need to do these things with your eyes open. The issue that you can't know the actual exchange rate is an issue with other credit cards as well.

If you use a Mastercard, you can't find the rate they will use on their website for another 48 hours after you make the payment. I usually use my normal credit card for all overseas trips.

This was the first time I went for a pre-paid credit card big mistake. If this was the case, I would have purchased US Dollars in Cash from travellex. Prepaid "travel money" cards are a premium product in the AU market. They supply you with an additional card, the associated security, and a locked in exchange rate. However, you don't get the credit card provided rate, and there are often additional fees to withdraw your money, top-up, or use your card in your home country, or even to leave a card unused.

Cash exchange operates in a competitive market of quite complex fees and commissions. In your case you've had a go at the Ozforex card, but from the information you've supplied it is certainly no worse than any other cards in the "prepaid travel money" category, in fact from what you have said it may well be better. To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: Our staff may also remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.

Thanks for being a part of the TripAdvisor travel community! This is Sandra from the OzForex team.

Travel Card & Prepaid Travel Money Card - OzForex

As stated above there is a difference between mid-market rates and customer rates. The mid-market rates are neither "buy" rates nor "sell" rates. They are derived from mid-point between the buy and sell rates of large-value transactions in the global currency markets.

The buy or sell rate you would receive from OzForex would be close to the mid-market rate but would include our margin. It is industry standard to display mid-market rates and customer rates separately. In the Travel Card section on our website you can find a page that discloses our Travel Card exchange rates and offers full rate transparency prior to application.

Once the card has been loaded with funds and you are converting your currency of choice online, the rate is displayed first allowing you to view the exact rate and the guaranteed amount you will receive before finalising the conversion.

Regarding our Travel Card pricing, we have positioned ourselves in the market to be in line with our competitors.

Our most recent comparison of our competitor rates for Prepaid Travel Cards indicated the OzForex rates to be slightly lower on the majority of currency pairs.

A wider margin is applied compared to our online transfers business due to the extra expenses incurred in the production, processing and convenience of having a Travel Card that allows you to use it globally. We suggest customers not only compare the Travel Card exchange rate but also consider that we do not charge a reload fee and are the only Australian provider who does not.

I hope this assists in understanding our pricing for the Travel Card. We understand it can be difficult when comparing to other travel money options Cash, Credit Card etc.

But what is the point of having a travel card at all? Any bank will issue a Visa or Mastercard debit card that can be used globally.

Most charge an international withdrawal fee, but Citibank has an account which does not charge these fees. That's a good question. We see two advantages and these apply to Travel Cards in general, not just ours: You can lock in the exchange rate and 2. Australia Australia Tourism Australia Hotels Australia Bed and Breakfast Australia Vacation Rentals Australia Vacations Flights to Australia Australia Restaurants Things to Do in Australia Australia Travel Forum Australia Photos Australia Travel Guide All Australia Hotels Australia Hotel Deals Last Minute Hotels in Australia Popular Australia Categories Australia Cheap Hotels Beach Resorts in Australia Luxury Resorts in Australia Australia Golf Resorts Spa Resorts in Australia Family Beach Resorts in Australia Australia Luxury Beach Resorts Wedding Hotels in Australia Australia Luxury Family Resorts Australia Golf Hotels.

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