Europe travel blog, tips and news

Which Travel Money Card is best?

Thursday, 23 August 2012 14:02

I've written previously about the various ways of accessing your spending money whilst overseas but after my most recent trip to Europe and a report by CANSTAR, I thought it timely to provide some more information about travel money cards.

Travel Money Cards are debit cards that allow you to pre-purchase foreign currencies before you start your holiday. The biggest advantage is that you are using your own money - pre-paid before you leave home - so you're not in for any nasty credit cards bills on your return. By pre-loading the funds on to your Travel Money Card, you lock in the exchange rate at the time of purchase so if the rate drops whilst you are away, you won't be affected. Conversely, if the exchange rate improves after you've loaded your card, you won't benefit.

Most major Australian institutions now offer Travel Money Cards, each slightly different in their fee structure. All have an initial purchase fee (generally around $11 - $15) and allow various numbers of different currencies to be loaded on to the card. Should you be running short of funds whilst you are away, additional funds can be loaded onto the card via BPAY.

On previous trips to Europe I have used a Commonwealth Bank Travel Money Card which I have found easy to use and this has suited me as I can hold on to the card indefinitely (for future trips) without paying a monthly inactive fee, as charged by some of the other institutions. The CBA's card is at the top end of the scale when it comes to its initial purchase ($15) and the replacement fee if the card is lost or stolen is a whopping $60. The downside to most travel money cards is that fees are charged each time funds are withdrawn from an ATM (currently AUD3.50 per withdrawal with CBA's card) and this can rob you of well-earned holiday money.

After reading CANSTAR's recent survey of five of Australia's top Travel Money Cards, next time I would consider purchasing the Multi-Currency Cash Passport (available online and at Australia Post outlets) as no ATM fees are charged. The Cash Passport has a low initial purchase fee ($5) but it does have a monthly inactive fee of $4 and a closure fee of $10, so I would definitely close my 'account' at the end of the trip. Obviously I'd need to make sure I had withdrawn all the funds still on the card prior to closing it (a cash out fee applies).

My most recent trip to Europe re-affirmed to me that value of Travel Money Cards. As I was only going to be away for two weeks and had pre-paid all of my accommodation, transport and most of my sightseeing, I decided not to take my Travel Money Card with me and instead just use my regular ATM card to withdraw cash when needed. It was a costly decision! A withdrawal of EUR50 in France cost me $6.92 in bank fees, whilst a withdrawal of CHF500 (AUD533) cost a huge $21 in bank fees! You can see how easily bank fees could add up on a trip of four to five weeks.

I highly recommend you consider a travel money card for your next overseas holiday, and you can check the pros and cons of the various providers' cards on the CANSTAR report.

Have you used a travel money card when travelling overseas? What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages?