UPDATE (2024): Barclays has updated its price list with effect from 07.12.2023 and the conditions mentioned here in the article no longer match.
A travel (credit) card comparison - is there only one sitting on the throne?
Traveling is fun and one of the purposes of life and spending money is generally a part of it. This guidline is based on my experiences and answers the question “if there is one single best (credit) card for travelling?”.
Beginning of the journey
Back in 2019, I ordered a few (credit) cards which were on the shortlist for selection. I ended up having cards from bunq, Barclays, Wise (formerly Transferwise) which all met most of my criterias for a travellers (credit) card. Since bunq changed their payment and feature model, it was removed from my card deck.
Selection criteria for choosing a (credit) card for travelling
- No monthly/yearly fees
- No foreign currency fee when paying
- Able to rent a car
- Free money withdrawls
Quick Comparison
| Barclays | Wise | |
|---|---|---|
| No reccuring fees | ✅ | ✅ |
| No foreign currency fee | ✅ | ❎ |
| Car renting | ✅ | ✅ |
| Money withdrawls | ✅ | ✅ |
Detailed Comparison
| Barclays | Wise | |
|---|---|---|
| No (reccuring) fees | No reccuring fees | No reccuring fees but one time payment to receive a physical card |
| No foreign currency fee | No fees for spending in a foreign currency | No, if you hold the currency. Yes, if you have to exchange it |
| Car renting | Yes, as it is a real credit card | Some car rentals may deny the card as it is a debit card |
| Money withdrawls | Free up to card limit | Free up to 2 withdrawls and total amount is £200 / 200 € / $100 [1] |
A more detailed comparison
In general
As you can see already, the Barclays card is a strong yes and claims the throne for itself, BUT! Wise (formerly Transferwise - cooler name btw) debit card has some nice advantages and a nice feature set for special purposes. The “Multi Currency Account”, as they call it themselves, means that you can receive money from different countries and currencies. You can hold, exchange and spend them as you wish. Exchanging currencies is handled by their own exchange system called: Wise. This is also used by different other banks and uses the “mid-market rate” which can be cheaper (in terms of exchange rate) than the Visa exchange rate Barclays and other banks are using.
How to use it Wise(ly)?
Digital cards
- Beeing able to create several digital cards (inside the app) is one of the best features. I use those digital copies on online services like YouTube Premium, Adobe Cloud and in apps like Uber. Why? Because I can easily block or delete those cards and the real account´s details are never shared with others. Those digital cards can also be used for Apple or Google pay, which gives you even more flexibility and cost control over your expenses.
Exchange rates
- When you have a good sense of (market-)timing (which most of us do not have), you could safe money by exchanging (before going on a trip or during a trip) to another currency via the Wise app. Even with the fee, you could safe a few bucks with those exchanges. Advantage of that procedure is, that your card is using the local currency directly with only one exchange. Despite the fees incurred when exchanging money during a payment transaction, it may be that paying with the Wise card is cheaper because it is charged at a different exchange rate (Mid-Market Exchange Rate) than the Visa rate.
The Wise App
- The app is built nicely and offers a great customer experience. Not only do you get a notification whenever you are spending/receiving money, you can also manage your bank account within the app.
How to do it the Barclays’ way?
It just works
- Whether you’re just paying for your lunch or you’re heading out on a West Coast road trip with a rental car, the card just works. You can easily load up your account with money and you can make use of its credit amount. If you use the credit, you can pay it back flexibly within the next 8 weeks or you pay it back in installments (which costs you interest).
Summary: Which card do I prefer to use for travelling?
- Short answer: Barclays
- Not so short answer: it depends on how you are going to use it and what features you really want.
- Long answer: Both. I keep the Wise card as a backup with me and also use the features to exchange money in other currencies. For flight tickets, car rentals and hotels I use the Barclays card. But I also keep some money in different currencies with me and my Wise card. This is used for digital services like renting a scooter, to pay for an Uber ride or whenever I want to pay some goods via mobile phone.