If we are going to travel abroad we can use our own credit card in most cases and you can talk to your bank to check the conditions. But you can also use specialized cards, cards to travel and to withdraw money abroad that will ensure a better change or less commissions.
When we withdraw money with another currency or pay in another currency that is not ours, we pay commissions. It depends on our bank, our contract or the country you are traveling to, you will have some commissions or others, but they are usually common. That is why it is more and more common for us to use travel cards specially designed for that and there are some popular and highly recommended ones such as the Revolut or the N26.
These cards not only have the advantage of the option to pay or withdraw cash without commissions in another currency, but we will also achieve greater security. Generally, they are cards that we “refill” so the amount of money we will have on them is much less than what you usually have in your account, which will allow you to be sure if it is lost or stolen. In addition, practically all of them have a banking app that allows us to control each movement and thus we will carry out exhaustive control.
N26
One of the most recommended and well-known is the N26 card. A card that belongs to the bank with which it shares a name. It is not a prepaid card but rather the card of an online bank, of a bank account. To “fill it” we only have to make a transfer from another account to that one and we can use the card in any type of establishment or to withdraw money.
The commissions depend on the type of card you have but we can do it for free for a number of times a month. We can also manage to withdraw money at ATMs without any type of commission, even if it is in another currency and there are no commissions for making payments in another currency. In the case of the standard card, we can withdraw at ATMs throughout the euro zone without worrying about commissions.
Of course, N26 has several cards and depending on the one you choose, you will have to pay monthly for its maintenance or not. The most premium models require a monthly payment but they are worth it if you are going to travel because they will help you save a lot by avoiding commissions whether you pay or withdraw money regardless of the country you are going to travel to.
revolt
Revolut is one of the most popular cards for traveling abroad and one of the most recommended options if you are looking to withdraw money anywhere. It allows you to receive the card to travel without commissions at home when you open your account and you can withdraw up to 200 euros per month without commissions. When we exceed the amount, we start paying commissions. But it is a good option for traveling.
What Revolut offers is that it applies the best exchange rates when you pay with it, regardless of the currency. It allows you to operate in more than a hundred different currencies and allows the exchange of dozens of them through the application.
In addition, Revolut allows us good security thanks to the fact that you can have expense notifications at the moment and control from your mobile phone. Another advantage is that we can recharge it from anywhere and through the Internet to pay in an establishment when you are outside of Spain or to withdraw money at an ATM.
prepaid postage
If you don’t want an account in another bank or want to complicate yourself too much, the Correos card is an excellent option to travel around Europe without complications. You can top up your balance over the Internet or from any Post Office in our country. We recharge with a balance that we can use to withdraw abroad or that we can use to pay at any establishment we want.
The card has a cost of 6 euros and has no maintenance cost. You can make a minimum recharge of 10 euros or a maximum of 1,000 euros each time. When you have the money in it, you can use it wherever you want like any other, although there will be commissions depending on the type of withdrawal you make and the ATM.