ozbeachbabe
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2009
- Posts
- 6,459
Have just got back from a trip to the US & took an ANZ Visa Travel Card with me for the trip to avoid paying costly conversions fees on purchases as happens with regular credit cards.
You are also issued with a PIN number for overseas cash withdrawals whereby ANZ charges USD2.50 per transaction which is in addition to what the ATM provider charges.
What I didn't realise until using it is if I lost the card how easy it would be for whoever found the card to use it. It's as about as secure as cash as far as I'm concerned.
Any purchase within the US under USD30.00 does not require a signature so anybody who found the card could just buy multiple items for less than this amount without having to sign the credit card slip.
Even when I did purchase something over this amount my card was almost always handed back to me immediately before I'd even signed the chit & not once was my signature verified with the one on the back of my travel money card.
I even turned the card over to compare my signature on the back of the card with the receipt & the sales assistant looked at me like I was from outer space. If I'd signed "Mickey Mouse" no-one would've given a rats.
I was only once asked for ID such as a passport when making a purchase & that was in Las Vegas at one of the shops at the Venetian Hotel.
So be careful when using these cards and treat them the same as cash. I would not put a huge amount on the card at any one time but you can top it up via BPAY deposits however these may take a few days to credit from your bank account to the travel money card.
You are also issued with a PIN number for overseas cash withdrawals whereby ANZ charges USD2.50 per transaction which is in addition to what the ATM provider charges.
What I didn't realise until using it is if I lost the card how easy it would be for whoever found the card to use it. It's as about as secure as cash as far as I'm concerned.
Any purchase within the US under USD30.00 does not require a signature so anybody who found the card could just buy multiple items for less than this amount without having to sign the credit card slip.
Even when I did purchase something over this amount my card was almost always handed back to me immediately before I'd even signed the chit & not once was my signature verified with the one on the back of my travel money card.
I even turned the card over to compare my signature on the back of the card with the receipt & the sales assistant looked at me like I was from outer space. If I'd signed "Mickey Mouse" no-one would've given a rats.
I was only once asked for ID such as a passport when making a purchase & that was in Las Vegas at one of the shops at the Venetian Hotel.
So be careful when using these cards and treat them the same as cash. I would not put a huge amount on the card at any one time but you can top it up via BPAY deposits however these may take a few days to credit from your bank account to the travel money card.