Trading 212, Monzo, Starling, Chase, Halifax Clarity and more travel cards compared for overseas spending
If you’re heading out of the UK, using the wrong card for spending and cash withdrawals will mean you’re hit with extra fees on every transaction.
The good news is there are a decent number of debit and credit cards which offer near-perfect exchange rates. Here’s our guide to the top specialist travel cards.
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Our top travel debit cards
The cheapest cards are usually specialist debit cards that come via specific current accounts. You don’t have to switch banks to get these – you can simply open up a brand new extra account, and many won’t perform hard checks on your credit report either.
If this is an extra account you get just for holidays, it’s easy to transfer money across, whether as a lump sum or as you go along, using your online or app banking. Or of course, it could be your main current account where your salary is paid each month.
A benefit of debit cards over credit cards is you won’t get charged interest to take cash out of an ATM, though as you’ll see a couple do have monthly limits on your fee-free spending or withdrawals.
It used to be there were only a handful, but there are quite a few to choose from. However, since Chase ended the cashback on overseas spending, there’s not really much to choose between the bulk of them. Here are our top picks.
Top pick: Trading 212 card
This is our top pick for 2025, though it does have some caveats.
Unlike most of the debit cards we’ve listed, this one from Trading 212 isn’t connected to a current account. Instead you’ll need to open up an investing account. But that doesn’t mean you need to invest at all.
You can simply transfer cash over and hold it in your spending pot, with the added bonus you’ll get 4.6% interest on the money until you spend it. However, if you do opt in to also earn interest on the cash the money then won’t necessarily be protected by the FSCS.
There’s also 0.5% cashback on purchases at home and abroad. That’s great for holiday spending but there are better alternatives for spending in the UK.
The major downside is though you’re about to get fee-free cash withdrawals, that’s only with contactless ATMS. There’s not exactly a load of these in the UK, let alone overseas, so you’ll need a back up for taking money out on holiday.
You’ll also need to pay for a physical card, though most of the time you’ll hopefully be ok with adding it to your phone.
Trading 212 debit card summary
| Spending overseas | Fee-free (Mastercard rate) |
| Cash withdrawals overseas | Free, but contactless only |
| Other benefits | 0.5% cashback on all spending (capped at £20 a month) |
| Card delivery charge | £4.95 |
| Welcome offer | Free share worth between £10 and £100 |
| Bank | Free spending? | Free cash withdrawals? | Credit check | Extra info | Reviews | Smart Money People customer score |
| Top for cashback | ||||||
| Trading 212 | Yes, interbank rate | £340 a day (if the ATM is contactless) | Soft | 0.5% cashback £4.95 charge for physical card | Trading 212 card review | 4.93 out of 5 |
| Top picks for specific countries | ||||||
| Chase | Yes, Mastercard rate | £500 a day and £1,500 a calendar month | Soft | No charges on Chase machines in USA | Chase Bank review | 4.95 out of 5 |
| Santander Edge | Yes, Mastercard rate | £300 a day | Hard | No extra charges on Santander machines | our Santander Edge review | 3.72 out of 5* |
| Decent options | ||||||
| First Direct | Yes, Mastercard rate | £500 daily limit | Hard | our First Direct review | 4.69 out of 5 | |
| HyperJar (prepaid card) | Yes, Mastercard rate | No cash withdrawals | Soft | Not a current account, so no FSCS protection | Not yet reviewed | 4.87 out of 5 |
| Kroo | Yes, Visa rate | £200 limit per month | Soft | ATM charges will apply from 30 April 2025 | our Kroo review | 4.89 out of 5 |
| Club Lloyds | Yes, Mastercard rate | £800 daily limit | Hard | our Club Lloyds review | 4.37 out of 5 | |
| Monzo | Yes, Mastercard rate | £400 (Europe) / £200 elsewhere every 30 rolling days / Unlimited if Monzo is your ‘main bank’ | Soft | our Monzo review | 4.92 out of 5 | |
| Starling | Yes, Mastercard rate | £300 daily day | Soft | our Starling review | 4.94 out of 5 | |
| Virgin Money M Plus | Yes, Mastercard rate | £500 daily limit | Hard | Can be opened and managed in-branch or via the phone | our Virgin Money M Plus review | 4.11 out of 5 |
The following are also fee-free but only worth considering if you’re an existing customer or looking for extras like rewards and travel insurance.
