Which prepaid travel card do you need?
A prepaid travel card allows you to load cash onto it before you go overseas.
There are three types of prepaid travel cards to consider packing for your next trip:
- Single-currency prepaid cards are restricted to one type of currency, such as euros or US dollars. You can lock-in the exchange rate on the day you load cash – which could work in your favour if rates fall later. You'll also know exactly how much you have to spend in the local currency.
- Multi-currency prepaid cards allow you to load several currencies onto one card, ideal for visiting multiple destinations. For example, you could have £100, $200 and €300 stored on one card in different 'wallets'. You can lock in rates by converting when you load the cash, or store some money in pounds to convert later.
- Sterling prepaid cards offer the most flexibility, as you can load your card with pounds and spend in dozens of different currencies. Each time you spend or withdraw cash, the pounds are converted to the required currency at the exchange rate on the day. This may make it harder to forecast how much money you'll have available in any given destination.
Below we've analysed the top deals across all three categories of prepaid travel cards.
The best euro and dollar prepaid cards
If you're heading to a country that uses the euro or US dollar as its currency, check out the providers listed in the table below.
We've compared the providers based on cash withdrawal fees, daily withdrawal limits and other unexpected fees, to give you a full picture of what the cards could cost you. Please note the tables are alphabetical, not ranked in order of features.
| Card name | Currency | What exchange rate will you get? | Card issue fee | Load fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA Euro Card
More info Card issue fee is refundable if you first load is over £100. You'll pay a 3% load fee when paying with Paypoint, or 99p at the Post Office. | Euro | AA's own rate | £9.95 (refundable)*
| Free - debit card, credit card or bank transfer.* |
| BreadFX Euro Prepaid Mastercard | Euro | Bread FX's own rate | Free | Free |
| Easyjet Euro Currency Card
More info Card issue fee applies when loading under £100. Free when loading £100 or over. | Euro | EasyJet's own rate | £5.95 (refundable)*
| Free |
| FairFX Euro/Dollar Card | Euro or US dollar | Based on Mastercard rate | Free | Free |
Most single-currency cards are free. Some, like the AA Euro Card and Easyjet Euro Currency Card, charge a one-off fee but refund it if you load at least £100.
The Easyjet Euro Currency Card is one of the few single-currency prepaid cards that doesn't charge a fee for withdrawing cash. However, watch out for the monthly fee that kicks in when the card expires after 60 months, as well as the steep fees for replacement cards and cancellation.
The biggest balance is available on the the Fair FX Euro/Dollar Card. It also has the largest daily cash withdrawal limit, which means you won't have to keep finding an ATM on your trip.
The best multi-currency prepaid cards
Multi-currency prepaid cards allow you to load a variety of major currencies in one place.
We've analysed the main providers of multi-currency prepaid cards in the table below including the type of currency offered, fees for withdrawing cash and inactivity fees which could catch you out. Please note the tables are alphabetical, not ranked in order of features.
