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Hi all

I use a company called Fairfx for money transfers to a prepaid card.

I find it very easy and convenient to load the card online from UK or when abroad.

Martin Lewis recommends them.They give excellent exchange rates and very good service.

Currently they are offering the card FREE ( normally £9.50) if you follow this link.
Additionally if the first loading of the card is £250 or greater they will credit the card with an additional introductory £2.50.

To get the free card and £2.50 the following link must be used:

https://www.fairfx.com/ref/wuqln.

They also offer a UK Sterling and US Dollar card and can do online bank transfers to any EU country.


Hope this is of use

T&B

TOM AND BARB wrote: I use a company called Fairfx for money transfers to a prepaid card.

We got one last year to avoid flight charges, but it has other benefits as mentioned

Cheers Sav

Me too. Just saved about £60 on Ryanair charges.

I just followed the link, but the card isn't offered free unless you pay £500 or more. They charge £9.95 for it. Or am I missing something?

Hi, Below is the extract taken from the Fairfx page with the link.

Please try again with the voucher code to see if that works for you.

We'll also waive the normal account opening fee of £9.95* for all of your referrals PLUS give them an extra £2.50 if they load more than £250 in their first transaction. Simply share your voucher code or referrer link (below) with your friends and colleagues and we’ll do the rest!

https://www.fairfx.com/ref/wuqln

voucher code: wuqln

Good luck.

T&B

Am I not right in saying however that such cards will ONLY work for flight originating OUTSIDE of the UK? i.e. suitable for those living mostly abroad and flying to the UK for visits.

If you are booking flights FROM the UK you need the RyanAir own-brand card.

I believe the RyanAir website also says that they will be extending the requirement to use their own card to the rest of Europe in due course.

See the top of this table:
http://www.ryanair.com/en/terms-and-con ... ableoffees

Hi,

I think maybe the point of the original post of being lost.

The discussion has centered on Ryanair flights rather than on a useful card for general use throughout Europe that has really competitive conversion rates and can be loaded online whilst travelling throughout Europe.
It was the best card for Ryanair before Ryanair moved the goalposts AGAIN.

It is also a good idea for giving to children for European travel / visits as the money on it can be controlled by parents,added to when necessary and if lost cannot be accessed without a PIN and is much safer than cash and cannot be overspent like a credit card.

T&B

That may be true Webdoc. My flights originated in France and Belgium. My UK flights were with Flybe - who also charge for using normal credit cards but not with the FairFX one.

TOM AND BARB wrote:I think maybe the point of the original post of being lost.

The discussion has centered on Ryanair flights rather than on a useful card for general use throughout Europe that has really competitive conversion rates and can be loaded online whilst travelling throughout Europe.
It was the best card for Ryanair before Ryanair moved the goalposts AGAIN.

Sorry - not paying enough attention!

I've had a Caxton card for a couple of years, bought when number 1 child went on a gap trip round the world. I don't know how the rates compare but apart from topping it up on-line you can also do it by text which is useful if you're miles away from an internet cafe.

I have just bitten the bullet and bought a RyanAir card - the third different card Michael O'Leary has made me get in order to jump through his hoops. Grrrrrrrr..........

At least you can get one

We used the Fairfx card last year to purchase Ryanair flights. It saved us a lot of charges, certainly 100 pounds or more. Unfortunately they now changed their policy and charge for the use of the Prepaid Mastercard (as Fairfx). We tried to get an Electron card in the UK to avoid the charges and could not get hold of one. Does anyone know where to get an Electron Card in the UK?

Mimmi wrote:We used the Fairfx card last year to purchase Ryanair flights. It saved us a lot of charges, certainly 100 pounds or more. Unfortunately they now changed their policy and charge for the use of the Prepaid Mastercard (as Fairfx). We tried to get an Electron card in the UK to avoid the charges and could not get hold of one. Does anyone know where to get an Electron Card in the UK?

An Electron card doesn't work with RyanAir any more (although I think it does with Easyjet). Only a RyanAir-branded Pre-Paid Mastercard avoids RyanAir booking fees (for flights originating in the UK).

Halifax supply Electron cards with one of their current accounts.

Sorry, I confused it Tom. You are right, the Electron works for Easyjet which we are now using as well. We already got the Ryanair Prepaid card and it appears to work fine.
Did you actually get hold of an Electron Card from Halifax, rogb? We applied for one about 8 weeks ago and they keep delaying matters. Even several phone calls did not help. No real explanation why they don't go ahead.

I think a lot of people find it really irritating and would rather see the price of the flight than be stung for paying they only way they can once they have booked their flight. Here's an article from the FT on the situation.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/37c7ddf0-e46b ... z1imgJ06aj

I assume it is all in the interest of appearing to be cheaper that the competition but do they really believe the public are that stupid? I can't imagine Tescos doing the same thing to make their products look cheaper than Asda, for example.

Mimmi, we got the Electron card within a week or two- maybe it was quick because we're primarily resident in the UK and we already had a savings account with Halifax.