Fair FX card

kennedys

Hi all,
I am travelling to the States in December and need to access cash whilst abroad.
My credit rating is poor so am unable to use anything other than my existing Halifax debit card.
I have heard about the Fair FX card but I understand that these are a farily new concept & i'm not very familiar with them. Are they safe to use?
Would it be better to get a Fair FX card than exchange cash before going aborad?
Any advice would be appreciated.

BillScarab

I'm not familiar with the Fair FX card. Is it a card you preload with foreign currency before using it abroad?

I've used a Caxton FX card in Europe which worked fine and is recommended in the travel money section of this site.

lesley1960

we are taking fairfx cards along with cash and travellers cheques , its best to have a spread of money options in case something goes wrong . I have heard some people have had problems with shadow transactions , usually in restaurants they will pre- authorise the card to include a tip , its best to make clear you will be tipping by cash separately . I have also heard some people have experienced a problem when withdrawing from atms when a limit has been placed on withdrawels ( this seems to be random as others posted they had no problem )

I only got the card because at the time they were offering 2$ to the £ . Travellers cheques are a good option , though be prepared to carry photo id

StevieTravel

I have a Dollar card from FairFX and used it in about 5 shops and restaurants in New York without any problems. This 'shadow transaction' term is a bit misleading - all it is is pre-authorisation which happens with any card when you're booking something like car hire. If you want to get round it, just use your regular credit card for any pre-authorisations (which won't cost you anything) but pay the final balance with your FairFX card to get the best exchange rates.