Best way to take money?

[2Tiggies]

I got my FairFX card last weekend, it's half loaded, and activated, and I haven't got my PIN yet either, but it did say on their web site that it will arrive after. If I don't get it this weekend I'll email them too. No idea if you can test the card in a UK ATM and change the PIN, maybe they'd be able to answer that for you if you emailed them that question too?

They got back to me this morning. Apparently, as you said, the pin comes after the card not before. The letter which came with the card states "By now you will already have received your pin ...." I only saw that last night.They have also confirmed that you can use it in a UK ATM to "test" it and also to change pin code if desired. It was suggested for some reason that this be done at one of the major banks' ATMs - they gave HSBC as an example(?) Anyhow, I'm posting in case this is useful information to anyone else.

As far as I'm aware...

Your FairFX card is valid for 3 years. You can empty your account at any time, but I think they will charge you £10 if you want them to transfer the money to you, or to your card. However, you can empty it at an ATM for only the ATM fee, which is $2 in the States. I plan to pretty much empty mine before I get home! If there are any loose single dollars on there, then I won't worry about it, they'll be there for a future trip

That makes sense. Is the $2 ATM fee for any amount you withdraw?

 

[VailaTigger]

That makes sense. Is the $2 ATM fee for any amount you withdraw?

Yes, that's the way I read it. Any ATM withdrawal in the States (don't know about here because I won't be using it that way) will incur a $2 fee, just subtracted from the amount on your card.

 

[2Tiggies]

Yes, that's the way I read it. Any ATM withdrawal in the States (don't know about here because I won't be using it that way) will incur a $2 fee, just subtracted from the amount on your card.

That's fine then. I was just trying to work out if it is better to do a few decent withdrawals rather than many small ones - and that answers my question. I don't like to have too much cash on me at one time which is why I wondered. I don't plan on drawing from an ATM here, but wanted to maybe test the card and pin - I suppose even if they charge $2 it is not the end of the world for my own peace of mind.

 

[VailaTigger]

All the info is on their web site, I think that was in the FAQ's or something like that.

Hope you got your PIN, mine came today.

 

[2Tiggies]

All the info is on their web site, I think that was in the FAQ's or something like that.

Hope you got your PIN, mine came today.

Hooray! My PIN came today too! Now I must email the lovely person who responded as promptly as ever, to let her know.

 

[Frances999]

In this day and age I really struggle to understand why people go through the hassle of Traveller's Cheques. Fee-free credit/debit cards are by far the most cost effective way to spend abroad, and if you're not keen on these then the pre-loaded cards are a good alternative (although you won't get a rate as good as on the fee-free credit/debit cards, of course, unless you've bought when it was high and stored the card before your trip).

 

[Laurafoster]

I really dont see that Traveller's cheques are a hassle. You cant get them delivered to your door and when we went in December they were still accepted everywhere like cash. The only downside is the lower rate. Some people just prefer Travellers cheques, i know i tried to talk my friends into getting a credit card for their trip but they have problems with their credit rating and cant get more than £500 on a card - not good for a 3 week trip!

Personally i just take my post office card and use that. However i did have a problem one year where they placed a block on my account (even though i told them i was going to Orlando) when i used it on the first day. Despite phoning the same day and going through all the security stuff it still took them 2 days to remove the block. Which is why i now take a small amount on a fairfx card or travellers cheques as a back up.

My debit card charges quite a bit so i wont use that unless its an emergency.

 

[Kath2003]

We've done debit cards, credit cards, cash, travellers cheques...no one method is any more hassle than the other. We got some TCs this time because we were concerned the rate would plummet. No big deal either way.

 

[2Tiggies]

In this day and age I really struggle to understand why people go through the hassle of Traveller's Cheques. Fee-free credit/debit cards are by far the most cost effective way to spend abroad, and if you're not keen on these then the pre-loaded cards are a good alternative (although you won't get a rate as good as on the fee-free credit/debit cards, of course, unless you've bought when it was high and stored the card before your trip).

I completely agree with what you are saying and I am trying a FairFX card this year as my first ever alternative to TCs. I have alsways used Travellers Cheques and never found it to be any inconvenience at all. They work like cash and I can physically check and see at the end of the day what I have left. It also means that I don't have to either look for an ATM and stand in a queue or have to mentally keep track of each little purcase during the day - they do add up. So while I agree in part that the cards are more cost effective, I dont see one or the other as being more hassle/easier. I am taking both this year and it will probably be a 50/50 mix.

I guess we all find what suits us and use that method til it no longer suits.