Fairfx Advice

weelal123

Has anybody used the Fairfx dollar or anywhere card?

I am looking to put quite a bit if money on it for our week visit to
Las Vegas but I just wondered what happened when I got back to the UK?

Do I get hit with a poor exchange rate worse than if I took cash?

In real need of advice re: best way to take dollars over and exchange back to pounds when I get home!

Please & Thank you

WeeLal

NiftyDigits

Halifax Clarity.

Failing that, perhaps a Kalixa Pay Prepaid card.

Search for Kalixa Pay Promo code to find a code that will add a discount to the £6.95 purchase fee. You'll need to enter the promo code on the first page of the registration form to get the discount.
Pulling the max of US$470 from the Kalixa each time will attract the lowest fee of any Prepaid card. 0.75%. Purchases attract no forex fee at all. Current exchange rate offered: US$1.569800

alwaysskint96

why not just top up the Fairfx card online as you need it rather than load it and take back

weelal123

I presume it's easy to add funds quickly & abroad?!

Il have a look into the other suggested cards too...thank you!

Holding off for best exchange rate but always worry it also drops...x

jtr2803

I've got one, had one for years and used it all over the place! Never had any issues and find it miles easier than taking loads of cash.

I usually leave my balance on the card but a few times I've just withdrawn it from a cash machine in the UK and its never cost that much. I'm sure the fees are on their website. I've also logged in and topped up from abroad with no problems.

The rate was almost 1.7 not that long ago but its dropped off a bit now.....

Delboy65_2

weelal123 wrote: »

Has anybody used the Fairfx dollar or anywhere card?

I am looking to put quite a bit if money on it for our week visit to
Las Vegas but I just wondered what happened when I got back to the UK?

Do I get hit with a poor exchange rate worse than if I took cash?

In real need of advice re: best way to take dollars over and exchange back to pounds when I get home!

Please & Thank you

WeeLal

Just been to the states and biggest mistake was taking out a FairFX card. Only did so as got £5 c/b on Quidco but didnt read the terms fully. Yes you get a good rate BUT (a) an ATM withdrawl is $2 PLUS charge levied by the bank (seek out a Credit Union instead of main bank ATM = no fee, except FairFX fee), and (b) heavy penalties to withdraw (1.4%, min £10).

Would recommend either the Caxton FX card (2nd best ex rate) or Travelex Currency Card instead as no fees imposed to withdraw at ATM or to refund

NiftyDigits

Delboy65 wrote: »

Just been to the states and biggest mistake was taking out a FairFX card. Only did so as got £5 c/b on Quidco but didnt read the terms fully. Yes you get a good rate BUT (a) an ATM withdrawl is $2 PLUS charge levied by the bank (seek out a Credit Union instead of main bank ATM = no fee, except FairFX fee), and (b) heavy penalties to withdraw (1.4%, min £10).

Would recommend either the Caxton FX card (2nd best ex rate) or Travelex Currency Card instead as no fees imposed to withdraw at ATM or to refund

You are making it up....or you simply don't fully understand what it is that you are writing. There is no £10 fee for ATM withdrawal. You probably mean the redemption fee. Why did you not withdraw the cash via an ATM??

Next time, do some proper research.

Ukash US$1.5517
Fairfx US$1.5460
Caxton US$1.5360

Better still, get a proper mainstream card denominated in Pounds.

Delboy65_2

FairFX charge $2 for an ATM withdrawl (on top of banks fee)
They also charge 1.4%, min £10 to refund money off your card back to your bank

Caxton and Travelex impose neither charge and whilst rates not as good - unless you are handling BIG amounts of money then above charges outweigh the better rate

Delboy65_2

From the Fair FX FAQ....

CAN I HAVE THE BALANCE ON MY ACCOUNT REFUNDED TO ME?
If you wish to withdraw your money we generally recommend that you do so via any ATM that accepts MasterCard®. This is often the cheapest way to withdraw your money as long as the amount isn't too high as you only pay either EUR €1.50 or USD $2.00 plus the 1.4% out of currency fee for the $ or € cards or a £1.50 flat fee if you are using the Sterling card. The exchange rate is the MasterCard wholesale rate. If you have a large amount of funds left on your card it may work out cheaper to refund it through FAIRFX.

You can also spend the remaining money back here in the UK at shops and restaurants to use up the funds left on the card. You will be charged 1.4% on all point of sale transactions.

If you prefer the money in one lump sum, we will arrange for some or all of the available funds on your FAIRFX Card to be refunded to you. We can transfer the money to you and you can still keep the card for future use. There is a £10 refund fee on the Euro and Dollar card or 1.4% on the anywhere card (subject to a minimum of £10.)

NiftyDigits

Delboy65 wrote: »

FairFX charge $2 for an ATM withdrawl (on top of banks fee)
They also charge 1.4%, min £10 to refund money off your card back to your bank

Caxton and Travelex impose neither charge and whilst rates not as good - unless you are handling BIG amounts of money then above charges outweigh the better rate

Is English your first language?

It is a redemption fee.

You could have avoided it by simply withdrawing the balance via ATM in the UK(as they advise in their FAQ). Did you not understand what was written there?.
Then the total charge would have been 1.4% + US$2
Caxton charge 2.75% + US$3
Travelex (Cash Passport) charge a minimum of 5.75%....or look here

So in fact Fairfx have the lowest redemption fee.


So...you should refrain from posting on subjects on which you have a very poor understanding.
You'd be better off asking, rather than attempting to give (poor) advice.