Forex card- Is it worth it

Whole travelling to the US i use the HDFC forex card. It is the preffered means of carrying foreign exchange by my company also.

However , I am not happy with the product and when i compare it with American express travellers cheques. Here are my views


Pros

• This is like a credit card, small enough to keep in your pocket
• HDFC Bank is quite prompt in getting these to you
• One can easily return the card and the money is put back into your account quite promptly
• One can withdraw the money when ever required from any VISA ATM

Cons

• This is not like a credit card. There is a cost of $2.5 for every transaction made- NO MATTER what the amount you with draw.
• The charges above are also not constant- I tried taking out money from one bank- and they charged me 5$!! it was pure cheating.
• Some ATMs have a limit to the amount you can withdraw. So , if you want to take out say 600$, the ATM may allow you to take out only 500$ at one time and hence you now need to pay twice the withdrawal charges.

To me, the cons of taking out money- really pinch me. I mean, its my money- and they are charging me to take it out ( of course things like this is all common in the US- there is no free lunch)

I would prefer to use travellers cheques or carry cash!

Comments welcome
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