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35 Comments

  1. Tara
    August 6, 2014 @ 6:33 pm

    Great article! Thank you. In paris and trying to figure out how and what to use. From the US but it family is traveling all around, so this was hugely helpful.

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      August 7, 2014 @ 9:28 am

      Thanks Tara, glad to help! Enjoy your time in Paris!

      Reply

  2. Chuck
    December 30, 2013 @ 12:53 am

    I just spent 6 months in Thailand using a State Farm Bank account ATM card to get cash.

    If you have any amount of direct deposit, they do not charge you any fees AND they reimburse the fees you pay to the local ATM owner. I also got fantastic exchange rates on my withdrawals. This should work almost anywhere worldwide.

    For a CC, I used the Chase Sapphire and Chase United cards because of no surcharge, plus we use them to rack up the miles for travel.

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      December 30, 2013 @ 1:38 pm

      That’s great to know, Chuck! There are so many great options out there, and different advantages for all of them. I’m glad you found a bank and credit card that work well for you when you travel!

      Reply

  3. Matthew Cheyne
    September 4, 2013 @ 2:37 pm

    I have further more comprehensive information for any Aussie considering travel cards, debit cards, credit cards etc as an option for traveling overseas. This website http://www.finder.com.au/travel-money#travel-money-cards is geared towards Aussies and is very comprehensive. It shows you all the products on offer on the Australian market and if you look around you may be able to find some commentary both by the website and users of the products as to how good they are.

    For all of us, this You Tube video by the travel blogger who goes by the name Wandering Trader is all about bank fees on the road and how to avoid them. This guy really knows his s**t. I highly recommend you spare the four minutes and watch it. It may save you both time and money. Here it is https://youtube.com/watch?v=daKRQpyKgAM

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      September 4, 2013 @ 4:24 pm

      Thanks Matthew! It’s hard to know what works for people in other countries, so thanks for sharing some Australia info. I know of Wandering Trader, though I don’t actually know him, but you’re right, he seems to really know what he’s talking about.

      Reply

      • Matthew Cheyne
        September 4, 2013 @ 4:32 pm

        I was really surprised to hear that there is a global ATM alliance in which the partners don’t charge each other ATM fees to their respective card holders. What surprised me even more was that he could list all of the partners including Westpac bank which is one of the four major banks here in Australia. Unfortunately though Westpac according to their website doesn’t offer cards aimed at travelers of any sort from what I can see so the benefits would only apply to their normal credit card holders. But the information is really good to know.

        Between that video and the link to the Finder website, you can work out a really good strategy that minimizes ATM, Foreign Exchange and loading fees on pre paid cards. I did the comparison myself and for an Australian traveling to New Zealand, the Velocity Global Wallet, the pre paid card I have has the lowest ATM fees of any of the pre paid cards and the most benefits too. My point: in Australia at least it really pays to do your homework before you even buy your airline ticket as to what payment system your going to use while you’re away.

        Reply

  4. Buck
    August 31, 2013 @ 5:54 am

    I’m an American looking to live and travel in Europe next year. My main priority is to obtain a card with no foreign transaction fees. With that said, what priority should ‘chip and PIN’ capability be? Is this an absolute must-have in Europe (with most time being spent in Spain)?

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      August 31, 2013 @ 11:05 am

      I live in Germany, and many places here (restaurants, grocery stores, smaller shops) don’t accept credit cards at all, so we often pay in cash or use our bank card. Some places that do accept credit cards can swipe your card if it doesn’t have a chip in it, but some don’t have that capability. I think your best bet is to find a bank/ATM card that doesn’t charge foreign ATM fees, and even reimburses other ATM fees (like the Charles Schwab bank account) and try to rely on cash. In places where you can use credit cards, you shouldn’t have too many problems. But it’s not like in the US where you can use a credit card just about anywhere. Unfortunately I don’t know about Spain specifically but I do know that in general Europe has a different view on credit cards.

      Make sure you do research about visas because a normal tourist visa for the schengen area only allows you to be inside the area for 3 months out of every 6 months, so that won’t work for you to be in Spain or the majority of Western Europe for a year.

      Let me know if you have any other questions!

      Reply

      • Buck
        September 1, 2013 @ 6:29 pm

        Thanks for the info, Ali. It’s been a few years since we’ve been in Europe and you are right, it is a good reminder that credit cards aren’t as ubiquitous as the U.S.

