Best Travel Credit Cards Without Withdrawing Fees (Reviews)

If you’re like me, you hate paying foreign transaction fees when traveling. Those pesky charges—usually around 3%—can quickly add up, making every meal, hotel stay, and souvenir more expensive than it should be. That’s why I’ve spent hours researching the best travel credit cards without fees, so you don’t have to.

Whether you're a frequent flyer, a digital nomad, or an occasional vacationer, having the right travel rewards credit card can save you hundreds of dollars per year. The good news? Many of the top no foreign transaction fee credit cards not only waive those annoying charges but also come with travel perks like airport lounge access, trip insurance, and generous rewards programs.

In this guide, I’ll break down the best options, from premium travel credit cards with luxury perks to no-annual-fee options perfect for budget-conscious travelers. I’ll also cover key factors like welcome bonuses, cashback vs. points, and which cards work best for international travel.

With financial expertise and firsthand experience, I’ll help you find a commission-free travel credit card that fits your lifestyle. Let’s dive in and explore the best options that let you spend smart while exploring the world.

Best Travel Credit Cards for Withdrawing Without Fees

For a few years now, on all our trips we have decided to forget about traditional banks , which charge high fees and unfavourable exchange rates, and we have set out to discover neobanks that offer increasingly competitive products, in line with new realities.

But, which card should you use when travelling? How can you withdraw money abroad without paying additional fees? In this post we propose several options and we will talk in detail about each of them.

    1 Best Ways to Withdraw Money When Traveling 

Before going directly into which are the best cards for traveling, we think it is interesting to analyze the ways we will have access to our money when we go on a trip. Basically, there are these 4:

A. Change money at our bank 

Exchanging money with our usual bank is an option, although, in our opinion, it is not the most advisable because they charge high commissions.

In addition, you would be carrying a lot of cash with you, with the resulting insecurity and inconvenience. There are more competitive alternatives, one of them is to order the specific currency from one of the online exchange offices, with better prices, but the problem of carrying a wad of cash everywhere still exists.

B. Exchange money at a bank or exchange office at your destination

Commissions and exchange rates are usually more competitive, but not non-existent. We also don't eliminate the problem of carrying a lot of money. If you choose to exchange money abroad, it is important not to do so at the exchange offices or banks at the airport and look for a more convenient one in the city. Compare several and decide.

C. Withdraw money from ATMs using regular cards

The conditions of these cards are usually unfavourable, so before travelling, check with your bank or your card contracts. There are two concepts to keep in mind:

• Commission for withdrawing money from another ATM . It is usually a percentage of the total amount withdrawn (about 4% or 5%). For example, if you withdraw €500 you may end up paying up to €25 in commissions.
• Exchange rate . This may be the official exchange rate of the card provider (Mastercard or Visa), or they may apply a commission on these rates or even use their own exchange rate tables, which are obviously more unfavourable for the customer.

D.  Use cards with favorable conditions

There are cards that allow you to withdraw money abroad without commission (within the limits of the contracted plan) and applying a competitive exchange rate. Withdrawing money at your destination will allow you to avoid carrying your pockets full of bills and to refill them when you need them. In addition, payments in foreign currency would also be exempt from additional commissions. Therefore, this is the option we recommend for all trips and the one we use.

Please note that out-of-network ATMs may be subject to fees, so be sure to confirm this before making your withdrawal.

We will tell you more about each of these cards later, although we can tell you in advance that we currently use the Revolut card and the N26 card , which are the ones we trust the most and have been in operation for the longest time.

    2   Clarifying terms

Once we have decided to withdraw money from foreign ATMs, we need to know how our bank can charge us fees. There are two ways:

1. Fee for cash withdrawals abroad : this may be a percentage of the total amount withdrawn or a fixed amount. You will have to look at the card contract to find out exactly how much you are charged. For example, our Openbank card* charges 4.5% if you withdraw money outside the EU and 0.20%+€1.30 if it is in a country outside Spain but in the EU. More information .

