The 5 best bank cards for travelling

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If there is something I wished I knew about before I started to travel regularly was how to get benefits from all my trips and what were the best bank cards for travelling. Fast forward 10 years I learnt the hard way but hey oh! I am ready to show you the 5 best cards for travellers and the pros and cons of each.

I don’t just use credit cards to travel, I also use debit cards and my current account. Some of my methods depend a lot on the type of trip that I am doing. For example, if I am going on a city break in Europe I am likely to use my Revolut or Monzo because they don’t charge bank fees abroad. But in the UK I would likely use Chase or my Lloyds current account. To buy long hong-haul flights from BA or their airline partners I am likely to use my amex  British Airways, that gives me BA points that can be swapped for miles on future flights. For emergencies anywhere in the world I use Capital One. 

Now, it seems that I have an awful amount of cards and to be honest I do, but only two of them are credit cards, and only 1 of them I use regularly for travel, the others are more for emergencies and I tried to not use it for daily activities such as taking taxis or buying groceries. When I mean emergencies I mean: Broke a leg, I need a last minute flight back home and so on, likely to cost me the other leg, I can spread the costs (ahah!).

With all this said, let’s get started to explore the world of travel benefits. 

What is the difference between a credit card and another card?

Wow, great question, I didn’t know this when I started to travel, in fact I remember wanting a card so much when I was 18 but I had no idea what was what and why one or the other. So, I am kind of writing this to my 18 year old self. 

There are 3 forms of cards: Debit cards, Pre-paid cards, Credit Cards. 

Debit cards, you get paid into and you can use them anywhere, they can also be called current accounts, you get money in the account from your employer or family and so on, and use what you have there. You can’t use more than what you have. Unless you get an overdraft. 

Then you have a Pre-paid card, that is mainly a card that only allows you to withdraw money. It is not a card that you get paid into, it is a card that you transfer money manage with more restrictions. These are the cards that normally are given to teenagers for their school trips “in case they need emergency funds”, like a prepaid topup card. 

And lastly, the credit card. With a credit card you get a balance or plafon to use, and every month you should pay all back. When you don’t, you pay interest. Some credit cards come with a 0% interest in the first x months which is the perfect time to purchase a flight or a big good, however, you should really calculate and plan before going into some expenses with a credit card. Trust me, I have been there and it is a hole quite tricky to climb out of.

So what is better: Credit Card or Debit Card? 

This is a very hard question, because it depends on you as a person and your spending habits. I am not a professional bank advisor but there are other places where you can compare travel cards and what they have to offer. 

What are the best bank cards for travelling in Europe with?

Okay, there are several options that you can use when travel in Europe. Recently I have been on smaller trips in Europe and I have been economozing by using the following cards: 

• Monzo
• Revolut 
• Chase

Is Monzo the best bank card to travel card?

Monzo is a great card and it offers ease to use abroad. It is an app essentially, you get a card and ecard too to load into your electronic wallet. 

I use Monzo in travel mainly because it was the first one that allowed me to set up limits and budgets per day, week or month, and I can categorise what I spend things on. For example, if I just used it to pay train tickets I can make a tag and write something like “transports in Paris”. Then after a trip I can analyse where I spent the money on. It is actually great to then look back and even write about it. 

Other perks about Monzo

Monzo is easy to use, and quick at getting an account approved. Makes it easy for couples to travel because you can rapidly create a joint account. 

It is one of the best cards to travel abroad because you don’t have to inform the bank that you are going overseas, all you need to do is get on that plane and start using your card. 

Here are my pros and cons for monzo: 

Pros: Monzo is easy, convenient, rapid set up, free for first users, great for budgeting and quick transfers. 

Cons: Which is probably a very big con, you have to be in the UK to apply for a monzo card. 

Is Revolut card good for travel? 

I remember asking this question to my followers on instagram. Revolut has been a very powerful tool, to be completely honest i haven’t been using it to its best potential. I use a lot of revolut to pay things to other countries but not that much when I am travelling. However, Patrick does vouch for it, because it is essentially a currency e exchange card. You can buy and sell currency at great rates. 

I use Revolut every month even when I am not travelling. For example, paying for my therapy, paying freelancers from other countries and tools. 

Revolut is a very smart card and similarly to Monzo, it is all online. The difference is that you can open accounts in several different currencies so you avoid bank fees. I have a Sterling Account (British Pounds) and a Euro Account. 

When I want to use one of the two inside of the app it is very easy to transfer and convert into the currency you want. 

Revolut offers 140 currencies. This is a great reason to use revolut for travel specially if you are using it across several countries. 

Pros and cons for Revolut: 

Pros: Revolut is easy, convenient, rapid set up. Revolut does offer great deals within the app, from investing, to rewards for shopping and cash back too. You can be anywhere in the world and have a revolut account, international transfers may take longer than the instant ones that we are used to. I think this is normally to do with the destination bank rather than Revolut itself. 

Cons: Revolut’s app has a lot more information compared to Monzo, so I wouldn’t say it is very friendly for first time users (I am thinking about my mum navigating through Revolut here), and you have to pay to have a physical card. 

