FairFX card top tip

[mickptaylor]

If you have bought £1000 worth of dollars at $1.50 to the pound and the rate has risen to $1.70 then why not spend the £1000 you have on your card on your usual bills (shopping, petrol etc) then load the card back up with the ££'s you would have used.
Doing this with £1000 you would "gift" yourself $200 extra dollars

So in theory, you can never get a bad rate using the FairFX card...

 

[oceanscape]

Wow, that's a neat trick if it works. However, are you sure that FairFX will definitely apply the "old" exchange rate at which you purchased and not the current exchange rate at the time of the transaction?

 

[mickptaylor]

Wow, that's a neat trick if it works. However, are you sure that FairFX will definitely apply the "old" exchange rate at which you purchased and not the current exchange rate at the time of the transaction?

It doesn't matter because you will be spending ££'s not $$'s. So if you put £1000 on the card then spend the £1000 you are not affected by the $ rate.......or at least I think it doesn't matter.

 

[oceanscape]

It doesn't matter because you will be spending ££'s not $$'s. So if you put £1000 on the card then spend the £1000 you are not affected by the $ rate.......or at least I think it doesn't matter.

Hmm, I'm not sure that is correct. When you top up the card you are adding DOLLARS, not pounds.

For example, say you put £1000 on at $1.50 (=$1500).

Then, the exchange rate improves to $1.70.

You have $1500 on your card. If you spend it in the UK in £GBP then you'll get the new exchange rate of $1.70, meanign that your $1500 is now worth only £882, not the original £1000.

 

[mickptaylor]

Hmm, I'm not sure that is correct. When you top up the card you are adding DOLLARS, not pounds.

For example, say you put £1000 on at $1.50 (=$1500).

Then, the exchange rate improves to $1.70.

You have $1500 on your card. If you spend it in the UK in £GBP then you'll get the new exchange rate of $1.70, meanign that your $1500 is now worth only £882, not the original £1000.

Just checked......and you are correct....damn, thought I could squeeze out some extra $$'s

 

[kristieuk]

It's the right concept, but I think you just have the figures the wrong way around - you could make some money if you could do it the other way around ie £100 exchanged at 1.70 = $170. If the $ rate falls, to say 1.40, you turn your $170 back into pounds @ 1.40 = £121, so you made £21. Saying that, I don't know if Fairfx have the same conversion rates to and from dollars, so it might not work. We have a $ current account and if I could keep the money in there long enough, I often think about becoming a (very small scale) currency trader!

 

[orangetiggs]

normally when you convert back to $ you lose out

At the moment the $ buy back rate at the post office is $1.80 to the £ yet to buy $ its $1.62 to the £