Australia Post Travel Money

Australia Post provide everything you need to prepare for your trip overseas. Australia Post can sell you foreign cash, a travel money card, traveller's cheques and international money transfers. You can get international travel insurance from Australia Post, a special SIM to use overseas and they can hold your mail until you get back home. Read on for a review of these travel money products and services from Australia Post.

Australia Post Travel Cards

Australia Post offers one prepaid travel card to new customers: The Australia Post Travel Platinum Mastercard.

The Australia Post Cash Passport Platinum Mastercard

Similar to the Multi-Currency Cash Passport, Australia Post Cash Passport Platinum cardholders can spend in 11 international currencies wherever Mastercard is accepted. These include USD, EUR, GBP, NZD, CAD, THB, HKD, SGD, JPY, AED and AUD. When you load money onto your card, it'll be locked in to the current exchange rate. As a platinum travel card, this product also comes with two complimentary access passes to LoungeKey lounges or restaurants if your flight is delayed. When you load your card with AUD$100 or a foreign currency equivalent, you can register for a 3 month membership of free global Wi-Fi provided by Boingo Wi-Fi. Like most travel cards, you can also easily manage your account, top up your funds and view your transaction history via 'My Account'.

Discontinued travel cards by Australia Post

Australia Post also has three more travel cars in the market, however these are no longer for sale. This means these three cards cannot be opened by new customers and can only used by people who already have one of these cards.

The Load&Go Visa Travel Card (no longer for sale)

If you've already got an Australia Post Load&Go Visa Travel Card you can continue to use this card, however it's no longer available for new customers. Existing account holders can take this card in New Zealand, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Europe. You can load the currencies of these countries and regions and spend without paying the additional fee for currency conversion.

The Australia Post Load&Go China card (no longer for sale)

If you've already got an Australia Post Load&Go China Travel Card you can continue to use this card, however it's no longer available for new customers. This card is made specifically for trips to China, so you can load Australian dollars and exchange the money to Chinese renminbi at a fixed rate.

The Multi-Currency Cash Passport (no longer for sale)

The Multi-Currency Cash Passport from Australia Post is no longer available for new customers, but if you've already got the card you can continue to use it. The Cash Passport supports more currencies than the Load&Go Visa card. As well as US dollars, New Zealand dollars, British pounds, Euros and Aussie dollars, you can hold Hong Kong dollars, Singapore dollars, Canadian dollars, Thai baht and Japanese yen.

Australia Post Traveller's Cheques

Traveller's cheques can be a secure way of taking foreign currency overseas. You get to lock in a rate when you buy traveller's cheques, they don't expire and you're the only person who can cash your cheques. You can cash the cheques at hotels, banks and exchange offices all over the world.

Australia Post can sell you American Express traveller's cheques in the following currencies: US dollars, pounds, euros, Japanese yen and Canadian dollars. There's no commission when you buy the cheques online or in-store. Online orders can take up to four business days before your cheques are ready to collect from your nominated post office.

You will have difficulty cashing traveller's cheques in some countries, read our travel money guides for popular holiday destinations to find out about traveller's cheque acceptance.

Currency exchange

Save on time exchanging cash or withdrawing from an ATM when you land in another country. Australia Post can sell you foreign cash before you leave Australia.

The Australia Post currency exchange service lets you change Australian dollars to any of the following currencies:

You can exchange cash in store, or you can place an order online. Pay with EFTPOS or cash (credit cards are not accepted) if you're purchasing foreign cash in store (Australia Post have foreign exchange offices in Australia's major international airports). You can use BPAY to pay for foreign currency orders placed online. There's a cap of AUD$1,500 (or foreign currency equivalent) for in-store orders, the limit is AUD$8,500 (or foreign currency equivalent) for online orders. Online orders can take up to four days.

Australia Post travel insurance

Australia Post offer international and domestic travel insurance policies which cover you for medical, accidental and personal liability expenses when you're abroad. You can take out domestic, basic international, comprehensive international and annual multi-trip cover. Read a detailed review of international travel insurance from Australia Post. These policies are competitively priced, but make sure to keep an eye out for promo codes you can use to get a discount on Australia Post travel insurance.

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Frequently asked questions about Australia Post Travel Money

• Where can I use Australia Post Travel Cards?

  The Load&Go China card is a Union Pay card. Union Pay is China's largest card scheme and can be used all throughout China. The Load&Go Travel Card is a Visa product. This card will work all over the world as most merchants will take Visa. Similarly with the Cash Passport Mastercard. The Cash Passport is a Mastercard product and will work all over the world wherever Mastercard is accepted.

• How do I buy foreign cash?

  Order foreign cash from the Australia Post Travel Money website. Use the currency converter tool to find out what rate Australia Post can offer, and if you're happy with the quote, you can select the buy foreign cash option and the most convenient Australia Post outlet to collect your order. You can also purchase foreign cash in person from an Australia Post retail outlet.

• When do I have to pay for my foreign currency order?

  You have 24 hours to make a BPAY payment to Australia Post. Once you've entered your order details, Australia Post give you a BPAY payment details you can use to make a payment from your financial institution's internet banking facility.

• Do Australia Post and American Express charge a commission for foreign currency and traveller's cheques orders?

  Australia Post and American Express do not charge a commission when you purchase foreign cash or when you order American Express traveller's cheques online. Australia Post do apply a margin to the exchange rate. You can see a quote for your order on the Australia Post website, compare this figure with quotes from other institutions to ensure you're getting the best deal for your circumstances

• What happens if I lose my traveller's cheques?

  Get in touch with the American Express Traveller's Cheques Service Centre, American Express can make arrangements to get your replacement cheques usually within 24 hours.