Chase: Great rewards specially for those who travel

Chase is my most recent acquisition. I got the Chase direct debit recommended during my trip in Brasil. So far I have made seriously good use of this card, and got some savings by using this it. Chase does 1% cash back for every purchase made online or in store. So every flight, hotel and that I have been paying has been with Chase. I just booked flights to India and from one transaction I received £10 back. If you isolate the purchase it doesn’t seem a lot, but after a while you can get enough for a small weekend trip. 

This can be another way to travel more. 

Pros and Cons of Chase Debit card:

Chase debit pros: Easy to set up and use, the app allows you to see the card details even without a card, which to me that I keep going from a to b just with my phone is mega helpful. This is actually how I bought the India flights. Chase Debit offers a great cash back perk and it is great to earn from your trips. No annual fee. 

Chase debit cons: The cash back benefit is only valid for 1 year.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Chase Sapphire Preferred is Chase’s credit card, unfortunately not available in the UK yet, is well regarded to be one of the best credit cards for travel due to their points system that doubles when spent in travel related activities (e.g flights, hotels and activities) and triples when spent on food! 

Chase Sapphire offers up 60,000 points after spending $4000 in the first 3 months, which if you think about it, is more a less the flights for 2 people to Japan. 

Apart from the above rewards, it also offers a load of discounts in dining, a sort of travel insurance for flight cancellation (I wish I had this in Vienna!), and more than travel this card is perfect for foodies! 

Pros and Cons of Chase Credit card: 

Chase Sapphire Preferred Pros: Great point system easily achievable in the first 3 months. Possibility to double and triple points in travel and food related activities. Relatively low annual fee $95.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Cons: This card is not available in the UK,  $95 annual fee. 

Best travel cards to travel outside Europe

When it comes to best cards to travel in general, my choice is always Amex. I must admit it started as a challenge. It was actually my first credit card to have and I still have it today. American Express cards offer you great ways to travel more and more frequently, especially if you have your card connected to your airline. For me, the best cards to travel are Amex. But there are a of cards from Amex to choose from. 

Amex offers great benefits for travel, dining and entertainment. The British Airways (BA) Amex offers points to use towards British Airways flights and, the best part is that BA has several other partner airlines where these points can be used too. So although I can accumulate point (that can then be swapped to miles) on BA, I can still use it with Iberia flights to Spain, for example. 

To apply for an Amex you must have a great credit score, and you get a good credit score by not having debt, avoiding “buy now pay later” and be registered to vote in the UK (other countries might be different). 

Applying for any Amex takes longer than other cards. Up to 5-7 days to get approved.

The ultimate best card to travel is the Amex Gold. Regarded to be the best in terms of benefits, offering rewards on hotels, flights for £1, upgrades for 1st class and worldwide waiting lounges in airports, and further perks on food and flights. Read how I booked 2-return flights to South Korea for $218 here!

The opportunities that this card offers are very special, but there is a reason why not everyone has one. The credit score to be approved for Amex Gold is considerably high, the majority of people need to have a stable income and so on. For the Amex Gold there is a significant yearly fee of $195 to have access to all these benefits. 

Other reasons to use a credit card when travelling 

Although I mentioned both credit cards and debit cards, I very much travel a lot using my credit cards. I do this not always for the rewards, but also for the insurance. 

• Credit cards offer purchase protection. Purchases that are between $100 – $30000 are protected by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act  which protects the buyer if the product is faulty, not as described and fraud. 

• Credit cards offer great exchange rates, which means that it is more convenient to use a credit card abroad than a current account. 
• Some credit cards offer immediate rewards, such as cashback, travel insurance for the family or x number of special event entries per year. 

What to pay attention to when applying for a credit card

Credit cards are great to travel and to get your money’s worth, but if you are applying for a credit card with the purpose of travelling, please consider the following: 

• Typically, travel credit cards do not provide interest-free straight away. this might bring you interest charges if you cannot repay your balance in full each month. Additionally, the advertised APRs are merely estimates, and you might be approved for a much higher rate depending on your credit history and personal factors. In some cases, you might even be denied credit entirely.
• Although travelling credit cards are cheaper to use abroad due to the exchange rates, you should look out for the annual and monthly fees as well as for the late payment fee. Amex charges a standard of £12 per late payment fee which adds up if you are paying interest already. 
• Dynamic charges are a thing and by using credit cards abroad you are likely to come across this more than you know. When making a purchase abroad, retailers may offer to convert your payment into your home currency (pounds in my case) at the point of sale. However, this method often has terrible exchange rates that can significantly inflate the cost of your purchase. To avoid this, always choose to pay in the local currency whenever possible. This will ensure that the transaction is processed at the current market exchange rate, minimising the potential for hidden costs.

So what are the best cards for travellers and foodies?

• Best overall: American Express® Gold Card
• Best budget card: American Express® British Airways 
• Best for unique dining experiences: The Platinum Card® from American Express
• Best for dining: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
• Best debit card for sending money abroad: Revolut 
• Best debit card for paying as you go abroad: Monzo 
• Best debit card for cashback rewards: Chase debit 

I hope this post was useful and offered some ideas on credit and debit cards to use abroad.
If there are any other cards that you recommend or would like to know more about, please leave a comment below! 

You might want to read more the 10 Best Hacks for long-haul flights where I explain a bit more of some rewards cards towards maximising your comfort on long-hauls.

As always, safe travels!

Miri x

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