FairFX Currency Exchange Card - Fix Your Currency Exchange Rates
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Buy euros and dollars with the new FairFx currency card and bag yourself cheap foreign currency exchange rates.
UK price: £9.95 / free
Pros: Cheap foreign currency exchange rates
Cons: Initial cost, cashpoint charges, unspent money is 'trapped' on the card
Verdict: Good system for regular travellers with excellent exchange rates
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Available from: FREE FairFX Currency Card for TheTravelEditor.com customers (Normally £9.95 - click here to see details).
Product Review
Right, here's the deal: You go to www.fairfx.com. You sign up for a card. A card and pin is sent to you. You can then transfer money from your bank account onto the currency card. You can then buy Euros or US Dollar equivalent to the money you've got on it at a fixed exchange rate. Then you can use it as a credit card (MasterCard) to pay for purchases abroad without surcharges or punitive conversion rates. You'll also know how much it will cost because the exchange rate is fixed.
Why bother? Because you can get cheap exchange rates. FairFX buy currency at a tiny mark up so it's the cheapest way to buy euros and dollars. They make their money because they have very low overheads - a very small number of people working for them despite the fact the customer base is already around 20,000.
This is compared with a provider such as Travelex which will have stores all over the place all paying rent, and on top of that staff working in those stores. FairFX can do it all electronically instead.
Currency exchange cards are a good idea, especially for regular visitors or parents wishing to give a currency card to teenagers. It's allows you to keep your money secure as well keeping track of what you are spending. And you can't over-spend the pre-paid limit. If you run out of money you can top up your currency card over the Internet, phone and even text message.
I've checked several times now and the FairFX exchange rates are brilliant. For the latest comparison visit www.fairfx.com. The only drawback to the system is that they charge you £9.95 for the card in the first place. However, you can get FairFx currency card for free if you buy 10 euros when you register at fairfx.com.
These currency cards are the latest way of getting foreign currency abroad. There are hidden costs and charges with many of them so beware. The independent website moneysavingexpert.com currently picks the FairFX as the best foreign exchange currency card but does point out that they'll charge you $2/€1.50 each time you use it to draw cash out of an ATM.
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