Why Fair Fx vs Credit Card?

[wayneg]

Does anyone apart from me just take a big fat envelope of $100s, $50s and $20s with them anymore?

(That said last time I went i had a pre-paid Paypal VISA card to use for the rental swipe and my food / gas budget )

I used to til I lost my wallet with over £500 in, always use cards now, my insurance only covers upto £300 (many cover even less)

 

[bex7583]

ok so mine and dh post office credit cards have arrived i got approved a much bigger limit than i expected ( TBH i was suprised they even approved it at all)

so we have some emergency back up there but i do think i would prefer a pre paid card im looking at the fairfx and the post office one ,i want to ideally draw out my daily budget in cash everyday so from what i understand both cards will charge me to do this , fair fax slightly less

i just struggle to keep tabs on what im spending unless i have cold hard cash in hand

i want to get it soon so i can top up monthly before we go

 

[2Tiggies]

I used to til I lost my wallet with over £500 in, always use cards now, my insurance only covers upto £300 (many cover even less)

That was my turning point too, 2 years ago when I lost my mini cross the body purse in MK during a parade I was fortunate enough to get it back but it had a substantial sum of cash in it and it was a very sobering lesson! I do still take cash but never more than the cash limit my travel insurance covers me for (which is also £500 as yours is Wayne).

 

[bex7583]

as much as i prefer using cash when on a budget taking enough cash for 22 days is not practical , i will probably draw 2/3 days worth of money out at a time to avoid atm fees on the prepaid card , or maybe take 3 seperate cards one for each week ??

 

[crabbie1]

We are really lapse this time.only have £500 on one fairfx card. Dollor to £ not too good at the mo. will still take £ 1300 half cash half TC and another £600 on the other fairfx card . Can top up faifx whilst away. Did it last time goes on straight away.
Never had an issue with TC but I know some dnt like them

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[2Tiggies]

as much as i prefer using cash when on a budget taking enough cash for 22 days is not practical , i will probably draw 2/3 days worth of money out at a time to avoid atm fees on the prepaid card , or maybe take 3 seperate cards one for each week ??

I've posted this elsewhere a few times, but to avoid that ATM charge on a regular basis, at least while you are onsite at Disney, gift cards are a good solution. I just loaded gift cards in the resort shop with a couple of hundred dollars every few days and used those. The cash I took with me I kept to use for things where you cant use a Disney gift card (and there aren't many) like some food carts and mousekeeping tips. It also saved me carrying my ID around to use a card every time I wanted to pay

 

[Elise79]

Last time we took $300 in cash and came back with some (don't usually take that much but one of my work colleagues came back from NY with unspent $$ so I bought it a very good rate!)

We only use cash for tipping bell services, tolls and a few sundries.

The rest either goes on the PO CC or our room charge settled by our US debit card. We got a rate of $1,63 while we where away in December

I have no issues with budget - I know where we are going to eat roughly and that's our main expense. We don't shop and are not big snackers so we really don't overspend.

 

[bazzanoid]

Is the PO card one of those with flat (printed) numbers or bumpy (embossed), traditional credit card type?

If you catch my meaning!

 

[Kath2003]

Last time we took $300 in cash and came back with some (don't usually take that much but one of my work colleagues came back from NY with unspent $$ so I bought it a very good rate!)

We only use cash for tipping bell services, tolls and a few sundries.

The rest either goes on the PO CC or our room charge settled by our US debit card. We got a rate of $1,63 while we where away in December

I have no issues with budget - I know where we are going to eat roughly and that's our main expense. We don't shop and are not big snackers so we really don't overspend.

We are the same - barely take cash, use CC (no charges) for almost everything. We take $100-250 for the 10-12 days we are out there (for the odd tips, cab ride, soda etc.) and always bring some back. We could take cash out from an ATM out there but have never needed to.

 

[2Tiggies]

Is the PO card one of those with flat (printed) numbers or bumpy (embossed), traditional credit card type?

If you catch my meaning!

I think, on this thread, we are all referring to the Post Office Credit card, which is a normal credit card (Mastercard) in every sense of the word and yes, it does have bumpy numbers and lettering

 

[bex7583]

so i can buy these gift cards at disney and pay with the pre paid cash card

when you say about carrying id do you have to show your id when you pay with credit card??

the gift cards will be good for the kids money aswell thankyou

 

[Elise79]

It is quite common to be asked for ID when paying by card in the US as we'll as when buying alcohol so we always carry our photo card part of our DL

 

[bex7583]

i havent got a driving licence and i dont fancy taking my passport everywhere

may you also be asked when using the pre paid card or just a actual credit card??

 

[Kath2003]

i havent got a driving licence and i dont fancy taking my passport everywhere

may you also be asked when using the pre paid card or just a actual credit card??

You need to carry ID - you can get asked for most cards.

 

[2Tiggies]

i havent got a driving licence and i dont fancy taking my passport everywhere

may you also be asked when using the pre paid card or just a actual credit card??

I've done 3 Florida trips with a FairFX card and never once, have they failed to ask for photo ID when I've paid - not even on small transactions. I just carry my passport with me if I know I may need to use a card other than a gift card but I try not to if possible, as per my earlier post