Caxton FX card/prepaid travel card in Thailand - can anyone help?

wackojacko99

I recently used my Caxton FX global traveller card in Thailand in Krungthai Bank at 54.70 baht per £1GBP via the exchange booths. I was told this is the best way to avoid the 180/150baht fees from the ATM.

I withdrew 15000 baht which removed £292.35 GBP from my card. Using the bank rate of 54.7 and the caxton fee of 2.75% surely this is over the amount that should have been taken

As I'm here for a few weeks these fees will mount up!

2.75% of 15000 baht = is 125 baht (around £2.50) - Not the £20 that has been taken! Please can anyone explain to me the process as fees/charge of £20 to withdraw £300 is absolutely ludicrous!

Thanks all!

NiftyDigits

wackojacko99 wrote: »

I recently used my Caxton FX global traveller card in Thailand in Krungthai Bank at 54.70 baht per £1GBP via the exchange booths. I was told this is the best way to avoid the 180/150baht fees from the ATM.

I withdrew 15000 baht which removed £292.35 GBP from my card. Using the bank rate of 54.7 and the caxton fee of 2.75% surely this is over the amount that should have been taken

As I'm here for a few weeks these fees will mount up!

2.75% of 15000 baht = is 125 baht (around £2.50) - Not the £20 that has been taken! Please can anyone explain to me the process as fees/charge of £20 to withdraw £300 is absolutely ludicrous!

Thanks all!

Told by whom?? Whomsoever told you that is the person to whom you should make your claim.

Apart from this, your numerical skills appear close to non existent. 2.75% of 15000 baht = is 412.5 baht. Closer to £7.50

In addition to this, whoever 'told' you neglected to inform you of this:

Over the counter cash - international
£4.50 plus 2% of withdrawal amount

So that is another £4.50 plus another £5.50(300 baht)

That's approx. £17.50.

I always make it clear that one should not use Prepaid cards to withdraw cash abroad 'over the counter'.

I generally suggest using the Kalixa Pay card if using a Prepaid card in Thailand. No charges for purchases and a fixed fee of £2.25 for cash withdrawals.. That way your total fee for withdrawing 15000 baht from an ATM would be 275 baht(£5).

Same transaction with Caxton will cost you approx £10.20 Plus you get hit for 2.75% on purchases too.

You should not be told by people who don't know about what they are talking.

In your case, it's better to use the ATM, than to withdraw 'over the counter'.

wackojacko99

NiftyDigits wrote: »

Told by whom?? Whomsoever told you that is the person to whom you should make your claim.

Apart from this, your numerical skills appear close to non existent. 2.75% of 15000 baht = is 412.5 baht. Closer to £7.50

In addition to this, whoever 'told' you neglected to inform you of this:


So that is another £4.50 plus another £5.50(300 baht)

That's approx. £17.50.

I always make it clear that one should not use Prepaid cards to withdraw cash abroad 'over the counter'.

I generally suggest using the Kalixa Pay card if using a Prepaid card in Thailand. No charges for purchases and a fixed fee of £2.25 for cash withdrawals.. That way your total fee for withdrawing 15000 baht from an ATM would be 275 baht(£5).

Same transaction with Caxton will cost you approx £10.20 Plus you get hit for 2.75% on purchases too.

You should not be told by people who don't know about what they are talking.

In your case, it's better to use the ATM, than to withdraw 'over the counter'.

Thank you for your comprehensive post. Yep - stupid me. Should really have read the t&cs completely but it was a case of getting the card a few days before travel and didn't read it through fully. I went with Caxton as it was the most popular. Was hooked by the headline offers and the no fees advertisement but didn't read into it in detail. As I'm already abroad now it's not appropriate for me to get the card mentioned but something to look into for the future.

I've now learnt my lesson - I'm new to this type of finance and have also have a Halifax clarity credit card that has an APR of 12.9% but no idea which ones best to use for purchases. Fresh faced and only have really used a debit card in my life and just purchased currency before going.

As I mentioned; thanks all for looking into it for me - a little over my head! I've posted this on a few forums and everyone has pointed out my bad maths. Oops!

NiftyDigits

wackojacko99 wrote: »

Thank you for your comprehensive post. Yep - stupid me. Should really have read the t&cs completely but it was a case of getting the card a few days before travel and didn't read it through fully. I went with Caxton as it was the most popular. Was hooked by the headline offers and the no fees advertisement but didn't read into it in detail. As I'm already abroad now it's not appropriate for me to get the card mentioned but something to look into for the future.

I've now learnt my lesson - I'm new to this type of finance and have also have a Halifax clarity credit card that has an APR of 12.9% but no idea which ones best to use for purchases. Fresh faced and only have really used a debit card in my life and just purchased currency before going.

As I mentioned; thanks all for looking into it for me - a little over my head! I've posted this on a few forums and everyone has pointed out my bad maths. Oops!

You have a Halifax Clarity??!!

Use it instead. :money:

12.9% APR is around 1% per month. So if you withdraw £300, that's £3 if you wait a month to cover the bill.

But easier to just cover it asap via online banking. Then it will be much less than £3. Clear it within a week of the withdrawal and that's £0.75p.

So just clear your balance on the Clarity and use it for withdrawals. You can use it over the counter at no extra charge too.

The Caxton card, you didn't need.

wackojacko99

NiftyDigits wrote: »

You have a Halifax Clarity??!!

Use it instead. :money:

12.9% APR is around 1% per month. So if you withdraw £300, that's £3 if you wait a month to cover the bill.

But easier to just cover it asap via online banking. Then it will be much less than £3. Clear it within a week of the withdrawal and that's £0.75p.

So just clear your balance on the Clarity and use it for withdrawals. You can use it over the counter at no extra charge too.

The Caxton card, you didn't need.

Always told never to withdraw money using a credit card ! I'm so confused.

Like I said it's my first ever credit card and I'm out in Thailand for another 7 weeks -
I really really appreciate the advice given and will learn from this greatly!

NiftyDigits

wackojacko99 wrote: »

Always told never to withdraw money using a credit card ! I'm so confused.

Like I said it's my first ever credit card and I'm out in Thailand for another 7 weeks -
I really really appreciate the advice given and will learn from this greatly!

Halifax Clarity is one of the exceptions. No need to wait for statements to be produced. You can pay down the balances via Online or Telephone Banking regularly so that you have constant access to the credit balance of the Clarity..