Travel cards or forex cards are a popular mode of carrying foreign currencies on your international travels. In the era of online payments and credit cards, it makes little sense to carry physical cash around for your travel journey. The high mark up on exchanging foreign currencies at physical outlets, and the risk of being robbed make cash a bad choice for travelers.

 

But do not dismiss cash out of your travel plans, yet. Cash still ranks in convenience over other modes of payments. The ideal choice would be to carry a combination of cash, travel card and a credit card on your journey. 

 

Cash would be used for micro transactions, travel card in places with point-of-sale swipe machines and a credit card as backup in case you lose or run out of cash, or your travel card.

 

So let us find out which travel cards offer the best value for customers. Before that let us find out the benefits of travel cards or forex cards.

 

1. No extra charges on international payments – You can pay for expenses abroad by swiping your travel card. There will be no extra charges if the currency loaded onto the travel card is similar to the currency accepted as payment. Some travel cards let you load as many as 16 different currencies.

 

2. Free Travel Insurance – Travel cards come with a free travel insurance, personal accident cover or some other form of insurance cover. This would mean you save on buying a separate travel insurance for your travels.

 

3. Complimentary vouchers, airport lounge access, reward points – Travel cards come with attractive offers and loyalty programs which can lower expenses during hotel bookings, sightseeing or eating out at restaurants.

 

4. Emergency cash withdrawal – Travel cards enable you access to physical cash in case you are robbed, or generally run out of cash. There are charges when withdrawing cash using travel cards. It may either be a percentage of withdrawn amount or a fixed charge of Rs150 to Rs300.

 

Important points to check out when getting a travel card

 

Travel cards are offered by both banks and travel agencies. It can be difficult to compare different cards as there are several different charges and features. The best travel card will be dependent on your travel habits. But otherwise here are some of the important charges to look at:

 

Loads Multiple Currencies: Look for cards which are multi-currency and not single-currency.

 

Cross currency fee: This is charged when the currency of payment is different from the currency loaded in the card, e.g. you are paying in Euros using U.S. dollars. You may face in case the country you are travelling to uses a currency which is not enabled in the travel card. 

 

International ATM Cash Withdrawal Charges: This will tell you the fees payable in case you have to withdraw cash abroad. This should be as low as possible. Some travel cards even offer you limited free withdrawals per month.

 

Cash Withdrawal and PoS transaction Limits: There are certain caps on the amount you can spend in a day. In case your planned expenses may rise above the capped limit then apply for two travel cards, or search for cards with no caps on transaction.The maximum amount you can load on a travel card is capped at $250,000 as collectively across all currencies.

 

Inactivity fees, issuance fees, reload fees, SMS alert fees, charge slip retrieval fees: Card issuers charge a host of fees even if the card is not being used. In case you plan to hold a travel card indefinitely, then its best to check for travel cards with low inactivity fees (or when the inactive period allowed is long), SMS alert fees. Charge slip retrieval is when you request the ATM to print a slip for your transaction; avoid it to save Rs100 to Rs200.

 

Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC/MCC): During your travels, you may encounter a situation where the merchant may offer you an option to pay the bill in your domestic currency i.e. Indian rupees. Avoid it when using travel card. This is because your travel card is loaded with a foreign currency, and the payment is in rupees, which will entail conversion fees. Always inform the merchant to charge you in their local currency.

 

Here are some of the best travel cards: