Best Travel Cards You Need for Travelling Europe 2024

For the past 5 months in our off-grid van we’ve travelled from the UK all over Europe and back, one question we often get asked is what cards we use abroad to avoid high fees and be able to get flights for free. So if you want to discover the top debit and credit cards we use to save money while traveling across Europe, this blog is for you.

Best Debit Cards for Daily Purchases on International Travel to Avoid High Fees

Did you know that, on average, international travellers spend over $20 billion annually on transaction fees alone? Here's how we avoid the trap:

For our day-to-day spends we have a Joint Account with Revolut, in my opinion they are the best bank to use while travelling. Revolut are a digital banking platform meaning everything can be done online while you’re away, all of our other banks in the UK needed both parties to go into a local branch to setup a Joint Account which isn’t ideal while you’re abroad. However, with Revolut its easier than ever and can be done straight from the app… Perfect for digital nomads!

Why We Use Revolut As Our Travel Card In Europe

Low or No Transaction Fees: Revolut allows you to spend and withdraw money abroad with little to no fees, making it an excellent choice for frequent travellers.
Competitive Currency Exchange Rates: Revolut offers some of the best exchange rates on the market, ensuring that you get more value for your money when converting currencies.
Multi-Currency Wallet: With Revolut, you can hold and exchange multiple currencies in one account.
Real-time Spending Notifications: You'll receive instant notifications on your phone whenever you make a transaction, helping you keep track of your spending while abroad.
Budgeting Tools: Revolut offers budgeting features that allow you to set spending limits and track your expenses seamlessly.

If you’d like to signup to Revolut, try it out HERE. You won’t regret it!

Another digital bank we love and use for our daily transactions is Monzo, we pair the combination of both accounts because Revolut uses Visa and Monzo uses Mastercard meaning if one is not accepted, we use the other. Secondly, due to them being debit accounts, if you run out of money on one then the other can be used as a backup for emergencies or the end of the week/month. Having both has proven to be a lifesaver once or twice on our road trip!

If you’d like to signup to Monzo, try it out HERE. You won’t regret it!

Best Travel Credit Card to Maximise Travel Miles and Points in the UK

If you want to earn Travel Miles with every purchase which are redeemable for flights around the world, keep reading!

In the UK at the time of writing, Amex offers the best deal for a travel card. Although the deals are not as illusive as in the US, you can still earn travel miles with every purchase to maximise what you spend. We are signed up to the Amex Gold Card which is a fantastic choice for travel enthusiasts looking to kickstart their journey to free flights and other travel-related perks. When you signup to the card, there is a generous 23,000 point signup bonus after spending £3k in the first three months!! You then earn a travel mile for every pound spent and sometimes double/triple for certain merchants.

Amex is primarily used for us to put through the big expenses we know are coming every year e.g. Insurance. The reason we don’t use it as a day-to-day is that the high transaction fees abroad aren’t worth the miles earned, so we would recommend having it on the side for those inevitable larger purchases that come around every year.

If you would like to start earning travel miles and points with every large purchase or bill then you can sign up HERE. If you use our link it not only helps us out but you also get 30,000 points! So even if you don’t use our link, definitely use someone else’s to maximise that signup bonus.

We hope you have found this blog useful, if you’ve read to the end then well done, you’re on the road to maximising every pound spent and not wasting money abroad on fees like most people do.

Final Thoughts

Debit cards for daily purchases
Revolut: Digital banking platform with the best abroad transaction fees. Sign up here
Monzo: Another digital banking platform which we use as a backup due to having both Visa & Mastercard. Sign up here
Credit Cards to Maximise Travel Miles and Points
Amex Gold Card: Earn miles and points on all large purchases throughout the year such as Insurance or flights. Sign up here to receive an extra bonus!

Travel Tools To Help You Plan

These are some of the travel tools we love and use daily, by booking through our links you support our blog and help us grow, thank you.

Thank you for reading and enjoy your next adventure. Reach out to us over on Instagram @KateandMikesTravels. We always love to hear from people who read our blogs!

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