Carrying loads of money during your overseas travel can be really risky. Half of the time can go into worrying about the money stacked in your bag or pocket. A Travel Money Card can rescue you in such situations. With a Travelcard, you can enjoy your foreign trip to the fullest, no matter which corner of the planet you are in. Here are reasons why you should have a travel currency card; so issue one for your next overseas excursion.

Go low with cash!
Though you will definitely need cash to access some places and services during your travel, for rest of the expenses you can easily bank on a travel card. A travel currency card allows you only tag that much money required for non-travel card uses like paying the taxi fare and purchasing balloons from a local packman. Therefore, with a travel currency card, you only need to keep a minimum amount of cash in your pocket.

Fixes the exchange rate
One of the greatest advantages of a travel card is that it can help you lock the exchange rate before you embark on your overseas journey. This helps you decide on a travel budget, which means you won’t have to worry about currency exchange rates during the trip. Also, you can easily lock an appropriate exchange rate well before you go on the trip.

Multiple Currencies in a Single Card
Travel cards can be loaded with multiple currencies. This is extremely useful if you are planning to traverse multiple locations around the globe. A typical travel money card can load any number of currencies between 5 and 13. Multiple variants of the dollar, such as USD, Australian Dollar, and Hong Kong Dollar are available, besides other popular currencies like Euro and Japanese Yen. Currencies available on the travel card depend on the issuer of the card.

Reload through your Smartphone
Even the strongest budgets might dwindle during an overseas trip. Keeping this in mind, many travel currency card providers allow customers to recharge their cards instantly through their phones. Just download the mobile application provided by the issuer of your travel card. The time that will take your card to load the balance will depend on the speed of the service of the issuer. While some travel card providers offer same day reloads, there can be chances that you might have to wait for 1-2 days for the refilling of the travel money.

It’s the safest option
Travel currency cards are secure to use, primarily because they are not linked to your bank account(s). This means that even if your card is lost or stolen, you need not worry about your account being hacked or robbed. Other security features of the travel currency card include a chip framework can be accessed with a PIN code. So, avoid all the hassles of cash with a travel currency card in your next trip. You can even apply online to receive a travel card on your doorstep.

When it comes to travel rewards, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card is one of the more popular ones. There are other cards at par too that you can choose to get excellent travel rewards if dining and travel form a huge part of your credit card purchases.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card
There’s no Annual Fee for the first year, then the charge is $95. You can earn 20,000 bonus points if you spend $4,000 within the first 3 months. Earn 2x points when you use the card for travel or dining. For all other purchases, earn 1 point per dollar. You can transfer the points at 1:1 rate to many airline and hotel loyalty programs. Book your travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and get a 20% discount

Discover It Miles
At no Annual Fee, this card gives you 1.5x miles for every dollar spent. The card will also reimburse for $30 of your in-flight wi-fi purchases each year. At the end of the first year, Discover It Miles will match every mile you’ve earned.

Bankamericard Travel Rewards Credit Card
This card charges no Annual Fee and no foreign transaction fee. For every dollar spent, you get 1.5 points. If you have an active savings or checking account with Bank of America, you get 10% customer points bonus on every purchase.
Get 20,000 bonus points for $1000 spent during the first 3 months. You can redeem this for $200 in travel related purchases. Points can be redeemed for flights, hotel bookings, buying vacation packages and so on.
You get an intro APR of 0% on all purchases for 12 months. The ongoing APR is 15.49% to 23.49% at a variable rate.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
There’s no Annual Fee for the first year, $59 after that. You earn 2 miles for every dollar spent. Earn a bonus of 40,000 points for a purchase of $3000 within the first 3 months. This bonus can be redeemed for $400 in travel purchases. You can redeem the rewards at any airline or hotel

Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card
Earn 2 points for every dollar spent on Southwest, Rapid Rewards partner hotels, and car rentals. Earn 1 point per dollar for other purchases. Earn 3000 points for every anniversary. Spend $2000 in the first 3 months and earn 50,000 bonus points. Rewards don’t expire. Baggage check in is free.

Starwoods Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express
You don’t have to pay an annual fee for the first year, then $95 afterwards. You can earn 1 point for every dollar spent. Earn 3 to 5 points for purchases on Starwood properties. With 1,300 properties across 100 countries, you can use this card in most places. You can also redeem the points for airline miles. Transfer 20,000 points to select airlines and get 5000 points bonus.

Choose the card that suits your travel habits and preferences. These cards let you save a lot on travel expenses and are flexible about which airlines or hotel you can redeem at.

Travel rewards cards are a great option if you’re a frequent traveler and accumulate points quickly. That depends on whether you frequently use one airline for travel and stay at one hotel chain.

Travel Cards – Low Interest or Rewards Program?
â You can get travel cards that offer no perks. These are mainly low APR or no annual fee cards. They help keep interest rate and costs down, but there is no way to convert your card usage into rewards.
â If you have a good credit score and can manage your credit card balance, choose travel rewards credit cards
â If a card comes with no annual fee for the first year, check what the fee would be the next year. If the fee cancels the benefits provided by the rewards program, choose another card.
â If a card offers low or 0% APR for an initial period, check the regular APR to see if it would suit your habits

Travel Rewards Cards – Types
Travel rewards cards can be co-branded cards. That is, they’re tied to a particular airline or hotel chain. These can help you get rewards and other benefits from loyalty programs. However, if you don’t stick to a single airline or a particular hotel chain, don’t get these cards.
Bank travel rewards cards are far more flexible. You can earn more points on your regular use, and you can use the rewards earned at multiple airlines or hotel chains.

Travel Rewards Cards – Benefits
Look for a signup bonus on travel cards. However, you need to spend a high amount within the first 3 or 6 months of getting the card. You may have to spend anywhere from $500 to $4000 or more to get the points.
Once you get the bonus points, it kickstarts your rewards system. Then you earn 1.5x points or more on travel related purchases. You’ll also get at least 1 point per dollar spent on other purchases.
Look for cards that give you high rewards, like 3 to 5 points per dollar spent on special categories like groceries, office supplies, dining and more.
Most cards don’t have an expiry date on the rewards accumulated as long as you keep the cards active.
With bank cards, you can redeem your reward points at any airline or hotel. You may get even more benefits when you make your travel purchases though the card issuer’s platform.
Some cards offer other benefits like free baggage check-in. This can help you save a lot of money.
A travel card with a good reward program can help you save hundreds or thousands of dollars in travel expenses every year. Use your travel cards optimally and accumulate rewards. You can even treat your family to a great vacation that you couldn’t otherwise afford.