Best travel money cards (UK)

Our criteria for the best travel cards (UK)

There’s a wide range of travel money options available to you, but travel cards are often the best way to spend abroad – long gone are the days of getting a wedge of cash out and stashing it in your wallet, suitcase or even socks!

And with that said, there’s a wide range of travel money cards too – from prepaid cards, to debit cards (bank cards) and even credit cards (borrowing money). Either can be a great option for you, and we’ve listed our range of top options above.

However, to get that range of options, here’s the criteria we used to research and review them:

• The best exchange rate
• Ease of use (manage online via a website or phone app)
• General fees (e.g. card and bank fees)
• Commission fees
• Withdrawal fees (from a cash machine (ATM))
• Card delivery fee
• Number of currencies available

And there’s also a lot of different travel money card providers (companies) out there, but we’ve narrowed it down to just the very best, ones we use ourselves, and recommend to our friends and family, and our lovely readers of course – so whichever one you choose from our list, you can be confident it’s one of the very best options out there.

Interested in learning more? Here’s our full review methodology and how we test.

What is a Direct Debit travel card?

Often just called a travel money card, these are a fairly new concept for travel cards (well, the last few years), and you could say it’s the modern way for travel money – essentially, your new card links to your existing bank account, and when you spend money, it simply deducts it from your bank account.

It works via what's called a Direct Debit, which is an agreement between you and a company to take money out of your bank account, you’ll probably be familiar with this as it works for things like your phone bill or energy bill.

This means there’s no need to create a brand new bank account, or apply for a credit card, or anything like that. You spend money on your new travel card and the money comes out of your bank account. Simple.

By the way, it also means you don’t have to face any hefty charges your bank charges you (often hidden fees), even though you’re still using your bank account, you simply pay the travel card fee instead – which is usually considerably cheaper – and overall, it’s one of the cheapest ways to spend money abroad.

The exchange rate is typically also one of the best possible, either the interbank rate (the best rate banks give each other), or the Mastercard rate (effectively the best rate, but provided by Mastercard, the card issuer).

You’ll also get a great mobile app to use and manage your spending and payments, and you’ll still be able to do all the normal things such as withdraw money abroad (often for free).

Pros and cons of Direct Debit travel cards

Pros

• Very low fees
• Typically use the best exchange rate (interbank or Mastercard rate)
• Easy to set up and use
• Connects to existing bank account
• Works with all bank accounts
• Works with pretty much all currencies
• Safe and secure

Cons

• Need to ensure you have enough money in your bank account

What is a prepaid travel card?

A prepaid travel card is where you transfer money to the card first, often called pre-loading it, and then you are able to spend on it abroad.

They often come with much cheaper fees than using your high street bank account – you’ll typically pay a currency conversion fee when you add money to the card, for instance if you want to convert all your cash to another currency like Euros – or you can keep it as Pounds and then convert it when you want to spend it.

With the modern prepaid cards (see our list above), you’ll be able to manage your money on the account with a great mobile app (or website) – and can add or withdraw money when you like.

You’ll also be able to withdraw money abroad from ATMs too.

Nuts About Money tip: learn more about the best prepaid travel money cards.

Pros and cons of prepaid travel cards

Pros

• Often low fees
• Typically use the best exchange rate (interbank or Mastercard rate)
• Easy to set up and use
• Store multiple currencies in one account
• Good for setting a budget (can’t overspend)
• Safe and secure

Cons

• Have to pre-load them with cash
• Card could run out of money if overspending
• Might not be able to use them to hire a car or book a hotel
• Lower free withdrawal limits (then you pay a fee)

What is a travel debit card?

A debit card is the card you get with your regular bank account (your current account), and you’re able to spend away as you like and the cash comes out of your bank account.

A travel debit card is where you open a bank account with a bank that allows you to spend abroad and has relatively low fees to do so – so you spend using your card abroad (ideally in the local currency) and the bank will convert what you spend back in Pounds and take it from your account.

This bit is important. Most high street banks, so the big name banks are super expensive – don’t use them! Instead, use a modern bank, often a mobile bank, who has low currency conversion fees and uses an exchange rate with no hidden fees in either (such as the Mastercard rate, which is pretty much the best rate possible, and provided by the card provider, Mastercard).

These modern banks also come with great banking apps to manage your travel money (and if you want to, you can use it as your main bank account). These banks aren’t necessarily designed just to be travel money cards, but some people use them for just that – but unfortunately, you still need to open a full bank account to use them, and in reality, they act the same as a prepaid card, where you’ll need to send cash to them from your existing bank account.

Pros and cons of travel debit cards

Pros

• Modern banks generally have low fees
• Can use them for all types of spending (e.g. hotel bookings)
• Modern banks have great apps to manage your money
• Safe and secure

Cons

• Typical high street banks are super expensive
• Have to open a new bank account
• Need to transfer cash from your existing bank account
• Card could run out of money if overspending

What is a travel credit card?

