Holiday Money Options
TRAVEL MONEY CARDS
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/prepaid-travel-cards/
Prepaid travel money cards: Lock in the best rates – MSE
If you’re planning a trip overseas, making sure you’ll be able to pay for things in your destination is crucial. But many don’t like taking too much cash in case it’s lost or stolen. A prepaid travel card could be a solution – they let you load your chosen currency to it before you leave, then use it while on your trip like any normal debit card. This guide has everything you need to know about these cards, and our top picks.
What is a prepaid travel card?
You decide how much foreign currency you want to add, and then you can use it for spending or withdrawing cash abroad (or buying online in a foreign currency). As it works more like a debit card than a credit card, you know how much you have to spend and can’t go over that amount – unless you load more money.
Not all prepaid currency cards are created equal though – providers will either use the ‘interbank rate’ (the perfect exchange rate), the rate set by Mastercard or Visa (which will be a touch lower), or one of these with the car provider’s foreign exchange fee added – this fee will often be between 1% and 2.5%.
Your money should be safe if your card issuer goes bust, even in different currencies. It’s considered ‘e-money’ and should be held in a ring-fenced account with a UK bank, separate to the card provider’s own operating cash. The small risk is that you’re not protected if the underlying bank goes bust.
What types of prepaid t
What types of prepaid travel money cards are there?
There are two main types of prepaid travel card, depending on how you want to load or use the currency you need. The best for you will depend on how you want to spend overseas…
Multi-currency cards – these allow you to load multiple currencies onto a single card. This can be useful if you are travelling to and spending in multiple countries, and want to lock in an exchange rate before you go.
This can be good if you’re working to a budget and want certainty over exactly how much you’ll have to spend. Plus if the pound weakens after you load the card, you’ll gain from having locked in the better exchange rate – though obviously you’ll lose if the pound strengthens.
Prepaid sterling cards – you’ll load pounds sterling onto the card, and when you spend abroad, it’ll be converted into the local currency within a couple of days. This can make it a more straightforward option, though you can’t be certain of the foreign exchange rate you’ll be charged.
You can find both types of prepaid currency card in our top picks below.
A travel credit or debit card can be a better alternative
Before you consider a prepaid card, check out travel credit or debit cards. They’re often less of a faff than loading before you go and the top picks consistently offer near-perfect rates every day of the week. Plus if you’re using a travel credit card for a purchase costing £100-£30,000 (even abroad) you’ll also get Section 75 protection.
Prepaid travel cards – our review
Our top picks all use interbank exchange rates (which tend to be slightly higher than Mastercard’s or Visa’s rates) and can be used anywhere in the world that accepts Mastercard or Visa. So the difference comes down to the fees each adds on top.
Revolut’s standard plan doesn’t charge exchange fees for the majority of currencies between Monday and Friday UK time, though you’ll pay a 1% fee to exchange at weekends. However, you can beat this by loading the card with pounds in advance and exchanging on a weekday – you can do this with over 30 main currencies, including euros and US dollars. Though, if you exchange more than £1,000 in a 30-day period, you’ll pay an additional 1% fee.
You can use its free virtual card with digital wallets (Apple & Google Pay), or you can pay a delivery fee for a physical card, which you’d need if you wanted to withdraw cash. The first five withdrawals are free each month (max £200), after that there’s a 2% fee (min £1).
Trading 212* uses the interbank rate and charges a low, flat 0.15% fee to convert currencies in-app, making it a winner over Revolut on weekends. It also offers 1% cashback on most spending (max £15/mth), although there’s a more limited range of currencies to exchange at 13 – that said, it’ll likely still be a good option for those travelling within the EU and USA.
Bear in mind that Trading 212 is primarily an investment platform, which means there are a number of investment features on its app beyond it simply being a prepaid travel card. While there’s nothing wrong with this, it’s important not to be drawn into opening other Trading 212 products without understanding what you’re doing. Investing comes with risk, as the value of your investment can go down as well as up.
