Travel Money Cards Compared for Australians

Every card charges you twice overseas. Once through a foreign transaction fee, and once through the margin built into the exchange rate. Australia's big four banks commonly apply a 3 to 3.5 per cent international transaction fee plus about $5 per overseas ATM withdrawal. Spend $4,000 on a two-week trip and that is $120 to $140 before you touch an ATM.

Several cards now charge nothing on either count. Which one suits you turns on how much cash you pull out and whether you spend on weekends.

Revolut applies a 1 per cent markup on currency exchanged over the weekend on its Standard plan, because the interbank market is closed and the rate it quotes carries more risk. On a Saturday dinner in Rome that turns a free card into a cheap one.

The workaround is to convert the currency you need on a weekday and hold the balance. Wise and YouTrip price the same way seven days a week, which suits someone who spends without planning.

Most travellers put nearly everything on a card and pull out a small amount of cash. In countries where cash still dominates, the ATM limit becomes the binding constraint.

YouTrip's $1,500 monthly allowance covers a cash-heavy trip through Southeast Asia. Wise and Revolut both cap free withdrawals at $350 a month, which runs out in the first week in Indonesia or Vietnam.

Watch the second charge too. The overseas ATM operator sets its own fee and your Australian provider cannot waive it. Machines in tourist areas charge more than bank branches, and the machine will offer to convert the amount for you at a rate worse than your card's. Decline it and let your own provider do the conversion.

Carry both. A no-fee debit card handles everyday spending, and a credit card gives you chargeback rights and the fraud protection that comes with credit.

Hotels and car hire firms also place holds on cards, and a hold against a debit card freezes your own money for days. Put those transactions on credit and keep the debit card for restaurants and shops.

Only two Qantas-earning credit cards charge less than 3 per cent on foreign currency. Our guide to Qantas points cards lists that column card by card.

Usually not. Prepaid cards let you lock in a rate ahead of time, which sounds like protection, and they build a margin into the rate you lock. You pay for the certainty whether or not the currency moves your way.

They also charge to load the card, to withdraw cash, and often to convert an unused balance back to Australian dollars at the end. A no-fee debit card avoids all three.

On $4,000 of overseas spending, moving from a 3 per cent card to a no-fee card saves $120. Add four ATM withdrawals at $5 each and the gap reaches $140.

Longer trips and larger budgets scale that. A family spending $10,000 over a month saves around $300 by changing nothing about the trip except which card comes out of the wallet.

Cards take days to arrive and some providers verify your identity before the account works overseas. Ordering one the week you fly leaves you paying 3 per cent on the first leg.

Pick one no-fee card for spending, keep a credit card for holds and chargebacks, and check the ATM allowance against how much cash your destination actually runs on.

Insurance is the other pre-departure job. Our guide to what travel insurance actually covers explains where policies pay out and where they do not, and our trip planning guides cover the rest of the admin.