A travel credit card is where you spend abroad with borrowed money (from the credit card company) and then you repay the money afterwards, either all in one go, or monthly.

Note: make sure you apply for a credit card specifically for travel, not just any credit card, or the fees will be extortionate – you have been warned!

These are a good option if you need to borrow a bit of extra cash for your holiday, rather than having it already, as you’ll spend on your card as you like, and then repay later on – if you repay in full at the earliest opportunity, you likely won’t have any interest or fees added, but if you miss repaying in full straight away, you’ll likely face some hefty fees, which can negatively impact your credit score.

You’ll also need to undergo a full credit check (one that shows on your credit history) when you apply for one, so you will need good credit history, and there will be a limit applied to the card, which is a limit on how much you can spend (a credit limit).

A benefit can be that you get ‘section 75’ protection with credit cards, which means you are able to request a refund from the card provider if something happens, such as you paid for a service but didn’t receive it (although there’s no guarantee your credit card provider will refund it). 

Although, this is often seen as an outdated benefit now, as the card providers with other options (e.g. Mastercard) offer an equivalent benefit called chargeback protection, which acts in pretty much the same way.

Pros and cons of travel credit cards

Pros

• Borrow money if you don’t have enough
• Can sometimes get cashback on purchases
• Can provide extra protection (the credit card company can refund you for most purchases)
• Safe and secure

Cons

• Not the cheapest option
• Charged interest if you don’t repay quickly
• Will have to undertake a credit check
• Must use specific cards for travel
• Regular credit cards are super expensive
• Don’t typically have great mobile apps to manage your money
• Can’t store multiple currencies
• Could overspend your budget

Are you looking to store multiple currencies?

If you’re looking to buy and hold multiple currencies within one account, and then spend them as you like on your card, then the best option is to use a prepaid card option (so options like Wise¹ or Zing¹). 

With these you can simply convert your cash within the app to the currency you want, and keep it there until you need it. 

Or, if you have another currency somewhere else, you can send this directly across, to be kept securely within your account.

With a typical bank, even a modern one, you can’t hold multiple currencies – you would typically have a bank account for one currency, such as Pounds in the UK.

Can you use travel money cards with Apple Pay and Google Pay?

Yep. You can use most travel money cards with Apple Pay and Google Pay. You just need to add them to your wallet on your phone. It's pretty simple to do (but we won't go into it here).

Can I withdraw cash abroad?

With any travel money card you can withdraw cash abroad from an ATM (cash machine), however, there are some important things to be aware of – there will either be a free withdrawal limit, or no limit, for how much you can withdraw, normally a set amount per month (e.g. £500 per month).

After that limit, you might have some hefty fees, so it’s definitely worth checking out.

Also, the ATM abroad will probably charge fees (e.g. £2 per withdrawal), but it’s pretty much impossible to avoid these fees abroad. But it is often cheaper to withdraw money from an ATM abroad with a travel money card than it is to exchange cash before you go (for instance at the airport).

Are travel money cards safe?

Yes, using a travel money card is perfectly safe, and a great option – much safer than using cash, and stashing it in your hotel room.

Travel money cards need to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, in order to provide their services to you – and they make sure your money is well looked after.

If you preload any money to a card, your money will be stored in separate bank accounts from your travel money card provider’s money, and it’s all in your name, and can only be returned to you, should the provider go out of business.

What’s the interbank rate?

The interbank rate (also called the mid-market rate), is the best exchange rate you can get, and is the exchange rate the banks give each other when they lend to each other – so there’s no fees hidden within the rate itself. 

There’s often hidden fees when banks and other financial companies exchange your money, for instance they have a worse exchange rate, and then pocket the difference between that and the interbank rate.

With all of our options, we’ve looked for this top rate. Often with the top cards, it’s provided by the card issuer, which is often Mastercard – they have their own rate, but it’s very similar to the interbank rate.

Travel money cards who use the interbank rate often add a small fee on top in order to still make money, but it’s not hidden in the exchange rate, so it's much more transparent. It could also be a monthly or annual fee instead too.

Let’s recap

There we have it for the best travel money cards, you have a wide range of options:

• Direct Debit travel card
• Prepaid travel card
• Travel debit card
• Travel credit card

They all serve the same purpose, to spend money abroad, and they all act in the same way – simply use the card to spend in the local currency, and you’ll benefit from the low fees. But, each option is suited to a different type of person, and what they’re looking for…

For instance if you travel regularly you might want to switch your bank account to a bank account that’s great for travel and use their travel debit card. Or, if you’d like to borrow a bit of cash, you might want to use a travel credit card.

However overall, the easiest option is to get a debit debit travel card or prepaid travel card, and you can simply use them for your holidays, without needing to open a brand new bank account, and then forget about the card until your next holiday – all the great ones we've listed above are cheap, with low fees and typically you are only charged when you spend money.

That it’s – now all that’s left to do is enjoy your holiday!