- Cumberland Building Society: fully fee-free but requires a £750 a month deposit to the account. Hard credit search
- Halifax Ultimate Reward: a packaged account with travel, breakdown and gadget cover that’s got free spending
- Santander (other accounts): you won’t be charged for cash withdrawals only if you use a Santander machine outside the UK, but you will pay for spending
- TSB Spend & Save Plus: fee-free spending and the potential to earn £5 cashback a month, but has £3 monthly fee
Andy’s Top Tips
When you’re using one of these top travel cards, you’re often best paying in the local currency. If you pay in sterling, it’ll be swapped over at an exchange rate of the local bank’s choosing – which won’t necessarily be in your favour!
Also, though many of the cards we’ve mentioned are fee-free to use in ATMs, that doesn’t mean the local bank won’t add its own fee. So you’ll need to research for any that don’t do this in your destination, or plan ahead by making as few withdrawals as possible.
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Our top travel credit cards
Specialist credit cards can be great for overseas spending as long as you pay off the debt before any interest is charged.
Credit cards are particularly handy for things like hiring a car or putting deposits down on hotel rooms. The money can be held on these without leaving your account. You’ll also get Section 75 consumer rights protection.
With all credit card applications, make sure you check your eligibility first if you can. And remember to clear the balance completely every month to avoid interest charges.
Top pick: Barclaycard Reward
This Visa card from Barclaycard is our top pick for credit cards. It offers fee-free spending and, unusually, ATM withdrawals – and there’s no interest on cash you take out. However, it’s still better for your credit report to use a debit card for cash.
There’s also 0.25% cashback on purchases at home and abroad. That’s great for holiday spending but there are better alternatives for spending in the UK.
However, if you do get this you won’t be able to get another Barclaycard, such as the Avios earning options.
Barclaycard Rewards credit card summary
| Spending overseas | Fee-free (Visa rate) |
| Cash withdrawals overseas | Free, though will show on credit file |
| Other benefits | 0.25% cashback on all spending |
| Boosted to 0.5% until the end of September if you apply before 30 April 2025 | |
| Card delivery charge | Free delivery |
Other fee-free credit cards
| Card | Free spending? | Free cash withdrawals? | Credit check | Extra info | Reviews | Smart Money People customer score |
| Best for cashback | ||||||
| Barclaycard Rewards | Yes, Visa rate | Yes | Hard | 0.25% cashback | ||
| Other cards for cashback | ||||||
| Virgin Money Everyday Cashback credit card | Yes, Mastercard rate | No (avoid) | Hard | Earn 0.25% per £1, capped at £15 a month | 3.72 out of 5 | |
| Santander Edge credit card | Yes, Mastercard rate | No (avoid) | Hard | 2% cashback in first year, then 1% Requires Santander current account £3 monthly fee | Santander Edge credit card review | 3.72 out of 5* |
| Natwest Travel credit card | Yes, Mastercard rate | No (avoid) | Hard | 1% cashback on hotels, planes and other travel | 4.82 out of 5* | |
| Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card | In Europe, Mastercard rate | No (avoid) | Hard | Earn 0.75% Virgin points per £1 | 3.72 out of 5 | |
| Yonder credit card (free version) | Yes, Mastercard rate | Yes, up to £150 a day (but it’ll still show on credit report) | Hard, but uses open banking too | Earn points that can be used to redeem rewards | 4.94 out of 5 | |
| Other fee-free cards | ||||||
| Halifax Clarity credit card | Yes, Mastercard rate | Yes, but interest is added | Hard | 4.11 out of 5 |
Best smart travel spending cards
These cards aren’t normal debit cards, though they work just like one when you’re spending. You actually connect your existing current account or card to them via open banking. The conversion is made by the smart card at their exchange rate, which then takes the money from the underlying bank in pounds.
This makes it cheaper to spend overseas through other bank accounts that would normally be very expensive. They can be a great backup card, or even your primary travel spending card if you really can’t be bothered to go through the hassle of opening new accounts. There’s also no credit check.
Sadly, changes to Curve, our previous top pick, means it’s really not worth it. However, you can still get these features from Currensea.
