Travel Money - Which is Best? Cash or Cards
There are several travel money options you can use to save money and make your trip hassle-free.
When planning an overseas trip figuring out how to access your money while away is complicated and often left to the last minute. You then end up arriving in airports needing to change money to pay for the taxi fare into your hotel.
End result is you get terrible exchange rates and pay high fees for changing foreign cash and unexpected fees on your credit card for making purchases or withdrawals overseas.
You can save money and get better exchange rates by ordering your foreign cash online online, you get better rates but can still pick up the cash and a branch or the airport. This will give you more money in your hand for all those overseas expenses and purchases. Another option is to use a Pre-paid Travel Card.
Credit Card provider will typically charge 1% to 2% from the market mid-rate. Then your bank may also charge an extra 3% on top of this as a “Overseas Transaction Charge”. Additionally there may be a “Overseas ATM” Fee when taking money out of ATMs abroad.
Read more about the fees and exchange rates on using credit cards overseas and about the importance of avoiding the direct currency conversion rip-off!
Disclaimer: Please note any provider recommendations, currency forecasts or any opinions of our authors should not be taken as a reference to buy or sell any financial product.