Prepaid Credit Card For Overseas Travel

The grand archives. The grand archives

I'll be honest with you — for years I just used my everyday credit card whenever I went overseas, and every single time I got home to a statement that made me wince. Foreign transaction fees, dodgy exchange rates, a "currency conversion charge" that nobody could quite explain to me, and interest quietly ticking over because I hadn't paid it off before I flew out. It wasn't until a mate in London pulled out a prepaid travel card at dinner and told me he hadn't paid a cent in conversion fees the whole trip that something clicked. So I gave one a go on my next overseas jaunt, and I haven't looked back since. If you're planning a trip and you're sick of guessing what your holiday is actually costing you, here's what I've learned about prepaid credit cards for overseas travel.

Why a Prepaid Travel Card Changed the Way I Budget Overseas

The basic idea is simple enough. You load your own money onto the card in Australian dollars, convert it to the currency you need, and then spend it like a local debit card while you're away. Because it