Top pick: Currensea
With Currensea there are three options, but the free “essential” tier has a no extra fees on top of the exchange rates on your first £500 a month. You can take out £200 a month from ATMs for free.
The big issue could be the limits on which banks it works with. Right now that list is only the bigger banks:
- Barclays
- Bank of Scotland
- Couts
- First Direct
- Halifax
- HSBC
- Lloyds
- Nationwide
- Natwest
- RBS
- Santander
- TSB
- Ulster Bank
- Virgin Money
You’ll also need to pay £4.95 to get the card delivered.
When you sign up via this link you’ll be eligible for a £10 welcome bonus – however you’ll need to spend £150 in a foreign currency in the first six months to get the cashback.
Currensea smart debit card summary
| Spending overseas | Interbank/Mastercard rate on first £500 each month, then 1% FX fee on top |
| Cash withdrawals overseas | Free up to £200 a month, then 2% FX fee on top |
| Card delivery fee | £4.95 |
| FSCS protection? | Yes (on connected bank) |
The best cashback debit and credit cards
Check out my list of the best cashback cards
Best multi-currency cards to lock in a rate
The cards mentioned above will convert fee-free, but only on or just after the day you make the transaction. This means you’re not in total control of your budget when you’re away. If the pound were to fall against where you’re spending, you’ll ultimately spend more cash.
But there are options where you can pay fee-free on cards where you’ve already converted your pounds into another currency. Though of course, this could mean you miss out if the rate changes in your favour.
There’s usually a slight markup on the ‘interbank’ or ‘mid-market’ rates. This tends to be lower than the Mastercard or Visa rates, so even with the fee they’re often comparable.
When you spend with them, you’ll spend in the local currency. If you don’t have the local currency, most will let you pay fee-free and convert at the current rate.
However, there are usually quite strict limits on cash withdrawals, so you’ll likely want another card on your trip. Plus most of these will charge you for a physical debit card, so you’ll be relying on virtual cards added to your phone’s wallet if you want to avoid this fee.
The following are ones worth considering:
| Provder | Rate | Free cash withdrawals? | Card charge | Extra info | Smart Money People customer score |
| Revolut Standard | Interbank (+ 1% on weekends) | £200 limit per rolling month / max 5 withdrawals per rolling month | £4.99 | Capped at £1,000 exchange per month | 4.89 out of 5 |
| Trading 212 | Interbank + 0.15% | £200 limit per month | £4.95 | 4.75 out of 5 | |
| Wise | Interbank + min of 0.33% (varies by currency) | £200 limit a month / max 2 withdrawals a month | £7 | 4.71 out of 5 |
To add furtherCurrensea exchange at interbank rate for main currencies like Euro and US dollar. They exchange at the Mastercard rate for the smaller currencies and are less competitive there with effectively 2 markups. If you travel to Thailand a lot, then it may not be the card for you.
I just changed over to the Barclaycard Rewards Card from the ‘regular’ Platinum Barclaycard in the app because of the incoming changes to the T&C’s when using the Chase Card abroad.
It had been sat there doing nothing for absolute ages since paying off a balance transfer offer I took advantage of three or four years ago now.
In case anyone misread 0.5% markup over Interbank rate on Currensea.
Just a note on Curresea. According to them the .5% markup is neutral. Currensea exchange at the Interbank rate. Cards that exchange at the Mastercard and Visa rates include an inbuilt markup. This equates roughly to Currensea’s ,5%.
I use Halfax Clarity for purchases and Currensea for ATMs plus a couple of minor purchases like coffee each trip.
The NatWest Travel Reward credit card looks like a decent option as a dedicated travel card. It might be newly launched – if not, I’ve never noticed it before. It has no foreign transaction fees on purchases worldwide and pays 1% cashback on “planes, trains, car rental, ferries, buses, hotel accommodation, travel agents, cruises, campsites and more”. It doesn’t specifically say it’s just on overseas travel spending. There is no annual fee. Avoid for ATM withdrawals as it charges a fee on those. Doesn’t look like it pays cashback on general spending overseas so probably best to use Chase debit card for that. But is has the advantage of Consumer Credit Act protection for larger purchases andholiday bookings may well take you over the Chase cashback limit
Yeah, I’m surprised this isn’t mentioned. Just having it for holiday transport and accommodation seems pretty good, then using a debit card (or the Barclays reward card) for everyday spending.
