November 1st.

I received the same email some time ago, my card expired 10/2019. My new card arrived about a week before expiry.

Ron.

I've received a similar notice from them two months ago but haven't received the card yet (perhaps they are using the old Canadian address I have on file?) Oh well I spent most of the money on that card when I was studying in the UK so don't care if there's a couple quid left on the card. I've also come to learn of a couple cards in Canada which waive the foreign exchange fees, namely the Free Brim Financial Mastercard which I now use for all foreign purchases (aside from Canada/US where I have credit cards in those respective currencies).

Perhaps I'm missing something here but the main appeal of the card was the low (or no?) Forex fees? Is there any other really compelling reason to keep a prepaid debit card?

Safe Travels,

James

Because overseas would be a really inconvenient place to get one of my primary cards compromised or stolen.

To counter that credit cards by law are 0 liability for fraud. The same cannot be said for debit cards where the onus is on the cardholder to prove something is fraudulent. If the debit card gets compromised you would still need to get another card. Also with AmEx when I had one of my cards compromised they overnighted me a replacement card. I doubt AC/CIBC would offer that level of service.

-James

I have never put more than a hundred Euros or Pounds on it at a time.

I have lost track of how many times gypsies have tried to pickpocket me in Europe, so I just prefer to leave my credit cards with my passport locked up wherever I am staying.

I am sure my Visa and Mastercard issuers would rise to the occasion, but I would rather just not cross that bridge. I don't need my high-limit cards to buy a soda.

Exactly. +1,000,000

My bank also offers a great travel prepaid debit card where I can instantaneously load it directly from my account too.

Debit is much better than credit when you need to use an ATM (this may seem anachronistic but many developing countries remain primarily cash based). As for why not just use my primary bank debit card, using a prepaid card limits fraud exposure because I just put whatever I need on there minutes before use.

And Japan too! Though things are getting better in terms of CC payments.
Still, a bunch of places are cash only.

And of course, if you like privacy, cash is king.

+1,000,000

Interesting idea of loading the card just before you need to pull cash, that's something I'll certainly consider in the future. I suppose the other benefit may be the lack of ATM fees charged by the bank/credit card company. Personally, I've just been using my credit card to pull out cash when it's absolutely needed abroad using my no ForEx card then paying off the balance right away.

That is true... don't forget public transit! I remember even a few years ago it was near impossible to get a rail ticket in Switzerland with a credit card.

-James

I did a "Bill Payment" deposit on the card on Thursday - still has not shown up as of 10AM Saturday morning.

My understanding is that this is the only way to load the card with Canadian dollars. No direct transfers from my banking account. Am I correct in this :) ????

From the site..

Instructions for loading funds in Canadian Dollar

• Add "VISA, CIBC AC Conversion Prepd" as a payee and enter your 16 digit card number (4512312443124324) as the account number.
• Once your card is successfully added as a payee, select "Pay a Bill" and enter an amount up to $3,000 (Note: the maximum load limit is $3,000 per 24 hours).
• Funds will be loaded onto your card within 2-3 business days. An email confirmation will be sent once we have received funds from your financial institution.

Your payment may take up to 72 hours to be processed by your bank.

Please contact your financial institution and credit union for AC conversion bill payee setup eligibility.

Why do you want to load CAD on this card? I assume to convert whenever you want?

Ron.

I would suggest keeping some Canadian dollars on the card because I had a few cashiers proactively transact in Canadian Dollars seeing the card.

Your credit card issuer might also treat the funds load as a cash advance.

If you don't mind my asking, which bank? What card? Thank you