There are a lot of people living in the United Kingdom that have delayed trips to the U.S or Europe because of the awful currency exchange rates; however, you can remedy this situation by using travel money cards, which are not extensively know but provide an appealing variation.
What’s a travel money card?
These cards were lately introduced to the card market and will provide the option of uploading whatever currency you choose to a plastic card, at whatever the present rate of exchange is, and is your spending money for whatever destination you’ve chosen to holiday at.
You can apply for these cards through online providers, then upload funds anytime you choose on the internet, or by phone, or possibly via SMS services. At the present time the cards are available with just these currencies: dollar, euro, and pound.
So what are the perks of using this card?
First, you’ll find a much better exchange rate with these cards than traditional bureaux de change, located on the High Street. You also get a fixed rate when you have downloaded money to the card, so you’re always aware of how much you’re spending each time it’s used overseas; while credit and debit cards operate on a real-time exchange rate for each transaction, so it’s hard to track your spending.
Is there more?
No, not really. These cards, unlike regular debit and credit cards, don’t have a foreign currency exchange rate charges, which can be an additional 2.75%, that some providers will add on to the basic exchange rate!
If you didn’t know, debit and credit cards might also elicit an additional “till charge” when used in restaurants or shops, though the currency exchange card doesn’t have this fee. Be aware that debit and credit cards have high rates for any cash withdrawals, but the money on the currency card have been prepaid, not borrowed, so it’s not applicable.
Anyway… Is there a catch?
Well, since the cards need to have funds transferred to them before you leave, you might find yourself having to save up for your trip, instead of just relying on your credit cards. However, considering these economic climate that’s not such a bad thing, is it? Another minor drawback is the charges required for ATM withdrawals, but the good news is those fees will be a lot lower on currency cards than on credit or debit cards.
One example of this is that, when this article was written, NatWest and RBS both had a withdrawal fee of two percent, which amounts to about 6 each time you withdraw the sum of 300. Currency exchange cards, however, have a fixed fee that amounts to as little as 1.50 no matter how much your ATM withdrawal is.
The real disadvantage for you is the cost you’re charged for using your card to pay for something in a currency other than one issued - and FX convert fee; using the example of a dollar transaction which is made with a euro currency card, you could be charged a fee of up to 2.75%. However, there are a number of cards that don’t charge this fee (see list below).
What about credit cards that can be used without FX charges?
Yes, there are such cards (Post Office classic, Nationwide Gold, and Abbey Zero), but the first two — even though they’re good deals, and include no conversion fees — still have big withdrawal fees (3 minimum, 2.5% of withdrawal) and this doesn’t compare favourably with travel money cards — unless you absolutely need credit while travelling.
There are no cash withdrawal or FX fees linked with the Abbey card, however, which makes it the better credit card. Cash withdrawals do carry very high interests rates, though, which are at 25.9%; the cash withdrawal interest rates with Post Office and Nationwide are 20.83% and 22.9%, respectively.
Tell me more. So which travel money cards are the best?
FairFX Euro Currency is simply the best card on the market at the moment, with exceptionally better exchange rates, a 0% fee for the exchange rate conversion, and a very low ATM cost (1.50). You’ll also find a low ATM fee (1.95) with the Indigo Travelcard Euro, but it has a high conversion cost of 2.75%. For no conversion fee, there’s the ICE Travelers CashCard Euro… but it has a higher ATM fee (4).
When it comes to dollar cards, FairFX ranks at the top again: its Dollar Currency Card gives you a low $2 ATM fee with no costs for converting. Another good deal is ICE Travellers CashCard Dollar with its’ $3 ATM fee and again, no convert cost. Don’t forget no convert fees gives you the option of using these cards in any country.
What’s the best travel money card for world travel?
An ‘Anywhere Card’ has just been lauched by FairFX as a new global travellers card - an ideal card to take anywhere in the world.
One of the great things about the Anywhere Card is that there are no ATM charges, and no loading fees either! A 1.5% transaction fee is the only cost you’ll have - and that’s at the time of the transaction, so you don’t need to worry about exchange rates.
At this time, FairFX is offering a free dollar, euro or sterling travel money card, which usually costs 9.95, for a very small initial load. Why are you dragging your heels? Save money by getting a travel money card today!