Amex respond to airline offerings with travel card upgrade

Amex has responded to competition heating up in the prepaid travel card market by saying goodbye to cross currency conversion fees. Leading prepaid travel card competitors Ozforex, Qantas Cash and Velocity Global Wallet had an edge over Amex in their ability to host a wider breadth of currencies on their cards, but no more.

Amex Express Global Travel Card which was amongst the first travel cards to launch in 2010, has now reduced its cross currency conversion fee to 0% - eliminating the need for Aussie travelers to carry multiple foreign currencies on their prepaid travel card.

Top competitors Ozforex, Qantas Cash and Velocity Global Wallet allow customers to load between 4-9 currencies on their cards but charge a hefty 3% currency conversion fee when a card holder swipes their card in a currency not loaded on the card.

By comparison, American Express Global Travel card holders can load their card with one of three currencies (US Dollar, Pound Sterling or Euro) and spend in any currency without having to pay a cross-currency conversion fee or worry about reloading multiple currencies.

Unlike many other pre-paid currency cards, Amex has also scrapped inactivity fees and expiry periods, meaning funds kept on the card can be left indefinitely and will still be there (in full) the next time the card holder wants to use them.

Any card innovations that simplify travel money for international travellers are a welcome addition to a market rapidly filling up with fee laden offers keen for a slice of Australian's travel dollar. Mozo looks forward to seeing how the competition will respond to Amex's bold fee-cutting approach.

To compare the market of travel money cards visit Mozo's prepaid travel card comparison hub here.