Looking for the best UK debit cards for travel?
We’ve got you covered!
One of the reasons we managed to travel full-time for almost 2 years?
Saving money where we could, including by getting the right UK debit cards for travel (and avoiding paying high fees!).
In this post, we’ll tell you why you need both, Monzo and Starling, when you go travelling.
And it doesn’t matter if you’re off on a 2-year backpacking adventure or just a week in Italy!
These are the 2 best UK debit Cards for any type of travel!
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Here’s a little bit about our journey, if you are new here! If you know us, feel free to skip this part.
After leaving our old life in Scotland in March 2022 (it rains too much there), we travelled full-time for almost 2 years. Sounds fancy, doesn’t it? Well, it was. If you think that carrying overpacked backpacks in 45°C heat around streets that aren’t even on Google Maps is fancy. And that’s just 1% of all the fun we had! 😆
During the 2 years we volunteered in Italy and Bulgaria (free travel while learning new skills, anyone?), explored other amazing European countries and backpacked Southeast Asia. Btw, even our secret wedding was more of an expedition than a wedding. 😅
And, of course, we researched and planned everything ourselves, because you gotta keep the budget low, right? If you are like us, you’ve come to the right place, because we want to share all the useful travel tips and info with you!
Excited? Good. Let’s get into it so you can go on your own epic adventures too!
Why does it matter which UK debit cards for travel you choose?
The thing many people don’t realise?
They might be getting double-charged when they travel!
How?
When using your debit card abroad to pay with, or to take out cash from an ATM (because, let’s face it, in many countries, cash is still the king), you might be getting charged:
- Fees by the local, foreign bank
- Fees by your own bank for using your card abroad
Now add to that a monthly fee you might be paying for your bank account.
And it all adds up, especially if you’re travelling long-term.
How can you save money when travelling?
There are 3 things you can do, if you want to travel on a budget:
- Always research banks with lowest ATM fees, before going abroad (this is one of the 3 unusual things we do when planning a trip)
- Always choose the option of local currency, when asked on a card machine or ATM (because your own bank will always give you the best conversion rate)
- Get zero-fee UK debit cards for travel. Let’s talk more about this!
Before the adventure starts — make sure you’ve got travel insurance sorted
Here’s what you should do now:
- Check the foreign transaction fees on your current debit card
- If it’s not a Starling or a Monzo card, read the rest of this article to see why you should start travelling with those two instead of your card
Btw, if at any point you start wishing you could ask us a question – just shout us on our Instagram.
And if you want to chat more about money and your travels, you can also book a call with us here.
Best UK debit cards for travel
The first thing we want to clarify?
You don’t need one card.
You need at least two debit cards for travel.
Why?
Plan B!
We’re sure you know this: things often go wrong when you travel. Plans don’t work out. Situations change unexpectedly. Reality is different than what you assumed.
This is even more true if you have bad luck like we do! Btw, if you are in this VIP group of bad-luck-winners, give us a shout on our Instagram, we’d love to meet other members. 😄
What should you do then?
- Pack an extra pair of socks (and underwear!)
- Check out our travel safety tips
- And get two debit cards for travel
Some ATMs will not like one of the cards.
Some card machines might not like one of them either.
It’s happened to us many times.
We can’t imagine travelling without a back up debit card – our life is stressful enough without us adding to it!
So which 2 UK debit cards for travel do we recommend?
Here is why.
Why do you need a Starling debit card?
Starling was our first choice from all the UK debit cards for travel.
Why?
- The personal bank account is free – no monthly fee slowly eating away at your savings!
- No fees for using your card abroad
- No fees for ATM withdrawals abroad, in any currency, up to £300 a day
- You can lock your card easily in the app – handy if you lose it or it gets stolen, as you travel. No need to be freaking out about having to call your bank when you’ve just been robbed (it’s scary to think about but these kind of little things do help)
- You can open the account and manage it all online – this is a digital bank, so there’s no need to faff to a branch, wait in a queue and deal with people (ew on that! 😄)
- Lots of other nice features in the mobile app (again, so easy to manage your money when all you need is one app!)
The main thing for us was the zero ATM withdrawal fees.
We knew our full-time travels would take us to countries like Thailand, Laos or Cambodia, where we would need cash all the time. And when you’re travelling long-term, you’ve got to do as much as you can to save money. Trust us, those ATM fees do add up big time.
PS: If you open your Starling account through one of our referral links in this post, you’ll get a freebie. Starling likes to keep their referral rewards fresh and occasionally changes what they offer, so we can’t spoil the surprise—but there should be a little bonus waiting for you!
A handy tool from Starling
Starling has a great tool to help you decide which ones are the best UK debit cards for travel (or every day banking).
On their website, you can easily compare Starling features and fees with two other UK providers. Give it a go – you can compare with your current bank, Monzo, or another option you are considering!
Speaking of Monzo, let’s talk more about them, since they are our second choice out of the best UK debit cards for travel.
Why do you need a Monzo debit card?
Similarly to Starling, Monzo is a digital bank with lots of useful features:
- The personal bank account is also free
- No fees for using your card abroad
- When it comes to ATM withdrawals abroad, Monzo offers unlimited fee-free withdrawals in the European Economic Area (EEA) and up to £200 every 30 days anywhere else*
- Again, Monzo is a digital bank, so you can manage your finances using just your phone (including locking your card if anything goes wrong!)
