WHAT ARE BEST CARDS TO TRAVEL ABROAD WITHOUT COMMISSIONS

March 15, 2023 AlexMusk

What is travel insurance with a credit card?

All credit cards have a series of advantages associated with them, but here we are going to talk about cards with associated travel insurance . You can enjoy the travel insurance with the gold Visa of the banks, if they have it, as well as with the platinum ones.

It is important that you be clear that not all credit cards have associated travel insurance, in fact most do not, so you should check the conditions of yours to find out if you have it or not.

N26 , ANOTHER CARD TO TRAVEL AND PAY ABROAD

The N26 card is another travel card that we have been using for the past few years. N26 offers different cards, specifically the N26 Standard, the N26 Smart, the N26 You and the N26 Metal. The N26 Standard is free and it is the one that we have tested and the one that I can give the best opinion.

It is a debit card accepted in most parts of the world and that applies the Mastercard exchange rate . Best of all, it does not apply commissions and has no spending limit, which makes it one of the best cards to pay abroad .

It also allows you to withdraw money from ATMs, although there is a limit of 3 times a month without commissions, 5 if it is used as the main account and payroll is received in it. Once this limit is exceeded, a commission of 2 euros per withdrawal will be applied. In case it is in a currency other than the euro, there will always be a 1.7% commission.

The N26 card has no maintenance fees and you can have it at zero up to a few days before the trip. Then you will only have to make a transfer with the money that you are going to need in the account with a Spanish IBAN to which the card is associated.

This card for travelers is free if you deposit €200, although you will have to pay €10 to have the physical one. The digital card is very good, but I recommend you also have the physical one in case you cannot make payments through your mobile or if you travel to a country where this type of payment is not widely implemented.

N26 CARD ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES N26 CARD

Unlimited payments in shops without commission for currency exchange
Payments via smartphone
3 monthly withdrawals in euros without commissions (or 5 if the salary is paid directly)
No maintenance costs
Fee-free transfers
Commission of €2 when the monthly limit of withdrawals in euros from ATMs is exceeded
1.7% commission for withdrawal in other currencies
It is not used for bail (it is a debit card)
You have to deposit €200 to receive the physical card for free

BNEXT , ANOTHER PREPAID CARD TO TRAVEL ABROAD

Bnext was for a while the best card to withdraw money abroad and we were using it for our trips until they announced some changes in their conditions.

Now withdrawing money at ATMs in Spain or other countries will have as commission the exact cost charged by the bank in which the operation is carried out. This amount normally appears on the screen, just before confirming the operation.

There are also changes in terms of currency exchange, since now the user must pay the commission applied by Mastercard on the exchange rate, which will be 0.1% in Europe and 0.9% outside the European Union plus 0 €44.

One of the improvements is that if you want to pay with Bnext in shops, its use abroad has increased to €3,000 without commissions; then a charge of 1.15% will be made in the EU and 1.5% outside. In addition, those customers who pay more than €150 per month in stores with the card will be able to recover up to €2 in commissions for cash withdrawals.

As for income, these will continue to be free if they are made from a debit card or 1% of the amount will be applied if it is from a credit card. Of course, one of the drawbacks of this card is that, being prepaid, there are countries where it may not be accepted in some stores.

Another drawback of the Bnext is that if you have money left over after a trip, it cannot be transferred to the usual account, but has to be withdrawn from the ATM or left in the Bnext account. When we used Bnext, and taking into account how easy it is to recharge the card, what we did was put in what we thought we were going to spend for half a trip, then, if we saw that we were falling short, we would put in something else.

BNEXT CARD ADVANTAGES BNEXT CARD DISADVANTAGES

Customers who pay more than €150 in stores will be able to recover up to €2 of commissions for withdrawing money per ATM
Payment of up to €3,000 per month abroad without commissions
Payment via smartphone
No maintenance costs
Free deposits from debit card
Commission of 0.1% in Europe and 0.9% outside the European Union plus €0.44 in currency exchange
Prepaid card. Some foreign shops do not accept it
It is not used for bail
Does not allow transfers to other banks
Exceeded the limits of the card, a charge of 1.15% is made in the EU and 1.5% outside

PAY WITH CARDS ABROAD

Now you know some of the best cards to travel without commissions . As I have mentioned, to pay by card abroad, I use and recommend the Vivid card , since it does not have a monthly spending limit.

Before you open an account with this bank, I want to explain what kind of commissions you will pay if you decide to use your regular card instead of the Vivid card or one of the other best cards for traveling abroad that I have previously recommended.

WHAT IS CURRENCY EXCHANGE AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT ME?

Ideally, your card should apply the interbank currency exchange , that is, the real one, because it is the best exchange you can get. This exchange rate varies every day, so today $1 may be equivalent to €0.89 and tomorrow to €0.88. This means that if your bank has a 3% currency exchange fee and you buy $1 on a day when the local currency is valued at €0.89, you will be paying €0.91.

What is currency exchange and how does it affect me?

Although the difference may seem small, if, for example, you spend $2,000 on your trip to the United States and your card has the interbank exchange rate, the trip would cost you €1,780. However, if your card has a 3% commission for currency exchange, you would end up paying €1,820.

Now, for our bank to apply the exchange rate, we must know whether to select to pay with local currency or euros.

WHEN PAYING BY CARD, LOCAL CURRENCY OR EUROS?

When using the card to pay abroad, you can choose between paying in euros or local currency. You will need to select to pay in local currency, regardless of the currency.

Otherwise, it will be the dataphone that chooses the exchange rate to apply, which is normally much higher than the interbank rate and higher than the commission applied by most bank cards.

When paying by card, local currency or euros?

Always, when you pay in restaurants, supermarkets or stores in countries that do not use the euro, the dataphone will give you the option of paying in local currency or euros. If you pay in euros, the dataphone can apply up to a 10% commission to the currency exchange and in any case it will be very unfavorable for the traveler. Therefore, whatever card you use and whatever currency it is, always choose to pay in local currency.

CARD COMMISSIONS ABROAD WHEN PAYING WITH ANOTHER CURRENCY

Much is said about the commission when using ATMs abroad , but little about the commission when paying with a card in another currency . However, it is super important to keep this in mind because nowadays we pay almost everything with a card.

Although the following values may vary, below I leave you a table with the commissions that different banks apply when paying with a card abroad, unless you use one of the best cards to travel abroad, such as the Vivid card .