Last Updated on October, 2024
Not everyone gets to travel to Europe, so congratulations on that.
But then comes a problem; what’s the debit or credit card you’ll use?
Your bank will (of course) recommend their card, but I’ve been there; the prices are waayyyy too high.
This is the market vacuum travel cards come into play.
They solely exist for similar international transactions. You’re on the right path by looking up for them. The next question is, which really is the best?
In this article, I have ranked six of the best travel cards with what you MUST know. All you need to do is read through and decide for yourself.
Contents
Why Trust Me?
I currently used the top two picks since a couple of years ago, and have used every other option on the list, and beyond, when traveling Europe.
I also went through several Reddit, Quora, and Trustpilot comments to learn about real experiences with these travel cards.
Triple confirmations were easier because I reached out to respective companies for questions.
Collectively, this is the best review article regarding the topic. That’s why I don’t mind being copied.
Let’s get started with the best travel card for Europe; Wise.
5 Best Travel Cards for Europe
1. Wise for Europe
Your Euro trip’s best financial sidekick is none other than a Wise card for several reasons.
The Wise card works in 170+ countries and that covers the whole of Europe. When you travel to these European countries, the biggest challenge is currency conversion.
Wise makes it fun.
This travel card allows you to hold 50+ currencies, and there will be no fee when you spend these currencies.
Wise also uses the mid-market exchange rates which makes the recipient receive the highest converted amount.
What about currency conversion in Europe?
You can convert between currencies in your account in seconds, eliminating the hassle of carrying bundles of cash. When converting currencies, Wise will charge a rate between under 1% to 2%.
The cherry on top is that your Wise account doesn’t require a minimum balance.
Unlike most competitors, wise has a built-in currency converter you can check here; that’s the transparency we deserve.
Here’s how it looks.
What if you wanted a sudden ATM withdrawal?
Wise travel card enables that with free ATM withdrawals up to €200 per month and then a 2% fee. If you’re aware, you’ll be paying tenfold with traditional bank cards if not for Wise.
Wise is a great travel-friendly card as you can have both digital and physical cards. They won’t have the same numbers boosting security.
You can also freeze and unfreeze your card instantly, especially, following a payment in Europe.
As the card is linked to the Wise app, you will also see real-time transaction notifications that make it easy to track your funds.
Whether it was from the app or the website, the linked card will be safeguarded from 24/7 monitoring anti-fraud and crisis management teams, with several security layers.
These include multi-factor authentications and strict verification processes.
If we were to push a downside, the only one is the one-time $9 fee for the card. You can easily order one with your free Wise account, which will arrive between 3 working days to 3 weeks at max.
Comparing these features to the competitors, Wise beats the rest.
Find out more about Wise Card through this comprehensive review.
Pros
Cons
2. Revolut for Europe
The best substitute for Wise is Revolut — let’s see why it’s so.
Revolut card operates in over 35 countries, and it includes European countries, so you’re safe there.
This travel card also lets you hold and spend in over 30 currencies, with instant currency conversion typically at the interbank rate. This is another point where Wise leads as it’s fixated on the mid-market exchange rate which is better for us.
Unlike the Wise card, Revolut comes in three subscription plans. Don’t worry; the Standard plan is free. The Revolut card is also free.
I use the Premium plan as a backup for my Wise card. The best plan is Metal which has unlimited no-fee currency exchange.
Between the Standard and Premium plans, the no-fee currency exchange varies between $1000/month to $10,000/month limit, regardless of where you use it.
Although the standard plan is free, it would be best to choose Premium which has several travel-friendly features including:
In addition to the physical Revolut card, you can also opt for a Revolut virtual card.
These are unlimited to all three plans. While the virtual cards are linked to the same Revolut account, the card number will be different from the physical cards.
Similar to the Wise card, you can freeze and unfreeze, instantly.
That’s how Revolut aims to match Wise’s quality.
