Best card(s) for a multi-country trip

JJ2017

Hi,

My fiancee and I are setting off next month for a long trip backpacking overseas (a year to a year and a half) and are unsure what to do with our money. We'll be in numerous countries (Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America) over this time and on previous trips have paid so much in bank fees that we want to ensure we make the best decision this time.

The most regularly recommended advice on here and elsewhere is to use a good credit card, however we will rarely, if ever, be making purchases using the card. We typically withdraw the maximum amount possible and then spend that all before making another withdrawal. Depending on the country this might equate to between 4 and 10 withdrawals per month.

We therefore want to pay as little as possible to withdraw money and want the best possible exchange rates (obviously!) however, even the most recommended cards all seem to have a catch.

Countries like Thailand regularly have a 150 baht atm fee which I believe is unavoidable, but that aside we would like to be getting the most money for our... money

According to the prepaid travel cards page on this site (I'm not allowed to post a link )...

The Monzo card seems the best deal (I am in the process of signing up for this), however it limits withdrawals to £1000 a month so this alone will not be enough.

The Revolut card looks great but limits withdrawals to £200 a month and charges fees after that so isn't very useful to us.

The Weswap card doesn't cover all the necessary currencies that we require, and the rest of the cards on that list either charge for atm withdrawals or charge exchange fees :mad:

What do other people do in this situation? Is there anything I'm missing?

Thanks in advance for your help!!

JJ X

eDicky

--

JJ2017 wrote: »

The most regularly recommended advice on here and elsewhere is to use a good credit card, however we will rarely, if ever, be making purchases using the card. We typically withdraw the maximum amount possible and then spend that all before making another withdrawal.

There's no need to limit yourselves in this way, instead of using card to pay whenever possible. The best value cards limit cash withdrawals because the costs incurred eats into their meagre revenue.

On the other hand, cash can be withdrawn using a credit card. Interest is charged daily after the withdrawal with most of the ones suitable for travel, but it's insignificant if you pay it off as soon as possible by internet banking.

So it would be best if you both get a Revolut and/or Monzo, plus a credit card or two. Also consider the Virgin Money Essential account with its VISA debit card. It's good to have both VISA and MasterCard for countries where one or the other is more widely accepted.

In any case it is vital to have several sources of funds, kept separately, as any card can be lost, stolen or fail for some reason.

tafer2uk

Personally I take three debit cards with me, two of which (N&P & Nationwide) offer fee free overseas withdrawals. I also take two or three credit cards with me for emergencies. I then usually take as much money out per transaction if the country I'm in has an ATM fee which as you say Thailand does (The last time I went it was 180 baht but heard it's going up to 200 baht:mad:)

However if you are backpacking you need to weigh up the risks of travelling with large quantities of cash, especially if your accommodation doesn't have a safe.

Have a great trip!

JJ2017

Hi all,

Thanks a million for the advice. re: the first message, we're talking about backpacker travelling, so most shops/restaurants do not accept payment by card, so the credit card route is a no go, especialy given that due to poor internet connectivity in certain areas we couldn't guarantee being able to pay it off immediately.

As for using a normal UK debit card, we've previously been charged fees by our banks when using them overseas so we don't really want to do this either. After the Monzo and Revolut, what would be the next best similar card?

And lastly, we are actually getting married in Thailand and will have to pay a large chunk to the resort when we check out. Obviously wanting the best rates and least fees, what would be the best way to do this?

If we use £10000 as an random number to work with, what would be our best option? Load it all onto a pre-pay locked in rate card and then pay over there? Use our uk debit card? Use our credit cards? If the latter would there be a best one to use? We have one virgin credit card that we might be able to use.

Many thanks again in advance!

J&J

ampersand

tafer2uk mentions N&P, which I also recommend.

Their Gold Classic a/c requires a min. of £500 mthly - no fixed date, which is also useful. I play revolving doors with it.

Uh-oh, just as I went to post link for you, op, this comes up:
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-3834582/Norwich-Peterborough-Classic-Gold-account-closed-new-customers.html

I'll leave this post anyway as info. only.
#
Wishing you a wonderful trip, marriage, Life :-)

z1a

I too vote for N&P.

NiftyDigits

You need to rethink your strategy, as credit cards are almost certainly the way to go. Much safer for you.
There are few places where a mobile signal or WiFi will not be available to you and there is a good chance that one of your banks will have an App. So sending a payment to an already set up account should be a doddle.
You can even set as to when a payment should hit the account. So if you know you are going to make a withdrawal on the 4th. You can set up a payment to hit the account on that day in advance.

In addition, the only two ways to avoid the greedy, grabbing Thai bank's ATMs is to either withdraw over the bank counter using a credit card or to take cash with you to exchange.

Prepaid cards should be for back-up only. If there is any fraud or discrepancies whilst travelling, it won't be your money disappearing down a black hole if a CC has been your only interface.

So for these reasons, I would obtain both a Halifax Clarity and a Creation Everyday CC

If perchance you live in the catchment area of the Cumberland Building Society: https://www.cumberland.co.uk/current-accounts

Our operating area is Cumbria (all CA and LA postcodes), South-West Scotland (all DG postcodes and TD9), West Northumberland (NE46-49) and North Lancashire (all PR, FY, LA AND BB1-2 and BB5-7)

...that would be a useful debit card.

As aforementioned get a Virgin Money Essentials account as a VISA backup.
Always good to have alternatives. Some places will have ATMs set to take a fee in the tourist areas. Move out of the main tourist area and interestingly, no fee..with the same bank's ATM.
Lima was a good one for that.

NiftyDigits

z1a wrote: »

I too vote for N&P.

That wouldn't be a sensible vote....

z1a

NiftyDigits wrote: »

That wouldn't be a sensible vote....

In your opinion.

Voyager2002

z1a wrote: »

In your opinion.

No, in fact. The account in question is no longer offered to new customers.

PeacefulWaters

z1a wrote: »

I too vote for N&P.

You didn't read the post above yours very well.