FairFX card....any comments?

pcyuljr

Hi,

I have a query relating the usage of this card.

I am going to Florida next month. All accomodation (inc. Breakfast) and park tickets are paid for.

I am planning on taking about a £1000 worth of dollars. I am trying to decide whether getting a Fairfx card would be worth it for me.

Most of our purchases are going to be 'day to day' ones, such as lunch or dinner, snacks etc. As such is it worth having a prepaid card? For example is it accepted protocol wise to pay for a $6 lunch with a credit style card....and what about tips? I assume they have to be cash as opposed to adding it to the electronic bill? The same with buying $5 worth of groceries. Towards the end of the holiday (depending on cash situation) we do plan on making larger purchases on clothes.

Also we are spending a week with another couple. If we are sharing a bill then is one person using a card and another cash just going to cause more work than neccessary.

Finally, it appears some people use the card more as a cash point withdrawal one as opposed to a debit/credit one. If it's $2 a withdrawal this appears to be quite an expensive way to get cash. Does the exchange rate given compensate for this and still make it competitive compared to taking pre ordered dollars? If so then this option will be a no brainer as then I get a good rate and can get the cash as it's needed.

I hope this long rant makes some sense. I am looking for peoples opinions and experience please. Recommendations of how to break down our £1000 would be most be useful!

Thanks a lot,

Lee

Always_Harassed

mollymillions wrote: »

Thanks for all your answers folks. Just spied that you can £7.50 through Quidco too!

Was going to apply but appears to be only Euro and Dollar and not the Sterling one..

Was going to buy one to pay for Ryanair flights.

Bob_the_Saver

One more use for any pre-paid card (I use Fair Fx) when you're booking flights/ hotels etc based overseas online and your 'helpful bank' block your normal credit "for your own protection" after you've spent hours finding a bargain my Fairfx always goes through, It may cost me 1.5% more but if I'm saving hundreds of pounds I don't care that much as long as I get the bargain that I want.

lorrenna

from what i have read, i have gone with caxton instead of fair fx. with the usd card, there are no fees for atm's. you have to take the risk of being locked into whatever exchange it is when you credit the card though. which with the way the market is going that might not be a bad thing.

Donnie

Always_Harassed wrote: »

Was going to apply but appears to be only Euro and Dollar and not the Sterling one..

Was going to buy one to pay for Ryanair flights.

What difference does that make exactly?

Always_Harassed

Donnie wrote: »

What difference does that make exactly?

There is no point in getting Quidco cash back on a Euro or Dollar one if you have to pay Ryanair in Sterling.

Donnie

Always_Harassed wrote: »

There is no point in getting Quidco cash back on a Euro or Dollar one if you have to pay Ryanair in Sterling.

I understand that...it just seemed to me that you weren't going to get a card at all.

shellsuit

We have both Fairfx and Caxton cards.

Both fine, easy to load and withdraw (sounds rude, ooerrr lol!) and would only use those for going away with now.

uncletomcobbly

I'm thinking of getting the FairFx Euro card for a forthcoming trip to France, and transferring funds to it from my Smile Visa Debit card.

Does anyone know whether Smile will treat that as a currency purchase transaction and hit me with the fees that they apply to other UK Bureau de Change transactions? If they do, it kind of defeats the object of getting the FairFx card, as I'd only be using it for ATM withdrawls anyway - I have a Santander Zero card for purchases.

(I know I could use the bank transfer option instead, but that's just too long winded for me at the moment)

ForkHandles_2

I got a FairFX card for a recent road trip to Spain. Excellent BUT it did not work in 90% of the French peyage toll booths, luckilly I had cash and a standard credit card (which did work) otherwise I would have been stuck.

Also had a problem in the only pay at pump service station I tried.

Don't put all your eggs into one basket and you'll be fine.

FH