No matter where you are traveling in the country or abroad, finding a safe way to bring money is essential. On short trips, it may not be a big deal to use your main accounts. When traveling for long periods or far away from home, a travel card would be beneficial. A travel card will keep your accounts safe in case your card gets compromised. Deciding between a travel credit card and a travel money card will depend on your particular needs. Here are some pros and cons of each.
Exchange Rates
Travel money cards will lock you in for your exchange rate. There is no worry that your money will lose value if the exchange rates change before you leave on your trip. Coming in handy if you are paying off your trip beforehand. You can also have multiple currencies on the card, in case you are visiting various countries. With a travel credit card, you will get a reasonable exchange rate, but it can fluctuate.
Availability of Funds
Funds will always be available on a travel credit card. There is no worry that you will run out of money while on vacation. With a travel money card, you will only have access to the money that you load on the card. If you run out on money while on your trip it can take up to three days to transfer more money onto your money card. One benefit on the money card it that you will not be able to overspend. You can only spend the money that you have. The travel credit card will let you continue to spend.
Extra Fees
Both the travel credit card and money card have fees when withdrawing money from ATM’s. The only way to avoid those charges would be to use your debit card, as a lot of banks have ATMs all over the world. The fees associated with the cards are worth knowing that all your personal information is safe. The money card tends to have more costs than the credit card overall. What the credit card will have that the money card does not is the interest that will accumulate as you pay off your trip.
Safety
Using a travel card of any kind will prevent your primary savings account from being at risk. If your travel money card is stolen the most the thieves will be able to get, is what is loaded on the card. They will not have access to any of your other accounts. Having your travel credit card stolen will be the same process as any other credit card. You will be able to call and have it shut off. With the credit card, they will also not be able to access your main accounts. Either option is safer than using your debit card or carrying around a large amount of cash.
The type of traveler you are will determine which card will be best for you. Check out your options before taking off on your next adventure.