Hi Andy long time reader here. For the travel credit cards, I find the Lloyds Bank / Halifax World Elite Mastercard to be a good contender. I know it has a monthly fee of £15, however the 0.5% Cashback, unlimited Priority Pass, and now fee-free spending for the first 60 months of use is a good deal I think. With BA changing to a revenue-based frequent flyer status model, BA lounge entitlement will be reduced significantly due to loss of status for many travellers (Me included as I will be losing Gold), so a priority pass will come in handy for lounge access even more now.
For the past year I have been debating about whether I should close my preferred travel card the Amex platinum, as I simply cannot see the value anymore with the 3% fx fee, benefits cuts such as AXA insurance to less reputable Europ-Assistance etc, BA not even being on the IAP program, acceptance has got better however still an issue outside US and the possibility of a higher increase in the next year or two.
Instead, I plan to keep my Amex gold for Points due to the higher earning rate and bouns points for spending a given amount, Lloyds bank World Elite for priority pass / fx fee free spending & HSBC Premier World for the high credit limit/it being free (may upgrade to Paid World Elite if fx free spending comes and would then change Lloyds to simple free card)
P.s Happy New Andy & Amelia and all readers of BCWYC
Hi, What about the all in one credit card? I understand that it’s fee free when used abroad? Not sure about ATM use, and obviously best paid off in full. Thanks.
First Direct Bank just announced around end June 2023 that their debit card has no fees now for using abroad for spending or using at ATM’s for cash withdrawal and I also have Metro Bank account and their debit card has no fees in Europe (although not Worldwide).
Hi, You dont seem to have covered the HSBC Global money card, which to me seems slightly better than revolut. It exchanges at mid market rate, into a currency account and you spend from that account using the card (physical or digital card), so you know in advance what exchange rate you are getting.
Hi, when I travel in Spain it is very difficult to find an ATM that doesn’t levy an ATM fee. Most Spanish banks charge to take cash out of an ATM. I use my Santander 123 debit card free in Banco Santander ATM’s in Spain. If I select Euros I get the near perfect Mastercard exchange rate and no ATM fee.
Even if I were to use my Starling card for ATM withdrawals in Spain I would be charged anywhere between 2 and 6 euros per transaction dependent on what bank ATM I use.
Hi,I ve got Flexplus Nationwide bank account and they dont charge me when I use my visa debit card abroad.They charge me 13 pounds monthly for travel insurance worldwide for my family,3 mobiles insurance,breakdown cover in UK&Europe,its great deal.
What about Revolut or did I miss it on your article. I’ve used them the last 8 years especially going abroad with zero fees helped save a fortune.
It’s fine, but if you’re starting from scratch the others are better in my opinion
I am not sure Relovut is to be dismissed. The advantage of it you can buy any currency you need during the opening hours of the exchange at a very competitive rate potentially making use of the daily / weekly fluctuations. Starling might be fine, but it wil not tell me – before I spend money – at which rate it exchanges my GBP into CZK if I am paying in Tesco in Prague.
Thanks for the link for the Currensea card. Going to give this card a try on my travels!
When do we get our £10 bonus after spending £150?
I used Currensea last year in Spain and it worked perfectly!
Hi Andy Webb,
Is Amex not a good card to use overseas ?
Hi Justin. You’ll get charged fees which far exceed the cashback you earn. So it’s best to not use them unless there’s some kind of additional offer (perhaps on a hotel) which will earn you a hefty amount of cashback.
Hi Andy,
Any thoughts about the Wise card (TransferWise) ? Even though there is a fee, exchange rates are good and money can be transferred in advance when the exchanges rates are low.
Hi Hari, I think Wise can be useful if you are paid in a different currency, such as Dollars. For Euros then Monese does this transfer for free. But for everyday spending, then you’re better off with one of the cards in this guide that are completely fee free.
I’ve got a specialist Barclaycard for traveling abroad which beats any of those cards you recommend
Why have you not mentioned it
Hi Richard, Sadly, the Platinum Barclaycard which had fee-free spending and also no interest on cash withdrawals is no longer available to new customers. As an existing customer, you’ll still be able to use it abroad at no cost for a good few years. I think it’s August 2023.