        I’m hoping to get to Spain on a non-lucrative visa which would allow us to be there for a full year. Lots to do to get to that point, but that is the plan at the moment.

        Reply

        • Ali Garland
          September 4, 2013 @ 10:46 am

          Good luck with the visa, and enjoy Spain, such a great country!

          Reply

    • Matthew Cheyne
      August 31, 2013 @ 11:18 am

      Personally I would make the chip and pin a really high priority. I live in Australia where chip and pin technology has been around for a number of years and I feel a whole lot more secure using it and to be honest with you, most merchants only take it here. Some are even going contactless where you use technology like Visa Paywave or the Mastercard equivalent to make payments by holding the card up against the payment device and it will process a payment for you without a PIN up to certain value.

      I’m saying all this because I believe that the situation in Europe, where the same technology has been around for longer than Australia would have the same practice. My order of priorities in looking for a credit card to use overseas would be: security first, fees second, features third. But everybody is different and it’s a really personal thing choosing a credit card so I wish you all the best with everything and with your travels too.

      Reply

      • Ali Garland
        September 1, 2013 @ 5:40 pm

        Thanks Matthew!

        Reply

        • Matthew Cheyne
          September 1, 2013 @ 5:47 pm

          Your welcome Ali:) I hope the weekend was kind to you!

          Reply

      • Buck
        September 1, 2013 @ 6:32 pm

        Thanks for the well wishes, Matthew. You confirm my assumption that chip and PIN technology should probably be pretty high on the list when choosing our next card. Thank you.

        Reply

    • Heidi (@WagonersAbroad)
      March 29, 2014 @ 8:27 am

      Hey Buck, we do fine on our card without the chip. We just tell retailers sin chip con “la banda”. no chip with strip. It is fine in retail stores, but some restaurants may not have a machine that will only take the chip. It doesn’t happen often where we have a problem in Spain or Europe.

      Reply

      • Chuck
        March 29, 2014 @ 10:36 am

        My US Chase Sapphire cards have chip but no PIN, and that’s been fine. The European merchants give them the normal chip+pin treatment, but their machines just spit out a receipt for signature. Once or twice I’ve been asked for an ID by the clerk.

        I think the only issue is with kiosks where they require signature. I’ve heard they won’t work there, but haven’t tested.

        Reply

        • Buck
          March 29, 2014 @ 4:32 pm

          Good info, everyone. I have a US Chase Sapphire that I plan on using and that is a chip and signature (no PIN). I also need to call USAA to see if they can offer a card with a chip, no annual fee, and no foreign transaction fees.

          Reply

  5. Stefania
    August 27, 2013 @ 9:08 pm

    Hi Ali, I’m from Italy and I was looking for a similar debit card, but apparently we are unlucky over here. The only one I can think of is the one I currently have from ING Direct. It doesn’t charge for ATM withdrawals within Europe + Turkey. It also has a credit card that comes without annual fees. Apart from that I don’t know about cards addressed to travellers, it looks like it’s a market only in the English-speaking countries, or almost. If anybody knows something, let me know.

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      August 28, 2013 @ 10:47 am

      Hi Stefania! I’m really starting to think Americans just use credit cards more (resulting in lots of debt problems!) so there are more options. The debit card you have sounds pretty good. The bank I have here in Germany only has free ATM withdrawals inside of Germany, so if we travel to another country, even within Europe, there’s a 5 euro fee! If I hear of anything helpful for Italy, I’ll keep you in mind!

      Reply

      • Matthew Cheyne
        August 28, 2013 @ 11:04 am

        @Ali: That 5 euro charge is really steep! It amounts to about $7 AUD which for me is insane. The pre-paid card I talked about only charges 2.95 euros to take out money in Europe. That’s steep enough.

        Reply

  6. Matthew Cheyne
    August 25, 2013 @ 6:19 am

    This is an excellent article Ali 🙂 It’s great to have the international comparisons to see how cards stack up against those in various other countries.

    As for the Australian recommendation, I have come across the 28 degrees card but it’s issued by GE Money of whom I have heard heaps of bad things about, including my own experiences with having store cards with them back in the 90s. The interest rate on the card is 20.99% with a $25 late fee which is high by Australian standards.

