Travel money cards vs other options

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panther2

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#295928 6-May-2022 07:07

Hi

Have an upcoming tripe for a month at end of june to Europe and UK. So just exploring best options of what card to use. Money card vs using a visa debit (pay in nzd and have a fee per transaction)

Anyone got any recommendations. I've used cash passport before bit cards expired. Dont want to carry too mich euros or GBP in cash.

Thanks

engedib

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#2910737 6-May-2022 07:28

Open a Wise account, load some NZD to it, request a card and just use it :) It converts the money at a very good rate, not on the crazy margins what NZ banks are charging.

Some cash withdrawal is also free.

Let me know if you need a referral link for some goodies :)

trig42

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#2910775 6-May-2022 09:53

I second Wise.

Good service.

Shindig

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#2910785 6-May-2022 10:29

I used Wise on a trip to Singapore.

Added (NZD to) SGD to the card before the trip.

Withdraw cash when landed in SIN

Used the visa (edit - Mastercard) element of the card to pay when out and about.

The little things make the biggest difference.

MurrayM

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#2936441 30-Jun-2022 12:38

I'm going on a trip to the UK in August and I'm considering use Wise. A few questions for those that have used it:

Am I correct in thinking that the process is I transfer money from my bank account to my Wise account and then use a Wise card for making payments or withdrawing cash while I'm overseas? Then when I get home I can transfer any remaining money back to my bank account?

Do I need to leave any money in my Wise account to keep it active after I've returned home?

Is the Wise card a debit card? Can I use the Wise card anywhere that would normally accept debit cards?

How long did it take you to get verified and receive the Wise card?

Wise has a feature where it will automatically convert into the currency you need for each transaction made. Is it better to use this feature or should I convert all my money into the currency I need (GBP) before I travel?

My wife is a UK citizen and has a UK bank account and debit card. Might it be more cost effective to use Wise to transfer money into her UK account and then just use her UK debit card? That would save on having to buy a Wise card ($14) as we'd just be using Wise to transfer money to/from her UK bank account.

openmedia

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#2936453 30-Jun-2022 12:57

MurrayM:

I'm going on a trip to the UK in August and I'm considering use Wise. A few questions for those that have used it:

Am I correct in thinking that the process is I transfer money from my bank account to my Wise account and then use a Wise card for making payments or withdrawing cash while I'm overseas? Then when I get home I can transfer any remaining money back to my bank account?

Do I need to leave any money in my Wise account to keep it active after I've returned home?

Is the Wise card a debit card? Can I use the Wise card anywhere that would normally accept debit cards?

How long did it take you to get verified and receive the Wise card?

Wise has a feature where it will automatically convert into the currency you need for each transaction made. Is it better to use this feature or should I convert all my money into the currency I need (GBP) before I travel?

My wife is a UK citizen and has a UK bank account and debit card. Might it be more cost effective to use Wise to transfer money into her UK account and then just use her UK debit card? That would save on having to buy a Wise card ($14) as we'd just be using Wise to transfer money to/from her UK bank account.

yes you can do this. Transfer's into WISE from NZ bank accounts can be overnight rather than instant so watch out if you need to topup,
Not sure, I usually leave money on there for other overseas transactions
Yes - VISA Debit - works for ATMs, chip+PIN or contactless
Verified overnight and card in under 2 weeks
Depends on if you want to lock in a rate and will be spending a known amount. I usually leave things at market rates. Once nice thing is they optimise the transactions to always use the best exchange rate.
Whilst I also have a UK account I like the flexibility of the WISE card as a handy backup. Plus you can use it at those pesky transit airports etc.

PM Me if you want a referal code.

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Scott3

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#2936461 30-Jun-2022 13:07

Also used wise on my last trip. Substantially better option than just using my credit card as I have done previously.

MurrayM:

I'm going on a trip to the UK in August and I'm considering use Wise. A few questions for those that have used it:

Am I correct in thinking that the process is I transfer money from my bank account to my Wise account and then use a Wise card for making payments or withdrawing cash while I'm overseas? Then when I get home I can transfer any remaining money back to my bank account?

