Whether you are going on a week’s holiday or a 6 month long backpacking trip, getting a travel bank card is a necessity before your trip. They take all the stress out of potential transaction fees and restrictions that you incur when making purchases abroad. I have used a travel bank card for years and it has been used on every abroad trip I’ve ever been on in my adult life. 

There are lots of options when it comes to choosing your travel bank card. Most banks now offer some form of travel card however, only some are truly free to use without charges. From my research and what many people recommend, there is one clear winner. So what are the pros and cons of the most common ones (and the ones I was deciding between)?

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Monzo

I’ve been using Monzo for years and it was the very first travel bank card I owned.I’ve used it in various different countries across Europe. It is brilliant to use if you are making foreign transactions directly with the card itself as there are no transaction fees. However, one of the big drawbacks is that you only get up to £200 free withdrawals every 30 days. Anything more than that is charged at a 3% transaction fee. Not really ideal when the likelihood is you will be making lots of cash withdrawals as that is the preferred payment method for a lot of the classic backpacking countries, like the ones in South East Asia I plan on going to. As I already have a Monzo debit card I will be taking it as a backup, as there is a better option.

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Wise

Another alternative is Wise. Similarly to other travel bank cards, there is a fee to withdrawals. You can make 2 withdrawals of up to 200 GBP each month for free. After that, there is a charge 0.5 GBP per withdrawal. Plus there’s a 1.75% fee on any amount you withdraw above 200 GBP. The charges compared to others are small and it does mean you can get £400 per month free from transactions from an ATM. Because of this if I was solo backpacking and didn’t already have a Monzo account, I would have opened a Wise account as a backup. However, it does cost £7 to get the physical card sent out to you, which obviously isn’t ideal.

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Revolut

Revolut is another option available to you as a travel bank card. However, like Monzo, Revolut does have a lot of hidden restrictions and charges when using the card. One of the stranger restrictions is that if you use your card on a weekend you will incur translation fees. On the standard plan you can only withdraw up to £200, or 5 times per month, whichever comes first. For me there is only one real winner…

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Starling

Starling is by far the best option when it comes to choosing a travel bank card. I have specifically opened a Starling account to be my primary account for backpacking South East Asia. To put it very simply, Starling doesn’t have any of the restrictions or charges that Revolut, Wise or Monzo have. There are no charges on any transactions or cash withdrawals (except for the ones the ATMs themselves impose). It is also free to get a physical card sent in the post to you. If there is any travel bank card you get, make sure it’s with Starling!

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Top tip, when withdrawing cash from an ATM never choose the option to convert transactions into your home currency, because this can involve hidden currency conversion fees, which will be HIGH. Always select to withdraw in local currency as the conversion fees charged by your travel bank will be less and also you will get more for your money.

But if there is one piece of advice you take from this entire blog, make sure you take more than one bank card with you, especially if you’re travelling solo. The last thing you want is to be stranded with no ability to pay for anything.

Enjoy your Travels!

Em x

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