    As I’ve probably already told you previously, I have a Velocity Global Wallet Pre-Paid travel card that’s part of the Virgin Australia loyalty card program. The link for it is here: http://www.velocityrewards.com.au/content/ProgramBenefits/GlobalWallet/index.htm . There are other pre-paid cards on the market like The NAB Travelcard http://www.nabtravellercard.com.au/1/ , the Australia Post Load and Go Pre Paid Card and the Comm Bank Travelcard https://www.commbank.com.au/personal/travel/travel-money-card.html .

    Personally I think that considering I hate entering into credit contracts, do almost all of my transactions electronically and want a variety of currencies to choose from, the Velocity Global Wallet was a wise choice. Plus you get a second virtual card for online transactions in order to boost your security and 2 points for every $1 spent in Australia and 1 spent overseas. It’s only a brand new product that’s come onto the market in the last month or so so I haven’t heard of any accounts of travelers actually using it out on the road. Hopefully when I get to use it, it will be a great experience.

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      August 25, 2013 @ 1:39 pm

      Thanks Matthew! Yeah, each card has its advantages and disadvantages, so each person needs to decide what’s most important. That does sound like a high interest rate, but if you pay in full each month, it might not be a big deal. The pre-paid cards sound good too, just a different approach. I’m really glad you found something that works for you. Let me know how it goes when you start using them!

      Reply

      • Matthew Cheyne
        August 25, 2013 @ 1:46 pm

        I’ll keep you in the loop as to how all things go travel wise; the pre-paid card included. There is one thing that you may be able to help me with. Do you know anything about a payment system called “Poli”? The prepaid card that I have offers it as a means of depositing funds into the card with a 24 hour turn around time which is much better than the 3 days that paying by “B-Pay” (a method that applies only to Aussie bank accounts where you enter in a biller code and reference number and pay directly out of your bank account) that is the other option and often the only option available on the prepaid cards here in Australia. I was wondering if you or anybody else has used “Poli” and can vouch for it as a safe payment method.

        Reply

        • Ali Garland
          August 26, 2013 @ 1:46 pm

          Sorry Matthew, I’ve never heard of either of those. I’ve also never used pre-paid cards like that, so that’s probably why.

          Reply

          • Matthew Cheyne
            August 26, 2013 @ 1:54 pm

            Not to worry Ali. I did some research on Poli and it’s a payment gateway offered by a Melbourne based company. I found a warning against using it by ASB Bank New Zealand, an offshoot of Australia’s Commonwealth Bank. Basically they are saying not to use Poli because of the risk of fraud and of cyber thieves capturing your information for malevolent ends. Some airlines and pre paid cards offer Poli as an alternative payment method so that people avoid delays or credit card fees. Here is a link to one of the sites detailing the warning. The website is as follows and is a reputable New Zealand news website: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/8101389/Banks-bristle-over-web-go-between

          • Ali Garland
            August 26, 2013 @ 6:39 pm

            Good to know Matthew, thanks for sharing the link in case others are looking for it!

  7. Debra
    August 22, 2013 @ 10:08 pm

    Thanks! Makes me realize how important it is for your ATM card to work abroad. That was my biggest issue last time. I am going to see if we qualify for the USAA card.

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      August 22, 2013 @ 10:35 pm

      Glad to help Debra! If you do qualify for USAA, they’re really great. Since they deal almost exclusively with military, they’re used to people being in other countries, so they just get it. They also have the most amazing customer service, such wonderful, friendly people.

      Reply

  8. Daniel Conceição
    August 22, 2013 @ 6:10 am

    Great post! You did a good job compilating the bloggers opinion!

    Cheers

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      August 22, 2013 @ 11:03 am

      Thanks Daniel, and thanks for contributing!

      Reply

  9. Lance
    August 22, 2013 @ 4:39 am

    Great list! Learned a couple of great tips in this one. Thanks for making travel simple!

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      August 22, 2013 @ 8:39 pm

      Thanks Lance, and thanks for contributing!

      Reply

  10. Sofie @ Wonderful Wanderings
    August 21, 2013 @ 1:18 pm

    Great article idea Ali!
    You read so much about American credit cards and ways to earn miles. It’s good to have someone finally looking at other countries as well!

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      August 21, 2013 @ 2:42 pm

      Thanks Sofie, and thanks for contributing! I think Americans just use credit cards more than people from other countries, which isn’t really a good thing. I wanted to show a glimpse of some other countries’ options.

      Reply

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