However, you should look out for fluctuating weekend ATM withdrawals that happen in some European countries. Although the card is free, delivery fees depend on your location and the design (yes, you can customize the card designs too!).
With the highest encryption and user data protection, Revolut is a recommendable travel card for Europe.
Find out more about Revolut Card through this comprehensive review.
Pros
Cons
3. Discover it Secured for Europe
Discover is a credit card brand, founded in 1985. The brand’s Discover It Secured is the best travel credit card for Europe.
As a leading travel credit card, having no foreign transaction fees is one of its most attractive features. However, there is a 3% introductory balance transfer fee and up to 5%fee for future balance transfers.
Discover It Secure will also not charge you a cent for the first time you pay late; after that, up to only $41 at max.
It’s amazing how there’s no annual fee unlike most travel cards issued by leading American banks. The standard APR typically is ~28%, although this could change with time.
Chip and PIN technology is a norm in Europe, and this travel card is optimized with that technology to enhance security.
Being a credit card, Discover It Secured uses a credit score. One benefit of Discover is that they can check the credit score for free, without affecting your current credit score.
As a well-established organization, Discover offers zero fraud liability where you won’t be held liable for fraudulent transactions made on your card. These features come with 24/7 customer service, too.
You also are eligible for ATM withdrawals with an average cost of $4.73.
If you can go past the downside of lacking a virtual card, Discover It Secured is the best travel credit card for Europe.
Pros
Cons
4. Bluebird American Express Prepaid for Europe
Bluebird is offered by the world-renowned American Express (AMEX), and is the best recommendable prepaid debit card for European travel.
For starters, the card is offered for free, and there’s no interest. Like most prepaid debit cards, Bluebird also doesn’t need an account.
Thanks to the interlinked mobile app, you can easily top it up wherever you are.
Yes, even in Europe.
All you need to do is find the ‘’Money’’option on the app and select the ‘’Add Money’’ option. Then, you’ll be prompted to enter a dollar amount. The rest is pretty self-explanatory.
Bluebird mobile app is a safe haven as it even lets you deposit money from cheques. This is free with the ‘Money in Days” option, where you get to access these funds in 10 days. “Money in Minutes” lets you faster access but there’s a 5% fee.
Bluebird prepaid debit cards as you can get free ATM withdrawals over 30,000 ATMS in the “MoneyPass” network. However, that’s only available in the U.S., with non-MoneyPass ATMs, you will be charged up to a $2.50 Bluebird fee.
Not only that, you can also pay bills, transfer money, or make purchases.
The only condition is that the said locations must accept American Express. The good news is that it is accepted in Europe, however, lesser than Visa and Mastercard, and even lesser than Wise or Revolut.
As a prepaid debit card, Bluebird doesn’t have Wise-like features such as holding multiple currencies and currency conversion.
On the bright side, you won’t be paying any foreign exchange transaction fee to spend your USD balance overseas.
With all that said, Bluebird is still a recommendable prepaid debit card for European transactions.
Pros
Cons
5. Capital One Venture Rewards for Europe
Venture is a strong competitor for a travel card, offered by Capital One, which was founded in 1994. In other words, it’s a well-established organization.
Capital One Venture credit card boasts no foreign transaction fees when you spend overseas; the same theory applies to Europe in this case.
Moving into the features, Venture offers a generous purchase rate of 19.99% to 29.99% variable APR. On the brighter side, the cash advance fee is as low as only $3 or 3% (whichever is higher) when you make ATM withdrawals.
What about the exchange rate?
This travel credit card uses the network exchange rate for international spending. You can also redeem miles for travel. For instance, you’ll earn 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, regardless of the currency.
When you use the Venture credit card, Venture miles can be transferred to various airlines and travel partners.
Capital Venture is impressive in terms of insurance and security, and their 24/7 running customer service is an example of that.
Capital One Venture card also offers you travel accident insurance and auto rental collision damage waiver. To raise the bar even higher, you can also instantly lock (freeze) your card via the mobile app.
