Current Travel Card of choice?

Going to France for a hol soon and want to get a travel card. Any recommendations? The brief bit of research I did makes me lean towards Revolut but open to suggestions.

TIA.

Open a Nationwide current account, then you can use your card abroad with no additional fees.

And I would never recommend anyone to open a Revolut account.

I’ve got a Starling account for the annual sun break, but last time I checked First Direct were pretty much the same on ATM withdrawals and charges on currency exchange so I just use my usual account these days, not worth the faff

Last year we used our Chase Accounts (in the States) – was good rates and cashback but its Debit so need to have money in the account.

Mixed it with a Halifax Clarity for credit card back up.

Whatever MoneySavingExpert suggests?

Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert site  recommends Chase if you want to use a debit card, Halifax clarity if you want to use a credit card. I have chase, wise, revolut and starling and I used Chase for all my spending abroad on the last couple of trips, bigger costs going on my halifax CC

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money/

And I would never recommend anyone to open a Revolut account.

Pourquoi?

I have a Starling account that works for travel. Actually pretty decent for general banking too. Also you can buy stuff internationally from eBay, AliExpress, etc in Dollars and it works out a bit cheaper that buying in Pounds.

Pourquoi

We see a huge amount of fraudulent transactions that emanate from Revolut. Plus, they’re not actually a bank, so you don’t get the same protections as you would get with a ‘proper’ bank account, such as FSCS protection.

Virgin debit card worked great on our recent trip, no fees & good rates of exchange.

I’ve had a Halifax Clarity for years for this purpose and in all that time it’s always been Money Saving Expert’s best or second best buy.  It’s not a massive difference, probably works out at about £30-40 saving overall per year, but I tend to run a group kitty using it.

I also take some cash, usually bought from my local supermarket and picked up doing my weekly shop. In the Alps some places are a bit “traditional” when it comes to credit cards etc. If I run out of cash over there I just use my normal debit card to get some out and take the (small) hit.

 just use my normal debit card to get some out and take the (small) hit.

This is the other option, use cash over there by just taking your normal credit card and getting cash out of a machine, couple of hundred Euros at a time. You’ll pay a small fee, but you have to weigh that against the palaver of getting a new card/account.

I use a HSBC Global Money debit card. Just wang whatever currency you want on it, use it on your phone or as plastic then push the remainder back afterwards.

I just use my standard Nationwide debit/credit card with no issues.

I’ve had a Halifax Clarity for years for this purpose and in all that time it’s always been Money Saving Expert’s best or second best buy.  It’s not a massive difference, probably works out at about £30-40 saving overall per year, but I tend to run a group kitty using it.

Same here. I’ve had one for about 10 years now and use it for all my overseas spending, including ATM withdrawals.

You get charged interest on cash withdrawals, but the exchange rate is close to “perfect” and Halifax don’t charge any additional transaction fees.

First direct is no fees. on your bank account

Monzo current account, but mainly use Halifax clarity credit card like lots of others on here

Both my bank account (First Direct) and credit card (Santander) are zero fee on Mastercard rate so it’s not worth having a travel card now. Still have one in case I need it for some reason but don’t see me using it.

Last year we used our Chase Accounts (in the States) – was good rates and cashback but its Debit so need to have money in the account.

Mixed it with a Halifax Clarity for credit card back up.

Same trip and same cards for me last year.

Good to have two but I prefer Clarity over Chase purely because you’re not having to have your bank account topped up with money.

Like everyone says easiest is to use a debit card on a current account with bank that charges no fees and uses direct rate: nationwide, virgin, chase, starling, monzo, first direct, probably more.  Easy enough to open one specially if necessary.

Currensea is pretty good if you bank elsewhere and can’t be bothered opening a new account.  It converts and then direct debits (a few days later) in GBP from your existing current account.  No fees but the rate is a bit worse than those above. Better than “taking the hit” though and easy to set up.

HSBC Global Money is similar rates to Currensea (i.e. a bit worse than the bank accounts above) but you have to move the money into the account yourself.  But that’s a faff – if you do that, why no just get a full bank account elsewhere for the better rate? Wise works in similar fashion (but with better rate, like those banks, I think).

Revolut is a weird cult, not a bank, and is more expensive than the banks above. (I do actually use it for the kids’ pocket money.  Not for travel though.  And people recommend it for *everything*, often claiming its better than an actual bank, for no good reason.)

Clarity is good, best credit card for this, but no better than the debit cards above for purchases and you’ll pay interest on cash withdrawals.

I use a HSBC Global Money debit card.

I use this.  I’ve started using it at home too, as my ‘phone paying’ card.  The logic being that I just chuck a hundred quid at it every now and then, and if somehow my phone gets compromised, the thief can only do so much damage.

Dunno about the Revolut chat: it’s a bank in Europe, with deposit insurance and all the regulation. Not sure if the same holds in the UK
And in countries with fewer options (hello Ireland) it’s a lifesaver – no/ limited fees, cheap fx etc. But I’ve seen some issues with people who’ve had fraudulent transactions and Revolut refused to cover it; so in the UK it perhaps has fewer advantages

Wise is good, but check their fx fees.
Nationwide, Chase both good choices

Dunno about the Revolut chat: it’s a bank in Europe, with deposit insurance and all the regulation. Not sure if the same holds in the UK

It doesn’t.

But I’ve seen some issues with people who’ve had fraudulent transactions and Revolut refused to cover it

They’re a massive fraud vector, one reason being that their ID checking when people open accounts is nowhere near as thorough as actual banks.

I work in payments for a well known high street financial services institution, I would never open a Revolut account.