Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

grainy_2

If I go for the fairfx card in £, am i still able to use it to purchase items in shops? Or can I only use it in cash machines?

Still a bit confused what the difference is between the fairfx card in Euro or £(anywhere card)?

Thanks for all your help, this money talk hurts my brain!

DCIC

Yes you can still buy in shops with the FairFx Anywhere card, but you pay 1.5% of the transaction as a fee just like you do for ATM cash. Conversion from £ to € is at the rate prevailing on the day.

The advantage of the Euro card is that merchant transactions are free, you only pay for ATm use, but as I said above it's a fixed fee so gets expensive if you wish to take out small quantities of cash.

If you are going to be there a while, and the €150 minimum load isn't a problem, I would consider the caxtonfx euro card for the reasons I give above (no charge for merchant OR ATM). Their rate is only slightly worse than FairFx (eg 1.194 vs 1.2) and this is more than compensated by lack of charges.

Caxton also do a global (sterling card) but they take 2.5% of the transaction so in that case FairFx Anywhere is better.

And at the risk of complicating matters even more, Travelex currently have a special offer on their Cash Passport Globe card and this might make it cheaper than Fairfx Anywhere card.

(this is NOT the same as the simple Cash Passport that's something else and not in my opinion very good value*).

The Globe card is currently free (usually ~£30 to buy) and their charge is 1.49%, The exchange rate is the master card rate (like FairFx I beleive) so should be marginally cheaper (although do your own research to confirm). They also offer an emergency money service to get you out of trouble in the package.

*In Martin's discussion on MSE he doesn't make clear that the charges for the Travelex cash passport differ depending on where you get it. There are totally different charges for getting it online, from Thomas Cook or the Co-op. Online is definitely cheaper than the other two, but not as good as FairFx or Caxton.

Sorry as a newbie I am not allowed to post links but you can easily find them.

CountryGoose

FairFX in €

• Your cash is converted to € on the day you load. The fx rate is around 1.5% off interbank.
• If the fx rate goes down, you win. If it goes up, you lose!
• You can spend in shops, etc. with no more fees
• You pay €1.50 for each ATM visit. You have already paid commission to load the card.
• You can easily tell how much you've spent and how much you have left on the card.

FairFX in £

• Your cash is converted when you spend: You get the best rate on the day, less 1.5% commission.
• You can spend in shops, etc. with no more fees.
• There are no fees for using an ATM.
• Tracking the daily balance is harder as you don't know exactly what each transaction has cost.

Unless you're sure that the Pound will fall against the Euro, I think you're better off with the £ card.

However...... I would only use one of these cards for spending in shops, etc. if I could not get a best value Credit Card which you can settle at the end of the trip.

For me, the value in the Prepaid card is for frequent cash withdrawals abroad from ATMs at a good exchange rate, not for spending where I could use my credit card.

iblametheparents

DCIC wrote: »

I agree.

After looking at FairFx and Caxton in some detail, it seems to me that Caxton, despite a slight less favourable exchange rate than FairFx, is a better euro or dollar card if you want to withdraw cash as well as pay merchants directly. Caxton, unlike FairFx, doesn't have fees for ATM withdrawals, and this more than compensates for the exchange rate.

On the other hand FairFx is attractive for short trips because unlike Caxton it doesn't have a (€150 or $200) minimum load and it's cheaper to take money off it on return. In this case, however, it might be better to go for the FairFx Anywhere card even in euroland or USA, because the charge is 1.5%; thus for smaller ATM withdrawals it is more cost effective than a card with a fixed fee.

Anyone had similar thoughts?

I've gone for the FairFX Anywhere card as I like the fact I can withdraw small amounts as and when I need to, I have a habit of losing money so really need to carry as little on me as possible! Remember the Caxton rate is roughly 1.5-2% off interbank rates whereas the FairFX Anywhere has 1.5% transaction charge and there are no ATM fees.

iblametheparents

DCIC wrote: »

If you are going to be there a while, and the €150 minimum load isn't a problem, I would consider the caxtonfx euro card for the reasons I give above (no charge for merchant OR ATM). Their rate is only slightly worse than FairFx (eg 1.194 vs 1.2) and this is more than compensated by lack of charges.
.

That isn't FairFX's Anywhere rate, only their Euro card rate.

amanda30ronan

does anyone know where to get the best euro rate is at the mo ? wanting to buy £1000 of euros

CountryGoose

xe.com will give you the interbank rate. You'll be hard pressed to get this.

http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/ on this site to find the best rate for you circumstances

DCIC

Iblametheparents. so are you saying that the FairFX Anywhere card gives a better exchange for Euro than the rate used for FairFx euro card? Can you elaborate? I assumed that the rate quoted on their site applied to all their cards assuming transactions executed today. If Fairfx Anywhere is 1.5% off interbank and Caxton is 1.5-2% surely it's as I said, only about 0.5% between them? PS Anyone know anything about the Travelex Globe passport? Is it better than FairFX. Need to sort out daughter's money for Africa!

val_parry

Help, I need to buy euros in the next few days, I have a Post Office credit Card and a Alliance & Leicester Visa debit card...which is the best to use?

joneeboy

all currency exchang in the UK is a total ripoff. I regularly travel to Europe, including Turkey, and to China, Singapore, Malaysia,HongKong and Philippines. I always pay for as much as I can in advance, and take Sterling cash with me and keep most of it in the hotel or room safe. I can always change it a better rates overseas, sometimes much better, than I can get in the UK. Many overseas banks and money changers don't charge commission, and the difference between buying and selling is small. I do try to take a bit of loose change in each currency, just enough to pay for airport bus/taxi on arrival,and in case I need to make telephone calls. I usually have this left over from earlier trips, and keep it in little plastic bags until I need it. I take my cards with me just in case of emergency, in which case the exchange rate would be the least of my concerns, but so far I have not had one.