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Prepaid travel cards
Lock in a top rate before you go away
Updated 17 January 2023
If you're planning a trip overseas, making sure you'll be able to pay for things in your destination is crucial. But many don't like taking too much cash in case it's lost or stolen. A prepaid travel card could be a solution – they let you load your chosen currency to it before you leave, then use it while on your trip like any normal debit card. This guide has everything you need to know about these cards, and our top picks.
Prepaid travel cards let you lock in a rate before you go, but there are two main alternatives to consider...
Specialist credit and debit cards give near-perfect exchange rates worldwide when you withdraw or spend, with no fees.
Top travel credit and debit cards
Prefer cash? Useful if card isn't accepted, our tool helps you find the best exchange rates for your holiday money.
TravelMoneyMax
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What is a prepaid travel card?
Think of it like a gift card, but for holiday money – you decide how much currency you want to add and then you can use it for spending or withdrawing cash abroad (or buying online in a foreign currency). As it works like a debit card, you know how much you have to spend and can't go over that unless you reload.
You'll either be able to load it in the currency of your choice before you go (and so locking in a set exchange rate) or load it with pounds so it uses the exchange rate when you spend – though in practice it's often the rate on the day or two after.
Providers will either use the 'interbank rate' (the perfect exchange rate), the rate set by Mastercard or Visa, or one of these with a fee added, often between 1% and 2.5%.
Locking in an exchange rate can be good if you need certainty over budgets. Plus if the pound weakens after you load the card, you'll gain – though obviously you'll lose if the pound strengthens.
A travel credit or debit card can be a better alternative
Before you consider a prepaid card, check out travel credit or debit cards. They're often less of a faff than loading before you go and the top picks consistently offer near-perfect rates every day of the week. Plus if you're using a travel credit card for a purchase costing £100-£30,000 (even abroad) you'll also get Section 75 protection.
Travel prepaid card need-to-knows
If you think a prepaid travel card is right for you, here are our key need-to-knows to consider before getting one.
Top-pick prepaid travel cards
We've compared cards to find ones with the best rates and lowest fees. Though it's always worth comparing our top picks to the best you'd get in holiday cash by using our comparison tool TravelMoneyMax.
With these cards, you can just spend on them in pounds and you'll get the rate on the day you spend – or you can lock in a rate before you go on holiday, so you know the rate you'll get before spending.
To do this, you'll first need to find whether the currency you want can be exchanged in advance, as it varies per card. If it can, you'll need to load the card with pounds and then navigate to your account in the app or online. There's then usually an 'exchange' option where you can select the currency you want. If you're happy with the rate, hit 'order' and your pounds will be exchanged and you'll then have a balance on the card in the foreign currency.
Prepaid travel cards – our review
All our top picks use near-perfect interbank exchange rates (which tend to be slightly higher than Mastercard's or Visa's rates) and can be used anywhere in the world that accepts Mastercard or Visa. So the difference mainly comes down to the fees each adds on top.
Revolut's standard plan doesn't charge exchange fees for the majority of currencies between Monday and Friday UK time, though you'll pay a 1% fee to exchange at weekends. However, you can beat this by loading the card with pounds in advance and exchanging on a weekday – you can do this with 30 main currencies, including euros, US dollars and Turkish lira. Though if you exchange more than £1,000 in a 30-day period, you'll pay an additional 0.5% fee.
You can use its free virtual card with digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, or you can opt to pay a delivery fee for a physical card, which you'd need if you wanted to withdraw cash. Only the first £200/mth or the first five withdrawals are free (2% fee, min £1, after), so it's best to limit cash if you opt for Revolut.
Alternatively, Wise charges a small exchange fee of at least 0.41% at all times. The fee depends on the currency – for example, exchanging pounds to US dollars or euros has a 0.41% fee, so would beat Revolut at weekends if you'd prefer not to exchange a set amount in advance. It also has two fee-free cash withdrawals up to £200 each month.
We've also included EasyFX as a decent option if you plan on making regular cash withdrawals, as it charges no fees overseas (you'll pay fees on both spending and ATM withdrawals in the UK). You won't get as good a rate as the cards above though, and you're limited to 10 transactions a day. EasyFX also charges a £2/mth fee if it's not been used in the previous 12 months, so make sure you use it regularly or close it if no longer needed.
| Revolut* |
Wise* | EasyFX | |
| Card delivery fee | Usually £4.99 | £7 | None, but min £50 top up required |
| Uses interbank exchange rate? | Yes, though 1% fee at weekends and/or for Thai baht. 0.5% fee if exchanging over £1,000/month (i) | Yes, plus a fee of at least 0.41% (see its cost calculator for exact fee) | Yes, plus a 1.8% fee when exchanging up to £1,000, 1.2% up to £4,000 and 1% over |
| Overseas ATM withdrawal fee | First five/£200 free per rolling month, 2% after (min £1) | Two per month free up to £200/mth, 1.75% + 50p above | None abroad, but £1.50 in the UK. |
| Currencies you can exchange in advance (locking in the rate) | 30 | 54 | 13 |
| Fee if not used? | No | No | Yes, £2/mth after 12mths |
| How to manage | App | App or online | App or online |
| Apply* | Apply* | Apply |
Important. All these providers are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Any money you deposit is ring-fenced in a Barclays account, so if there are problems with EasyFX, Revolut or Wise, the money's safe (as long as Barclays still exists). (i) If you spend at weekends (UK time) it adds a 1% fee to its rates, unless you've locked in a rate on a weekday. There's an additional anytime 1% fee on Thai baht (so 2% at the weekend) and a 0.5% fee on amounts more than £1,000 in a single month.
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