Alternatively, Wise charges a small exchange fee of at least 0.33% at all times. The fee depends on the currency – for example, exchanging pounds to euros has a 0.33% fee, so would beat Revolut at weekends if you’d prefer not to exchange a set amount in advance. Wise also has the broadest range of currencies to convert to at 40 and also allows two fee-free cash withdrawals up to £200 each month.
Similarly to Trading 212, Wise provides the option of receiving interest on your money. This is based on investments and your capital is therefore at risk. As above, there’s nothing wrong with this but it’s important to understand what you’re getting involved with before committing.
| Revolut* | Trading 212* | Wise* | |
| Card delivery fee | Usually £4.99 | £4.95 | £7 |
| Uses interbank exchange rate? | Yes, though 1% fee at weekends. 1% fee if exchanging over £1,000/month (i) | Yes, plus a fee of 0.15% when exchanging in-app | Yes, plus a fee of at least 0.33% (see its cost calculator for exact fee) |
| Overseas ATM withdrawal fee | First five/£200 free per rolling month, 2% after (min £1) | Free up to £400/mth, 1% after | Two per month free up to £200/mth, 1.75% + 50p above |
| Currencies you can exchange in advance (locking in the rate) | 30 | 13 | 40 |
| Fee if not used? | No | No | No |
| How to manage | App | App | App or online |
| Apply* | Apply* | Apply* |
Important. All these providers are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and any money you deposit is ring-fenced – Revolut and Wise use Barclays for their ring-fencing, while Trading 212 uses a mix of Barclays, NatWest and JP Morgan. So, if there are problems with Revolut, Trading 212 or Wise, the money’s safe (as long as the account(s) your money’s ringefenced in still exists).
Note: If you choose to allow interest to be paid on your money with Trading 212, the cash will be held in ‘qualifying money market funds’ (QMMFs). This means, your money won’t necessarily be covered by Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the unlikely event of Trading 212 collapsing.
(i) If you spend at weekends (UK time) it adds a 1% fee to its rates, unless you’ve locked in a rate on a weekday. There’s an additional 1% fee on amounts more than £1,000 in a single month.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/
Capital One – Credit Card
This is a bog standard overseas spending card
Using it is not good, but not a disaster. It’s far better to switch to a specialist card if you’ve time before going away. If you use it, spending’s cheaper than withdrawing cash. If you must withdraw, bigger chunks in fewer withdrawals is cheaper than smaller, more regular ones.
EXCHANGE LOAD ATM CHARGE SPENDING CHARGE CASH WITHDRAWAL INTEREST
2.75% 3% (min £3) None 34.9%
Wise brings you a multi-currency international travel card, perfect for students overseas. You can use it for all your travels. Free ATM cash withdrawals up to £200 per month.
Get a physical card, use it digitally with Apple Pay or Google Wallet, and top up from their app at the mid-market rate.
Alternatively, Wise charges a small exchange fee of at least 0.33% at all times. The fee depends on the currency – for example, exchanging pounds to euros has a 0.33% fee, so would beat Revolut at weekends if you’d prefer not to exchange a set amount in advance.
Wise also has the broadest range of currencies to convert to at 40 and also
allows two fee-free cash withdrawals up to £200 each month.
What is a travel money card?
A travel money card, also called a currency card, is a type of a card which allows you to keep and spend multiple currencies, and use the card while travelling the world. And with the Wise card there are no hidden fees to worry about. You can hold up to 40+ currencies in your travel money card, and convert them at the mid-market rate with the free Wise app.
Unlike travel money cash, you don’t even need to have the money converted beforehand — simply use the travel money card in stores, coffee shops, online or withdraw from ATMs, and they’ll convert the amount automatically for you from any currency you hold for a low fee.
Free ATM cash withdrawals up to £200 per month
The Wise travel money card takes the worry out of using ATMs abroad. You only pay a small fee on withdrawals after the first £200. Avoid hidden fees in the exchange rate while withdrawing from ATMs abroad. (Some additional charges may occur from independent ATM networks.)