| Card name | Number of currencies | What exchange rate will you get? | Card issue fee | Load fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caxton Currency Card
More info Currencies offered: Euro, Canadian Dollar, Hong Kong Dollar, South African Rand, Hungarian Forint, US Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Norwegian Krone, Swedish Krona, Japanese Yen, Australian Dollar, Danish Krone, Polish Zloty and Swiss Franc | 14*
| Caxton's own rates | Free | Free |
| ICE Clear Card
More info Currencies offered: Euro, US Dollar, Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar New Zealand Dollar, Pound Sterling, South African Rand, Swiss Franc, Turkish Lira and UAE Dirham | 10* ham | Ice's own rates | Free | Free - foreign currency 2% - GBP |
| Moneycorp White Explorer Card
More info Currencies offered: Pound Sterling, Euro, United States Dollar, UAE Dirham, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Swiss Franc, Turkish Lira, New Zealand Dollar and South African Rand | 10* and | Moneycorp's own rates | Free | Free |
| Post Office Travel Money Card
More info Currencies offered: Pound Sterling, Euro, Canadian Dollar, Croatian Kuna, South African Rand, US Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Australian Dollar, Thai Bhat, Turkish Lira, Polish Zloty, Swiss Franc and UAE Dirham | 13*
| Rates set by First Rate | Free | Free - foreign currency 1.5% - GBP |
| Sainsbury's Multi-Currency Cash Passport
More info Currencies offered: Euro, US Dollar, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Pound Sterling, South African Rand, Swiss Franc, Turkish Lira and UAE Dirham | 10* ira and UAE Dirham | Sainsbury's own rate. Nectar cardholders get a better rate. | Free | Free - foreign currency 2% - GBP |
| Thomas Cook Multi-Currency Cash Passport
More info Currencies offered: Euro, US Dollar, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Pound Sterling, South African Rand, Swiss Franc, Turkish Lira and UAE Dirham | 10* ham | Thomas Cook's own rates | Free | Free - foreign currency 2% - GBP |
| Travelex Money Card
More info Currencies offered: Euro, US Dollar, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Pound Sterling, South African Rand, Swiss Franc, Turkish Lira and UAE Dirham | 10* irham | Travelex's own rates | Free | Free - foreign currency 2% - GBP |
| TUI Travel Money Card Multi-Currency
More info Currencies offered: Euro, US Dollar, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, South African Rand, Turkish Lira, Thai Baht, Mexican Peso, Bulgarian Lev, Croatian Kuna, UAE Dirham and Pound Sterling | 13*
| TUI's own rates | Free | Free - foreign currency 2% - GBP |
In our analysis, the Caxton Currency Card offered the biggest range, with the ability to load 14 different currencies. It also allows you to carry the most money compared to other providers. However, it has a relatively small daily ATM withdrawal allowance at £300.
Aside from Caxton, the only cards to allow fee-free ATM withdrawals are the Travelex Money Card and the Sainsbury's Multi-Currency Cash Passport.
All the cards allow you to load money which is immediately converted to a foreign currency free of charge. However, you may pay a 2% fee for topping up your wallet with pounds to convert at a later date.
The best sterling prepaid cards
Sterling prepaid cards offer the most flexible option for travellers and our analysis shows they can be as competitive as single- and multi-currency deals.
We looked at the exchange rates offered, as well as fees you'll pay and maximum balances. Please note the tables are alphabetical, not ranked in order of features.
| Card name | What exchange rate will you get? | Card issue fee | Load fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA GBP Card
More info Card issue fee is refundable if you first load is over £100. You'll pay a 3% load fee when paying with Paypoint, or 99p at the Post Office. | AA's own rate | £9.95 (refundable)* | Free - debit card, credit card and bank transfer.* |
| FairFX Everywhere Card | Based on Mastercard rate | Free | Free |
| Revolut Standard Account
More info Mon-Fri, you'll pay a 1% mark-up on THB and UAH and a 0.5% mark-up for transactions over £5,000 per month. Sat-Sun, 0.5% mark-up applies to USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, CAD, NZD, CHF, JPY, SEK, HKD, NOK, SGD, DKK, PLN, and CZK, 2% to THB and UAH and 1% to all others. More inf | Mon-Fri - Interbank rate* | Free | Free |
You can also withdraw up to £200 a month fee-free, though you'll be charged at 2% per withdrawal after this limit So, this may not be the right card for you if you regularly take out cash on holiday.
You'll need to download the smartphone app to apply for and use the card.
Both the AA GBP Card and the FairFX charge you a set fee for each cash withdrawal, though AA will refund you if the transaction is more than £50.
Alternatives to prepaid travel cards
Prepaid cards are a safe way to carry cash overseas. But you won't be able to spend from your main current accounts, or borrow money in an emergency.
A credit card with low fees on overseas spending can work out as the best option for purchases made abroad, as long as the bill is paid off in full each month.
Alternatively, many banks offer debit cards with fee-free overseas spending. We round up your options in our guide to the best debit cards to use abroad.
