Compare Travel Money Cards

What is a travel money card?

A travel money card is a card that you can load foreign currencies onto. You can then use it like a regular debit card when travelling overseas, such as to make purchases and withdraw cash at ATMs. Most travel money cards are issued in partnership with Visa or Mastercard and are widely accepted.

Travel money cards are popular for several reasons, including:

• You can preload your money and lock in your exchange rate
• You can load multiple foreign currencies if you are travelling through several countries
• You can avoid multiple currency conversion fees
• You are spending your own money and can only spend what you have loaded onto the card (while also having the option to load more money onto it if you need).

What should you look for in a travel money card?

It’s best to look for a travel money card that includes features such as:

1. the ability to lock in your exchange rate before you leave.
2. the ability to load multiple foreign currencies onto the one card.
3. low or no fees, including reloading fees, ATM cash withdrawal fees and transaction fees.
4. convenient to use overseas, including being widely accepted, an online or mobile app to monitor your spending, and digital wallet compatibility (such as Apple Pay and Google Pay).
5. low costs to convert your leftover money back into Australian dollars at the end of your holiday.

About our finance experts

Nina Rinella, Editor-in-Chief

As Canstar’s Editor-in-Chief, Nina heads up a team of talented journalists committed to helping empower consumers to take greater control of their finances. Previously Nina founded her own agency where she provided content and communications support to clients around Australia for eight years. She also spent four years as the PR Manager for American Express Australia, and has worked at a Brisbane communications agency where she supported dozens of clients, including Sunsuper and Suncorp.

Nina has ghostwritten dozens of opinion pieces for publications including The Australian and has been interviewed on finance topics by the Herald Sun and the Sydney Morning Herald. When she’s not dreaming up ways to put a fresh spin on finance, she’s taking her own advice by trying to pay her house off as quickly as possible and raising two money-savvy kids.

Nina has a Bachelor of Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in English Literature from the University of Queensland. She’s also an experienced presenter, and has hosted numerous events and YouTube series.

You can follow her on Instagram or Twitter, or Canstar on Facebook.

You can also read more about Canstar’s editorial team and our robust fact-checking process.

Josh Sale, Group Manager, Research, Ratings & Product Data

As Canstar’s Group Manager for the Research and Product Data departments, Josh Sale is responsible for the methodology and delivery of Canstar’s flagship Star Ratings and Awards. With tertiary qualifications in economics and finance, Josh has worked behind the scenes for the last five years to develop Star Ratings and Awards that help connect consumers with the right product for them.

Josh is passionate about helping consumers get hands-on with their finances. Josh has been interviewed by media outlets such as the Australian Financial Review, news.com.au and Money Magazine.

You can follow Josh on LinkedIn, and Canstar on Twitter and Facebook.