Currency Cards versus Traveller's Cheques

kirstenoel

kirstenoel

Member
Morning everyone.
So our dream holiday is drawing closer and I've started to think about money in WDW. In previous years I have always taken cash (but this is when I was a lot younger and with my family) so it wasn't that much cash!
My colleague has just told me about the Caxton FX traveller's card which allows for free US withdrawals and a good exchange rate from UK sterling. It's a pre-pay card so you just load the card with money and use it like a Visa card.
Has anyone ever used a Caxton FX card and how does it compare to traveller's cheques?
Thank You and have a nice day!
 
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dreamfinder

dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
Do you really need/want cash? The card itself may not charge for withdrawals, but ATMs in the US tend to charge high fees for non-members to withdraw. Normally $2-5, but I've seen then as high as $10 per withdrawal. Using it as a credit card seems to be ok with no hidden charges. I'd just compare the exchange rate to whatever your normal credit card offers you. If you are staying on property it may just be easier to charge everything to your room, and then pay it off with your normal credit card. Unless you hit your budget smack on the head, you will end up having to pay some fee to exchange back off the card, plus whatever their re-exchange rate is.
 
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kirstenoel

kirstenoel

Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the feedback and advise :) as for hitting the budget, you can top the card up via SMS or wifi which is handy! I used to work on a cruise ship and wasted a lot of money by paying for things on my card around the world and paying the various charges so I think I'm just being extra wary of this!!
 
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christopherscob

christopherscob

Member
I have not used the prepaid cards before but on my last visit in june we took Amex travellers cheques to WDW and it was so easy to use them. We stayed at the Saratoga Springs and were able to cash them with no fee at reception and they can be used as cash in all the shops to pay for items and you get the change back as cash. I agree with the other post re atm fees all the cash machines in the US do now charge for cash for non customers which was one reason i opted for the travellers cheques.
 
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B

Bolna

Well-Known Member
dreamfinder said:
Do you really need/want cash? The card itself may not charge for withdrawals, but ATMs in the US tend to charge high fees for non-members to withdraw. Normally $2-5, but I've seen then as high as $10 per withdrawal. Using it as a credit card seems to be ok with no hidden charges. I'd just compare the exchange rate to whatever your normal credit card offers you. If you are staying on property it may just be easier to charge everything to your room, and then pay it off with your normal credit card. Unless you hit your budget smack on the head, you will end up having to pay some fee to exchange back off the card, plus whatever their re-exchange rate is.
Click to expand...

First, I can tell you that the ATMs at Disney charge 2$ for every cash withdrawal.

I think the question is always to figure out what works actually best for you. I have a deal with my credit card (here in Germany) that I can get money from ATMs abroad without any further fees (they even reimburse the $2 ATM fee the foreign bank charges) but if I use it for payment I have to pay a 1.75% fee on any payment. So what I do is that I charge everything to the room and then on the last evening go to the ATM in the hotel, get cash and pay off everything at the front desk in cash.

And I guess coming from a country where cash is still used a lot, I kind of am used to pay things in cash regularly, so I feel odd if I don't have any on me. So I can understand the OP's want for cash. :)
 
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kirstenoel

kirstenoel

Member
Original Poster
Hey bolan, thanks for the reply. I have ordered a Caxton FX card as the exchange rate is much better than at the Post Office or currency exchange here. I've checked and it's definitely free for over the counter payments so I think I'll use that for everything and take a little bit of cash just incase!
 
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