One aspect of travelling is that you have to be conscious of how you spend your money and in what method. There are loads of options in terms of how to access your money and sometimes it’s hard to chose the best one. Generally when I travel, I make sure that I have US dollars on me as it is the most useful currency in most countries especially in South East Asia and South America.

However, card is my favourite option as you don’t have to worry about carrying wads of cash. I have NEVER used a travel money card that you top up. They always have exorbitant fees, you don’t necessarily get the best rates and so you may as well just use your normal debit/credit card.

My choice of cards is the 28 Degrees MasterCard and the Citibank Visa Debit Card – both have zero fees and have decent rates.

I primarily use the 28 Degrees MasterCard as a credit card including booking from foreign websites for flights and accommodation and when I am overseas for purchases.

The Citibank Visa Debit Card can be used for both cash withdrawals and used as a credit card. A lot of cities in the world have access to Citibank ATMs so I always try to source it when I’m in a new city as there is no ATM withdrawal fees, no international fees or FX fees. If you use a non Citibank ATM to withdraw funds, you will only be charged the ATM fee from that bank.

I find that having one MasterCard and one Visa makes things easier whilst travelling as sometimes one is preferred over the other depending on where you are in the world.

Be smart with your money so you can travel for longer!

Note: This is not a sponsored post – I have used the 28 Degrees Card since 2011 and the Citibank Card since 2014 purely out of family/friend recommendations and my own research.