Introduction to Travel Cards: What Are They and Why You Need One
Back in the day we used to pop over to the post office or Marks n' Sparks and ask them for a bunch of strange looking paper called foreign currency before we jetted off on holiday.
Nowadays and especially post Covid for better or worse the world has become far more digital and although cash is still a great viable option there are now a whole host of travel debit cards you can use that will let you pay for all your holiday purchases, withdraw cash and make the ordeal of keeping a roll of cash in your skinnies much easier.
Now you can google best travel cards, sign up to their services and before you even receive the physical card you can add the account to google pay, deposit funds, transfer the funds into the currency needed and pay with your phone.
Also these travel cards can be used to withdraw cash from cash machines abroad just like a local, no extra withdrawal fees (to a point) making the whole paying for stuff abroad option much easier.
We use the Wise card
" I've been with Wise since 2012 when they were called Travel Wise. While I was in Australia I used this card every month to pay myself from my business at the time, convert to Aussie Dollars and spend like a normal card. "
Top Benefits of Using the Wise Travel Card Abroad
Coverting your money
Over 40 currencies available to swap money around including British Pound, Euros, US Dollars, Australian Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Polish Zloty, Mexican Pesos and so many more.
Receiving international payments
Wise create accounts in 10 currencies so you can pay yourself in a foreign currency without the fees of international payment.
Sending international payments
Up to 4x cheaper than sending via your bank.
Withdrawing money abroad for free
This has been a game changer for us especially in tipping countries like the US. You can literally treat it like a UK debit card. But just like here in the UK, some machines will charge you.
Grow your money
A new feature they have is the invest option. Now you can earn returns on GBP, USD and EUR by opening a Wise account and investing in a fund that holds government-guaranteed assets. Spend any time, all while you grow. Capital at risk of course.
" Whenever I deposit GBP to be converted I also have the chance to increase my balance by using the invest feature. Unless you are depositing for the sake of investing you probably aren't going to be a millionire but it's nice to see a little bit of return while on holiday eating and drinking in the sunshine. "
Some tips to use your Wise card
Sometimes, ATMs, shops, and online stores offer to charge you in your home currency. Then, they mark up the exchange rate. Avoid these hidden fees by always choosing to be charged in the local currency of where you are.
Whenever you spend with the Wise card, they’ll send you notifications to your phone confirming the amount — and any conversion fees. Use your app to update your notification preferences in Settings.
Taking money out for holiday? It’s cheaper to make one big withdrawal than multiple smaller ones. This will save you from paying the fixed 0.5 GBP fee each time.
Getting your Wise card from my link and save the £7 card fee (A card is not necessary to open an account but we highly recommend it. Click to get your card and start saving money abroad.
An example of how easily we use the card while on holiday
We have a joint account, so we start by transferring from here.
Click Add money, this can either be done in your currency or the currency you want. We always add the amount in GBP because we have an exact amount of GBP we require converted.
Choose the bank you want to send from.
It will ask you to sign in to your banking app and once confirmed they money will appear in your GBP account. There is zero fee for this.
Then tap your GBP account and tap Convert (you can see how much you receive in the currency and how much the fee is. Hit continue, confirm and convert
Now you can see the amount converted into the chosen currency. You can also see your balance along with your chosen currency's bank account details. This is incase you want to use a bank transfer to send or receive funds into this account.
Thats all you need to do. if you have your card you can use it in to pay in this chosen currency, tap with your card or withdraw from an ATM. If you dont have your card then you can add the Wise card via the app to Google pay and tap using your phone.
Getting a Wise card
You can get setup right away by following the link here, it is an affiliate link which gives you a free card (usual cost £7) and I get a small commission from the link too so it's win-win in that respect. :-)
If you need any help or have any questions just comment below or send us an email on info@cheesydragonfly.com and as always, for the best low cost european and worlwide flights and holidays visit us on www.cheesydragonfly.com
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