Travel Cards

Travel cards are increasingly common in place of traveler’s checks. Travel cards look like credit cards. They are organized at your local bank at home and you chose how much cash to put on them and in what currency or currencies. When you go to a store on your international trip you can use this card like a debit card.

The advantage is that the exchange rate which is used for the money on the card is determined when you put the money on the card at your local bank. So you lock in the exchange rate before you depart. This way you know exactly what the exchange rate is. Even if there are fluctuations in the exchange rate while you are travelling, you are not impacted by this. This of course can work for or against you depending on which direction the exchange rate moves. If you know you are going to a country where the exchange rate is likely to increase, then this is a good risk management approach.

You can reload these cards from your bank account online while you are travelling. You can check balances on line and of course you can use the cards at home as well as abroad. If there is cash on the card when you return, you can still use this. Keep it for next trip.

If you are going to several countries, you can load up multiple currencies on the card. Then use the appropriate one depending on the country you are in.