Best cards for travel abroad

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Best credit cards
Best debit cards

If you’re planning a trip abroad or you often go on business trips, using the best cards for travel could help you make your funds go further.

There are many ways to save on holiday, whether it’s booking flights early, sorting out travel insurance or buying travel money in advance for better exchange rates.

But thinking about how you’ll pay for things on your trip is also important, as the wrong card could see you stung with fees of around 3%.

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Best credit cards for travel abroad

If you are using a credit card, make sure you are in a position to pay off your bill in full at the end of each month. Otherwise, any interest charges will cancel out any benefits.

Lloyds Ultra Credit Card

This card from Lloyds comes with a low APR rate and there is no cap on how much cashback you can earn.

1% cashback on all card purchases in the first year, 0.25% after
No foreign exchange fees or ATM withdrawal fees
Representative APR and purchase rate of 12.9% (variable)

Barclaycard Rewards Card

No fees on purchases abroad if paid in full
0.25% cashback on everyday spending
No interest on cash withdrawals if paid in full
Representative APR and purchase rate of 28.9% (variable)

NatWest Travel Reward Credit Card

1% cashback on eligible travel spending
1% to 15% cashback at selected partner retailers
Or, instead of these, 0.1% back on travel spending
No foreign transaction fees on purchases abroad
3% fee on ATM withdrawals (minimum £3)
Representative APR and purchase rate of 27.9% (variable)

Virgin Money Travel Credit Card

1% cashback on spending for the first 90 days, 0.25% cashback after that (up to £15 cashback per month)
No foreign exchange fees overseas
Representative APR 27.9% (variable)
Up to 15% additional cashback with select retailers
ATM withdrawal fees of 5% applies plus interest charge until repaid in full

Santander Edge Credit Card

1% cashback (max £10 per month) on all purchases
No foreign exchange fees on purchases overseas if spent in local currency
£4 monthly fee
Overseas ATM withdrawals have a 3% fee (minimum £3)
Representative APR 37.8% and purchase rate 29.9% (variable) until fully repaid

If you are applying for a credit card, always go through an eligibility checker, like the Card Match tool from our sister site Go.Compare.

We look at the best American Express credit cards in a separate guide.

Best debit cards for travel abroad

We look at some banks that do not charge fees when using your debit card abroad. However, there may still be ATM withdrawal fees, often set by the ATM provider.

Chase Debit Card

1% cashback on eligible spending for the first 12 months (max £15 per month)
Note: no cashback on overseas spending
Fee-free spending and ATM withdrawals home and abroad

Chase also gives you access to its 2.25% (variable) easy access saver. However, the interest rate is quite low, so it’s worth checking out our best easy-access savings accounts guide for the top-paying accounts.

First Direct Debit Card

Fee-free spending abroad
Fee-free ATM withdrawals abroad, up to £500 per day
£250 interest-free overdraft

You could get a £175 bank switching bonus for moving your current account to First Direct, and access a 7% regular savings account.

Starling Bank Travel Money Card

No fees on spending abroad
No fees on cash withdrawals abroad
Manage in-app and online
Maximum £300 ATM limit and six withdrawals per day while abroad

Monzo Debit Card

Fee-free spending at home or abroad
0% interest on purchases over £100 or more paid over three months
Otherwise 29% APR representative (variable) for up to 24 monthly payments

Make cash withdrawals of up to £200 outside of the EEA every 30 days for free. Anything over that incurs a 3% charge. You can also earn 2.75% AER (variable) with an Instant Access Savings Pot.

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Oojal has a background in consumer journalism and is interested in helping people make the most of their money.

Oojal has an MA in international journalism from Cardiff University, and before joining MoneyWeek, she worked for Look After My Bills, a personal finance website, where she covered guides on household bills and money-saving deals.

Her bylines can be found on Newsquest, Voice.Cymru, DIVA and Sony Music, and she has explored subjects ranging from politics and LGBTQIA+ issues to food and entertainment.

Outside of work, Oojal enjoys travelling, going to the movies and learning Spanish with a little green owl.