- Monzo will help your money make you more money, just by keeping it in their Savings Pots, instead of letting it sit idly in your current account
*if Monzo is your main bank account
Monzo was our second choice for travel, purely because of their lower fee-free ATM withdrawal limit outside of the EEA.
That being said, we used it to keep the bulk of our money in, because of the Savings Pots that we told you about!
This is one of our money-saving tips: when you’re saving up for a trip (or anything else – a wedding, a house deposit, a new car…), make sure the money isn’t just sitting around. Let it make more money by keeping it in a savings account.
It won’t make you a millionaire, but it all does add up!
Pro tip: Starling now offers savings accounts too, so check out the interest rates from both. This is another reason we recommend having 2 UK debit cards (and accounts). More options for you to use what’s best!
PS: Use one of our Monzo links in this post and get free money! If you open a Monzo bank account using our referral link, you can get £10, £20 or £50 as a bonus*, depending on whether you have good luck or 💩 one, like us. 😆
*T&Cs apply, of course
How to use Monzo and Starling for cash withdrawals abroad
At the start, we told you that you need 2 UK debit cards, Starling and Monzo, because you should always have at least one back up, in case one of your cards isn’t working.
We also mentioned that the two banks offer different perks, like the savings accounts and pots – you should always compare the interest rates before deciding where to grow your money.
One more reason why you need 2 UK debit cards?
Remember how Starling comes with a daily £300 fee-free ATM withdrawal abroad?
And Monzo offers £200 fee-free every 30 days outside the EEA?
If you’re travelling long-term in a cash-first country and don’t want to waste time having to hunt down a good ATM every day, you can combine these two limits.
That’s what we did when travelling full-time.
We would find a good ATM with zero (or the lowest) fees and take out the £300 daily Starling limit PLUS the £200 30-day Monzo limit.
That meant we had fee-free £500 in cash, which lasted us, for example, for 2 weeks of travelling around Laos (real numbers from our full-time travels).
The one big lesson from this all?
Make sure you get at least 2 UK debit cards for travel.
And make sure it’s the best ones: Starling and Monzo.
But. Don’t rush to apply just yet!
There is one more card you might want to pack for your travels.
Bonus tip: UK travel credit card
You’ve got the best UK debit cards for travel sorted out now.
Is that all you need?
Not quite!
You need one more card.
A good, no-fee travel credit card.
Why do you need a credit card for travelling?
You might be wondering why you need to get yet another card for your travels, when you already have two best UK debit cards.
3 reasons:
- Safety
- Buffer
- Benefits
Let’s talk more about them.
(pictured: NBP Money Centre museum in Warsaw. Would recommend!)
1. Safety
Your debit card might come with a digital version. Meaning it’s safer to use when shopping online, than entering details from your actual card.
But it’s never as safe as using a credit card, which isn’t attached to your savings pot of money at all.
When you travel, you might be booking things on all sorts of sites.
Obviously, always check that a site is legit, but to get that extra peace of mind?
Use a credit card when booking things online.
2. Buffer
Brace yourself. Things are about to get dark here.
The thing is, you don’t know what will go wrong when you travel.
Emergencies can happen.
Btw, this is why you should pick good travel insurance to cover you. Like True Traveller, who might just have the best customer service you’ve ever seen.
But back to credit cards.
When an emergency happens and you suddenly have to buy a very expensive flight back home.
Or pay for a new laptop.
Or for an extra week at a hotel, because you got stranded.
You’ll be glad you have the extra credit from your aha!, credit card, to cover you.
3. Benefits
If you happen to live in a country where credit cards come with benefits?
Like:
- Extra airline points (Although you can collect those even without a credit card, did you know that?)
- Travel insurance (But make sure it’s actually a good one that covers what you need)
- Cashback
- Anything else
Then every purchase means getting a freebie! And that’s what we love!
The best UK credit card for travel
A little note here to say that the best credit card for you will be the one that fits your travels and needs.
When we were getting ready for our full-time travels?
We wanted a credit card that:
- We actually qualified for and wouldn’t get rejected from
- Was free, without any annual fees
- Came with no international fees
- Was from a reliable bank
The one card that fitted this?
Barclaycard Rewards card.
It doesn’t give us amazing benefits, but it does come with cashback and zero fees, so we’re more than happy with it, even after years of using it.
Don’t forget this if you want to save money when travelling
Good debit cards for travel can save you a lot of money.
So can a good credit card.
But do you know what else people waste awful amounts of money on?
Travel insurance!
Now, we are not against getting travel insurance – we actually think it’s necessary.
But choose well.
We recommend True Traveller (available for Europe and UK residents. Note: not nationalities, residents), because they offer great features and their customer service is next level.
Oh, and their prices? So low we couldn’t believe them ourselves!
Check them out, especially if you’re looking to save money and yet be covered by good, reliable travel insurance.
By now you should know why you need two UK debit cards for travel, and which ones we recommend (cause they are genuinely awesome). Oh and don’t forget a good credit card too, for all the travel emergencies, because why can’t life just be easy and stress-free??
Remember, any questions, shout us on our Insta or book a chat, so we can talk about all things money: how to save it, but also how to spend it, because what better way to do that than on travel, right?
Hi!
We’re Mirka & Daniel — full-time travellers, professional overthinkers & bad luck magnets. We research EVERYTHING and then share all the weird travel tips with you here. Follow along to make your adventures easier! 🌴
