I'm due to shortly fly on British Airways into JFK Airport and could do with a bit of help about how to buy a Metrocard.

We want to buy the $32 7-day unlimited ride pass but also have to pay $5 each for the Airtrain link to Jamaica station. Looking on the official MTA website it implies that we can buy a 7-day pass, plus top up our card with $5 credit to pay for Airtrain, plus pay the $1 new card fee. Total price $38. However having looked at numerous threads on here and Tripadvisor et al., people say that the Airtrain purchased cards can't be topped up with the unlimited purchase; therefore increasing waste and costing me an extra $1.

Is this correct and is there any way of getting around this, it seems like a crazy policy!