Do I need to leave any money in my Wise account to keep it active after I've returned home?

Is the Wise card a debit card? Can I use the Wise card anywhere that would normally accept debit cards?

How long did it take you to get verified and receive the Wise card?

Wise has a feature where it will automatically convert into the currency you need for each transaction made. Is it better to use this feature or should I convert all my money into the currency I need (GBP) before I travel?

My wife is a UK citizen and has a UK bank account and debit card. Might it be more cost effective to use Wise to transfer money into her UK account and then just use her UK debit card? That would save on having to buy a Wise card ($14) as we'd just be using Wise to transfer money to/from her UK bank account.

Your understanding is pritty much correct, that is exactly what I did (except I did several smaller transfers to wise while overseas).

I haven't left any money in their, and have frozen the card. Just loged in and there still the button to defrost the card is sitting their waiting to be clicked.

It's a Visa card. Vendor sees it as a credit card, but at your end it is a preloaded card. So widely accepted. If I recall correctly I had 2 times out of 50+ where it didn't work for some reason, never bothered to identify where the issue lay, just used another card, or cash.

Really quick on verification. Standard postage times to get the card (a week odd).

I Just had money in NZD, and let it convert at each transaction. Didn't want to have to convert a bunch of money back at the end, worked fine. doing manual conversion is obviously good if you want to look in a certain exchange rate.

Having local cards gives you heaps more options than most travelers. And their are heaps of money sending services that you can shop around (I normally use XE for that). Probably a very good option if you can accurately predict how much money to send (or are happy to leave money in GBP for your next trip etc.) I was in the Philippines, and some online services blanket refuse offshore credit cards (in person doesn't seem to be an issue), had to borrow my sister in law's card a couple times to do things like book movie tickets.

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panther2

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#2936523 30-Jun-2022 14:51

Money from ASB and kiwibank seems to go in within 2 hours during week days.

Looking at Wose I think ASB cashflow is cheaper for large cash withdrawl so plan on really only using my wise in stores. Where cash isn't needed.

1.1% of amount vs 1.75 on wise +1.75 fee. Noting for amounts for that the wise limit that they include free per month

Scott3

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#2936529 30-Jun-2022 15:03

Likely different for you in the UK & with a local account,

But I found cash quite expensive to get hold of in the Philippines.

ATM's seem to all have a 250php+ fee and 10,000 transaction limit (cire NZ$300). Meant getting cash cost at least 2.5% on top of NZ bank & forex fees. So we used the cards everywhere we could.

Eva888

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#2936559 30-Jun-2022 16:17

What if Wise card gets stolen which is very easy to happen overseas. What’s their liability?

openmedia

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#2936620 30-Jun-2022 18:47

Eva888: What if Wise card gets stolen which is very easy to happen overseas. What’s their liability?

If you have their app installed you can block the card instantly and the only potential exposure is based on any credit you have loaded at the time. If you want to control things further you can even cache money in wallets that can't be used for debit purchases.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

Handsomedan

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#2936807 1-Jul-2022 09:01

openmedia:

Eva888: What if Wise card gets stolen which is very easy to happen overseas. What’s their liability?

If you have their app installed you can block the card instantly and the only potential exposure is based on any credit you have loaded at the time. If you want to control things further you can even cache money in wallets that can't be used for debit purchases.

And of course if you have blocked the card, there's still the ability to use their Virtual Card in wallet for contactless purchases.

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openmedia

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#2937090 1-Jul-2022 12:56

Handsomedan:

And of course if you have blocked the card, there's still the ability to use their Virtual Card in wallet for contactless purchases.

Assuming your phone has NFC etc.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

MurrayM

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#2937190 1-Jul-2022 15:04

We've decided to use Wise to transfer some money from our NZ bank to my wife's UK bank, since Wise is cheaper than the ASB's rates/fees. Then we'll use my wife's UK debit card for purchases. Finally at the end of the holiday we'll transfer anything left over back to our NZ bank via Wise.