Money + FairFX in Australia / New Zealand

beatsneedrhymes

Much as I would like to take a decent credit card (Nationwide, Abbey Zero, Post Office) AND debit card (NW) abroad, I am unemployed and unable to get any of them.

So I was thinking of taking with me to New Zealand and Australia a FairFX card for most purchases on card.

1 Does this sound sensible? I spoke to someone at FairFx who said the conversion rate to Australian or NZ dollars will be the equivalent of a 1% charge: a 0.3% difference to 'Interbank levels' and 0.7% charge. To be honest I didn't fully understand, as he used a lot of banking jargon.

2 The same guy said to get the US dollar FairFX card as opposed to the Euro equivalent, as I'll get more for my money. Does that stack up?

Any help much appreciated.

redridingh00d

I'm going round the world, and having been turned down for a Nationwide AC I'm going to get a FairFX card. They can only be loaded in Euros or dollars, and since they're not the currency of any of the countries I'm visiting, I wondered which currency was better value? (In terms of how they exchange to other currencies?).

beatsneedrhymes

Bumping this - anyone able to help?

beatsneedrhymes

Same situation here. I should have applied for credit cards/bank accounts before I quit my job - idiot :embarasse But even then I'm finding out even getting a bank account can be suprisingly tricky, something I would have never forseen).

I'm going to Australia and New Zealand and spoke to someone at FairFx yestrday, who said that regardless of whether you take the Euro or Dollar card, the conversion rate will be the equivalent of a 1% charge: a 0.3% difference to 'Interbank levels' and 0.7% charge. To be honest I didn't fully understand, as he used a lot of banking jargon (and I think he knew it too).

The same guy said to get the US dollar FairFX card as opposed to the Euro equivalent - they both incur the same charges, but the pound is stronger against the dollar than the Euro so you're getting more for your money in the first place.

Which I guess makes sense.

I posted a similar question to yours yesterday to see if I had done my sums right but no one replied, so shall we agree to help each other out if we find out anything else?

redridingh00d

Thanks, still no joy for me though - I think I'm going to just go with dollars since the Fairfx guy makes a valid point, the pound is very weak against the euro at the mo.