Which Are Better: Travel Money Cards Or Debit/Credit Cards?

Because of the terrible foreign exchange rates a lot us in the UK have been delaying any plans for travelling to the States or the Eurozone however there is now something available that will help reduce the potential damage to your budget travel money cards.

So what are travel money cards you ask?

These cards were recently introduced to the card market & will give the option of uploading whatever currency you choose to a plastic card at whatever the present rate of exchange is & is your spending money for whatever destination you’ve chosen to visit.

You can purchase via the Internet & send funds to your card online via phone or even on some cards by sending a text message. Currently travel money cards support pounds dollars & euros.

How are travel money cards better than traditional credit cards?

First you’ll find a much better exchange rate with these cards than conventional 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 abroad; while credit & 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 & credit cards don’t have a foreign currency exchange rate costs which can be an additional 2.75% that some providers will add on to the basic exchange rate

These foreign currency exchange costs also apply in shops & eating establishments; however a travel money card does not have these associated costs. The rates charged for getting cash with a credit or debit card can be very high but since you have prepaid the amount on your currency card it not a loan & there are no fees for the service.

Wonderful. Are there shortcomings to having a currency card?

Well since the cards need to have money transferred to them before you take off you might find yourself having to save up for your travels instead of just relying on your credit cards. However considering these economic climate that’s not such a bad thing is it? Another small drawback is the costs required for ATM withdrawals but the good news is those fees will be a lot smaller on prepaid cards than on credit or debit cards.

To give you an example when this is being written RBS & NatWest have a 2% withdrawal fee which translates to a 6 fee for every 300 you pull out. The comparison is currency exchange cards fees could be as little as 1.50 for whatever amount you pull out from an ATM.

The real down fall to these cards which shouldn’t be a trouble if you use them correctly is that you must specify the target currency when you load the funds. If after that you use a dollar currency card in a euro transaction you’ll pay foreign exchange costs up to 2.75. Of course only some cards impose this fee while others don’t keep reading .

I’m sure some of you are asking about using the excellent foreign usage credit cards that are available instead right?

Traditional credit cards like Post Office Nationwide Gold & Abbey Zero fit into this group. The first two cards though have 2.5% withdrawal fees for cash with a minimum charge of 3 per transaction even though they don’t carry FX costs. This isn’t as good a deal as a travel money card unless you don’t have the cash upfront for your travels.

In contrast the card from Abbey has no cash withdrawal fees no foreign exchange conversion fees,costs as always there’s a catch it’s got the highest interest rate of the three at 25.9% presently.

Tell me more. So which travel money cards are the best?

The finest card available for euros is the FairFX Euro Currency card because its ATM fee is the least at 1.50; it has no foreign currency exchange fees & has great exchange rates. Another euro card the Indigo Travelcard Euro has just a slightly higher ATM fee of 1.95 but its convert fee is high at 2.75%. There is no convert fee associated with the ICE Travellers CashCard Euro but the ATM fee is high 3.

FairFX also leads the pack on cards where the Dollar is the specific currency. It has no conversion fee & an ATM cost of only $2. No conversion fee & $3 ATM withdrawals brings the ICE Travellers CashCard Dollar in at a close second. No conversion cost means you can use the cards anywhere.

What’s the best travel money card for world travel?

An ‘Anywhere Card’ has just been launched by FairFX along side their current euro & dollar card offering. This is an perfect card for travel to countries outside the USA & eurozone.

The are no ATM costs with the FairFX Anywhere Card & no loading fees either A 1.5% transaction cost is the only fee that applies so it certainly appears to be the cheapest global travel money card on the market.

Be advised that for the moment FairFX has a great offer going which offers you a free euro dollar or sterling travel money card normally 9.95 which just requires a small minimum initial load. So what are you waiting for? Get your own travel money card & start saving even more money today