Best crypto cards for travel

What matters when you pay abroad

• Acceptance. Shops accept a card network, not a crypto card as such. Look at which network your card runs on, and remember that small places can still be cash only.
• The FX fee. The FX fee applies when you pay in a currency other than the card’s. Part of the cost can also hide in the exchange rate, as a markup.
• Cash access. A physical card lets you use machines, and the ATM fee is part of what a trip costs.
• The crypto conversion. Your balance has to become the card’s currency at some point, and the conversion spread is the price of that step.
• Can you get the card. A card that works in the country you visit is not the same as a card you can apply for. Availability depends on where you live, so read the list for your own country.

Before you leave

• Top up early. Load enough for the trip and wait until the funds show in your balance. Match the network exactly when you send crypto, and do not leave this for the airport.
• Finish identity checks. Verification can take time. Read the KYC rules for your country and complete them well before you travel.
• Check the limits. Look at the caps for card payments and for cash, per day and per month, and see whether you can raise them in the app.
• Set the card up. Activate it, set the PIN, add it to your phone wallet and turn on notifications. Look for region or travel settings.
• Carry a backup. A second card from a different issuer, kept apart from the first, and a little cash. A frozen or declined card is much easier to handle when it is not your only one.

At the till and at the machine

When a shop or an ATM abroad asks whether to pay in your home currency or the local one, choose the local one. The offer is dynamic currency conversion, and the conversion is done by the merchant or the machine at a rate that favours them, on top of anything your card adds.

After a payment, check the amount in the card’s app or on the statement. If a charge looks too high, the exchange rate and the markup are the first places to look. Our guide to FX fees and markups abroad explains how they add up. For cash, the machine’s operator can add a fee on top of the card’s, so the ATM list is worth a look too.

What to compare

• Availability. Eligibility is checked per country.
• FX fee. Whether it is charged, and how much. The no FX fee list keeps only cards with a zero FX fee on file.
• ATM fee and limits. What cash costs and how much you can take out.
• Card currency. Paying in the card’s own currency avoids a conversion.
• Top-up and conversion. The assets and networks the card accepts, and what each top-up costs.

Our ranking turns these into one estimated net cost. Fees we have not verified are left out and flagged, never counted as zero. The methodology explains how.

How many travel cards are in your country

Many cards are open only to some countries, so the list changes with where you live. Across all countries it ranks 27 cards. A few examples:

• United States: 7 cards
• Germany: 17 cards
• United Kingdom: 8 cards
• Brazil: 7 cards

Choose your country in the Card Finder to see the cards you can get, with a cost estimate for your own spending.