Ryanair - goodbye Visa Electron, hello prepaid Mastercard for 'free' payment
Dec 3, 2009, 12:54 pm
#31
Join Date: Jul 2008
Programs: *A
Posts: 1,390
I ordered a prepaid MC from www.fairfx.com late on Monday.
To my surprise, the card arrived this morning! It's now activated and I can use it online. The PIN is yet to arrive but I'll survive.
I funded it with my Nationwide debit card, so no extra %age.
^ to fairfx.com so far.
To my surprise, the card arrived this morning! It's now activated and I can use it online. The PIN is yet to arrive but I'll survive.
I funded it with my Nationwide debit card, so no extra %age.
^ to fairfx.com so far.
Dec 3, 2009, 1:47 pm
#32
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Join Date: Aug 2000
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Programs: AA, BA, Mucci: Sir Roger des Directions Routières, PCR
Posts: 13,609
Forgiving? Moi? 
From the FAQs:
(My bolding)
https://www.fairfx.com/cardfaq
From the FAQs:
Q. Can I use the FairFX Currency Card in countries where Euros and Dollars are not the local currency? If so what exchange rate would I get? What percentage would I pay in commission and what other fees would apply for each purchase or ATM withdrawal?
A. The Euro and Dollar FairFX Currency cards can be used anywhere in the world or to spend in any currency wherever there is a MasterCard® acceptance mark, including shops, restaurants, online or on the telephone. If you were to use the cards in a country where Euros or Dollars are not the local currency, the exchange rate would be the wholesale MasterCard® market rate. FairFX do not take any further commissions or fees when you do this. Accordingly, the FairFX Currency cards represent fantastic value for use in any currency. If you are withdrawing currency at an ATM the standard FairFX fees apply (€1.50, $2.00), some ATM providers charge for using their cash points however they normally inform you of this before you make a withdrawal.
A. The Euro and Dollar FairFX Currency cards can be used anywhere in the world or to spend in any currency wherever there is a MasterCard® acceptance mark, including shops, restaurants, online or on the telephone. If you were to use the cards in a country where Euros or Dollars are not the local currency, the exchange rate would be the wholesale MasterCard® market rate. FairFX do not take any further commissions or fees when you do this. Accordingly, the FairFX Currency cards represent fantastic value for use in any currency. If you are withdrawing currency at an ATM the standard FairFX fees apply (€1.50, $2.00), some ATM providers charge for using their cash points however they normally inform you of this before you make a withdrawal.
https://www.fairfx.com/cardfaq
Dec 3, 2009, 1:51 pm
#33
Join Date: Jul 2008
Programs: *A
Posts: 1,390
Sign me up...
TY Roger
ETA: You didn't forget about the £7.50 from Quidco/TCB I hope...
Last edited by sds1493; Dec 3, 2009 at 2:08 pm Reason: Inadvertant :(
Dec 3, 2009, 1:55 pm
#34
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Yes, I think it looks good. I'll probably use it as a € card to get cash when away.
Just a by-the-way. The inadvertent
smiley in your quote came about because of the juxtaposition of a ':' and a '('. Together, they produce .
My feeling about the FairFX card so far is
.
Just a by-the-way. The inadvertent
smiley in your quote came about because of the juxtaposition of a ':' and a '('. Together, they produce .My feeling about the FairFX card so far is
.
Dec 3, 2009, 2:10 pm
#35
Join Date: Jul 2008
Programs: *A
Posts: 1,390
I was wondering why that happened myself.
Dec 3, 2009, 2:14 pm
#36
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Dec 3, 2009, 4:58 pm
#38
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 974
Since we are all feeling so generous today, please forgive my Canadian lack of knowledge of British terminology.
What exactly does this mean ? And is it relevant to the FairFX currency card ?
Having a quick look at the FairFX website it appears that currently this card can only be ordered by residents of the UK. Am I interpeting this correctly ?
And does FairFX have any physical locations where the card can be purchased when travelling in the UK ? The way you can purchase a Visa Electron card from the Post Office.
What exactly does this mean ? And is it relevant to the FairFX currency card ?
Having a quick look at the FairFX website it appears that currently this card can only be ordered by residents of the UK. Am I interpeting this correctly ?
And does FairFX have any physical locations where the card can be purchased when travelling in the UK ? The way you can purchase a Visa Electron card from the Post Office.
Dec 3, 2009, 11:44 pm
#39
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 2
I got a prepaid mastercard from the US Army base in Germany that I'm working at. It's a $100 card from vanilla card. I tried to use it on ryanair.com but it won't accept it, saying I either typed something wrong, or the type didn't match what I selected. What can I do? I called customer service (which charges 60 cents euro a minute) but they said they can't do anything. I got this card just to use with ryanair but they won't even accept it even though it is a prepaid mastercard. Any ideas?
Dec 4, 2009, 2:04 am
#41
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FairFX is a web-based company offering services to UK customers. AFAIK they have no retail branches.
If you are based in Canada, it looks as though you wouldn't be able to benefit from this particular card. Take a look at this for info on Canadian cards - I don't know how comprehensive it is: http://dan.matan.ca/Canadian-Prepaid...ws-Information
Dec 4, 2009, 2:50 am
#43
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Ireland
Programs: BA Gold, A3 Gold, BD..oh, wait..
Posts: 4,045
I got a prepaid mastercard from the US Army base in Germany that I'm working at. It's a $100 card from vanilla card. I tried to use it on ryanair.com but it won't accept it, saying I either typed something wrong, or the type didn't match what I selected. What can I do? I called customer service (which charges 60 cents euro a minute) but they said they can't do anything. I got this card just to use with ryanair but they won't even accept it even though it is a prepaid mastercard. Any ideas?
You could complain to the card issuer as it's something they need to escalate themselves - but how effective that will be is another matter. It won't help you in the short term though.
Dec 4, 2009, 9:53 am
#44
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 974
I got a prepaid mastercard from the US Army base in Germany that I'm working at. It's a $100 card from vanilla card. I tried to use it on ryanair.com but it won't accept it, saying I either typed something wrong, or the type didn't match what I selected. What can I do? I called customer service (which charges 60 cents euro a minute) but they said they can't do anything. I got this card just to use with ryanair but they won't even accept it even though it is a prepaid mastercard. Any ideas?
And thanks Roger and Raffles for the Quidco info. Would appreciate a bit more clarification, if I understand correctly I can;
- Purchase a FairFX card through the Quidco portal
- Use Paypal to make the payment
- Have the FairFX card mailed to family in Northern Ireland
- Receive 7.50 pounds cashback, does the cashback show up as a credit on my Quidco account or ???
I see the FairFX website states " We are preparing a worldwide launch and will shortly be able to accept customers from all around the world ". So for the sake of simplicity I may just wait for that to happen. I don't need to purchase any Ryanair tickets for a couple of months.
Dec 9, 2009, 2:03 am
#45
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Martin Lewis's comment: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/new...m_campaign=box
He recommends the Ice Travellers' Cashcard which is about to be included in MSE's Top Prepaid Cards guide.
He recommends the Ice Travellers' Cashcard which is about to be included in MSE's Top Prepaid Cards guide.
- though he goes for the £ version.Using the moneysavingexpert.com link http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/tra...irline-charges - scroll down to 'Avoid charges for paying by credit and debit card' - dispenses with the £9.95 purchase fee. Free online and phone top-ups by debit card. Spending costs 1.5% per transaction, so today's £5 each way FR offer would cost 15p return in card charges.