The cake’s icing is the virtual card, whose number is different from the physical one.
If you’re fine with the annual fee of $95, Capital One Venture is a recommendable travel credit card.
Pros
Cons
What to Consider When Choosing Travel Cards Specifically for Europe?
How did I choose and rank these cards? Let’s dive into the details.
Coverage Across Europe
There are 50 countries in Europe, and you must ensure that your chosen card works in the country you’re planning to visit.
Overall Security
Even if there was ample coverage, overall security must be a top priority. As mentioned, Wise is SOC 1 Type 2, SOC 2 Type 2, PCI DSS, and ISO 27001 certified, as well as GDPR compliant, with a 24/7 fraud investigation team. You can also freeze and unfreeze the card instantly.
That’s the level of security your card has in Europe.
Transactional Expectations
Are you planning ATM withdrawals, card payments, or money transfers? Or is it all three? Truth is, you never know what options you will have. My advice is to choose a card like Wise or Revolut that can do all these, and much more.
Conversion Convenience
What if you had to top up your account in the expected currency? That’s a lot of work. Instead, choosing a card that enables convenient currency conversions within the platform is ideal.
Incurring Fees
Everything comes at a price, but cards like Wise and Revolut don’t charge you for account maintenance. They also use the mid-market exchange rate which is the lowest, with no hidden fees. If you’re choosing an alternative, read the fine print to know all the fees.
Overall Convenience
Some travel cards need a learning curve, and you don’t deserve that. Opt for a card that’s easy to use from the linked app’s user interface to everything else.
Whether it is Personal or Business
Travel cards offered by Wise and Revolut come for personal and business use, suiting bespoke needs. Be sure to consider that.
As long as you stick to these factors, you’ll be directed to the safest and most reliable travel cards in Europe.
Different Types of Travel Cards
Travel cards are categorized into four main types such as:
Travel Debit Cards for Europe
These are typically provided by specialized organizations for the least cost. You can easily top up your linked account, hold, convert, and spend different currencies (including Euro), via an app. Wise and Revolut are the leading service providers in this arena.
Travel Credit Cards for Europe
Travel credit cards offer better features compared to travel debit cards such as little or no foreign transactional fees, and earn rewards with transactions.
Their security is as high as travel debit cards. They’re generally more expensive than pocket-friendly travel debit cards. Discover it Secured is the best recommendation.
Travel Prepaid Cards
As the name suggests, it works a bit similar to travel debit cards, but with lesser features. For instance, features such as currency conversion and holding. These prepaid cards are also less accepted compared to debit cards. Bluebird American Express is the best recommendation.
Travel Hybrid Cards
Some banks offer travel cards that always come with highly expensive annual plans and fees. Hybrid cards like Chime aim to intermix debit AND bank cards while minimizing the negative features of bank cards, and emphasizing the positive of debit cards.
With that covered, let’s look at the cards accepted in Europe.
What are the Cards Accepted in Europe?
If you Google the question, the search engine will tell you that debit cards under the Visa or MasterCard brands, although American Express is a bit less common.
What they’re not telling is the sky-high fee structure for standard travel bank cards (which I didn’t bother to cover because it’s just not worth it).
Every card I have featured on this list works perfectly fine in Europe.
Also read:
- Best Money Transfer Services
- Best International Prepaid Debit Cards
- Best International Travel Prepaid Credit Cards
Conclusion
Having a traveling card in Europe will save you a little fortune, delivering the best overall experience in the region. When comparing multiple travel cards of different types, Wise beats every competitor effortlessly. The reason? Wise is the only extremely established organization that can offer what they do.
Since Revolut also has a free plan, it can be your backup.
That’s my recommendation.
If you take it, there won’t be any issues, and your Europe trip will be one for the books.
I hope this review was helpful. Feel free to share it with your family and friends to raise awareness.
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