Spend Less Cash: Find A Better Rate For Travel Money With FairFX
When thinking about going on holiday, organising your travel money is very important, particularly in the present economic climate. The weak dollar means that your cash is unlikely to go as far as in previous years. Therefore, it is vital that you get the best travel money rate for your cash.
Travel Money Choices
You can choose from several alternatives for your travel money.
*Cash – You just pick your cash, convert it to the appropriate currency for the country you are travelling to either before you leave your home country or after you arrive at the destination. This is probably the oldest alternative as far as travel money is concerned and it is its disadvantages that almost single handedly spawned all other alternatives for travel money. The main disadvantage with cash is lack of security – it may be stolen or misplaced.
*Standard Credit/Debit Card – These are credit or debit cards associated with either one of the large international card brands such as Mastercard, Visa, Discover, JCB and American Express. The main concern with these cards is the charges often applied on each transaction as well as the risk of fraud that they carry.
*Travelers Checks (TC) – Travelers checks are fee-free, unlike credit and debit cards. TCs are also fairly safe because they must be countersigned to use them and they are replaceable if stolen or lost. The currency exchange rate is typically not very competitive, however. Moreover, most currency exchanges and banks charge a fee to exchange TCs. This fee makes their overall travel money rate even worse.
*Pre-paid Currency Cards – This option for travel money is relatively recent and is designed to be convenient for international travelers while countering the drawbacks of other types of travel money. More details about this option are provided below.
General Information About Prepaid Currency Cards
Prepaid cards are somewhat similar to standard credit and debit cards and they offer the same ability to purchase products and services but with one big difference – you can only spend up to the total amount that has been preloaded. This means there is no risk of running into debt as it has no credit or overdraft facility. As with cash, loading up a pre-paid currency card involves converting cash into your chosen currency; this means that you are subject to the exchange rate offered by the provider. The benefit is that you are able to hedge against exchange rate fluctuations during the trip. You will be issued with a PIN number and, similar to your normal international debit and credit your card can be used virtually anywhere on the planet.
Advantages of Prepaid Currency Cards
*Application process – There are no credit checks and this implies you get the card without worrying about your credit history. All prepaid card providers will carry out an identity check to confirm you are who you say you are.
*Ability to Control Spending – The control these cards provide makes them popular with parents and guardians of children sent overseas to study because it helps manage the child’s spending. Cards are pre-loaded with money based on a budget, and any excess expenditure is easily detected because money would have to be loaded into the card again.
*Better Travel Money Rate – Although there are exceptions, prepaid currency cards often feature a better currency exchange rate than other types of travel money.
Fair FX give some of the best exchange rates around on their of prepaid currency cards. Have a look at their current exchange rates, and check out exactly how much money you could save.
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