Caxton card and switching currency?

The_stingemeister

Recently received the new multi-currency card, that replaces my euro and dollar ones.
Anyone know if they charge for switching to another currency on this? Can't see any answer in their FAQ.

The_stingemeister

Quiet on here. 4th from top and no replies.

Neil49

I have the same card, also with euro and $ on it, and as far as I am aware they are held individually so if you wanted to switch your balance of funds from say US$ to Swiss Francs then it would mean you cashing in the $ to £ and then starting from scratch to buy CHF.

I quite like prepaid cards but they are only a good idea if you plan to use them for multiple visits and know that you will eventually run the balance down to zero. Cashing in excess funds back to £ is not a cost effective way to use them.

Previously you could use a euro or US$ card in the UK (in £) to get the balance close to zero and pay a charge for using outside the denominated currency. This worked out cheaper than getting the funds converted back by Caxton. I'm not sure what happens with a multi currency card in such a situation as I don't know which currency loaded onto the card it would use in such a transaction.

I had planned to run down the euro on my card to virtually nil when we were in Spain recently as I don't like this new type of card (basically because of the poorer exchange rates now offered compared with the old Visa versions) but we didn't spend that much.

Hope this helps.

The_stingemeister

Neil49 wrote: »

I have the same card, also with euro and $ on it, and as far as I am aware they are held individually so if you wanted to switch your balance of funds from say US$ to Swiss Francs then it would mean you cashing in the $ to £ and then starting from scratch to buy CHF.

I quite like prepaid cards but they are only a good idea if you plan to use them for multiple visits and know that you will eventually run the balance down to zero. Cashing in excess funds back to £ is not a cost effective way to use them.

Previously you could use a euro or US$ card in the UK (in £) to get the balance close to zero and pay a charge for using outside the denominated currency. This worked out cheaper than getting the funds converted back by Caxton. I'm not sure what happens with a multi currency card in such a situation as I don't know which currency loaded onto the card it would use in such a transaction.

I had planned to run down the euro on my card to virtually nil when we were in Spain recently as I don't like this new type of card (basically because of the poorer exchange rates now offered compared with the old Visa versions) but we didn't spend that much.

Hope this helps.

I guess they combined the two currencies plus others to compete with the versatility of the clarity card, amongst others. I use it as a back-up anyway.

whatmichaelsays

Neil49 wrote: »

I have the same card, also with euro and $ on it, and as far as I am aware they are held individually so if you wanted to switch your balance of funds from say US$ to Swiss Francs then it would mean you cashing in the $ to £ and then starting from scratch to buy CHF.

That's not how I read the card when I did it.

I converted some US$ to € without doing it 'via' Sterling. It just converts at whatever rate Caxton FX has set that given day.