2. Exchange rate applied : this is the exchange rate table that they use for their operations. There are many banks that rely on the official Mastercard or Visa exchange rate, and others like Revolut that use a competitive exchange rate, a little more favorable for the user. Finally, other banks may apply commissions on this exchange rate or use their own tables, something that we want to avoid at all costs.

    3 Best Travel Credit Cards Without Withdrawal Fees 

Now, we are going to tell you which are, for us, 4 of the best cards to take with you on your trips and which allow you to withdraw money and make payments abroad without additional fees.

1. Wise Travel Card - Best Overall

Get WISE Travel Card — Withdraw & Spend Abroad without Fees

The Wise Travel Card is a multi-currency debit card designed for travelers, expats, and digital nomads seeking a cost-effective and convenient way to manage finances abroad. Linked to a Wise account, it allows users to hold, convert, and spend money in over 40 currencies at the real mid-market exchange rate, eliminating hidden fees or unfavorable markups.

Key Features

• Multi-Currency Wallet: Users can preload and manage more than 40 currencies within their Wise account.

• Real Exchange Rates: Currency conversions are made at the mid-market rate with low fees ranging from 0.35% to 1%.

• Global Usability: Accepted in over 150 countries wherever Mastercard or Visa is supported, including online and in-person transactions.

• ATM Withdrawals: Free cash withdrawals up to £200 per month from over 2 million ATMs worldwide (additional fees may apply beyond this limit).

• Virtual and Physical Cards: Users can access a digital card immediately upon activation while waiting for the physical card delivery.

• App Integration: The Wise app offers real-time currency conversion, spending tracking, and card management features like freezing/unfreezing the card for security.

Limitations

The Wise Travel Card does not offer premium travel perks like airport lounge access or travel insurance, focusing instead on simplicity and affordability.

Overall, the Wise Travel Card is a practical choice for those prioritizing low costs, transparency, and ease of use during international travel.

Advantages

• No Foreign Transaction Fees: Spend directly in the local currency without additional charges or dynamic currency conversion pitfalls.

• Transparency: Clear and upfront fees for conversions, making it ideal for budget-conscious travelers.

• Flexibility: The reloadable card can be reused for future trips, and leftover funds can be spent locally with minimal fees.

2. N26 Card, another classic of the best cards for traveling

The N26 is still one of the best cards for travelling and withdrawing money without fees. We think it's the perfect complement to the Revolut card. We have both, and we use them on all our trips. It's always better to carry two, just in case one fails.

→ More information about the N26 card

– Where does N26 come from? It is a recently created German bank (2015) that offers all kinds of financial services. Among them, the one we are interested in: the N26 account.

– What does it offer? There are different types of accounts, with a Mastercard included. It is an account with a Spanish IBAN, so the operation is more complete. There is a free option, the standard N26, and other premium options that cost from €4.90 per month, with more interesting advantages, such as travel insurance, promotions, etc.

– Card limits . If you withdraw within the Eurozone, you will have a limit of 3 fee-free withdrawals (€2 from the fourth). But if you withdraw in foreign currency, you will be charged a 1.7% fee (which is not much, but it is something) on ​​the free N26. Premium plans are fee-free.

– Do you have a promo? No.

3. Imagine Card, a new design with a big bank behind it

It is one of the most recent alternatives and certainly one of the most interesting. Although ImaginBank was launched in 2016, it is now that they are betting on offering a product adapted to the new generations, and what is most important to us, with an ideal card to take on trips. It belongs to CaixaBank, something that can give more guarantees to some people.

→ More about the imagin card

– Where does imagin come from?  It is a 100% digital Spanish bank (everything is done through its app), aimed at a young audience and with a zero-commission policy (including foreign currency transactions, yay!)

– What does it offer? First of all, the product that interests us the most is its Mastercard, which allows you to withdraw money abroad and pay in non-euro currencies without any commission, at the Mastercard exchange rate. But you will also have an account with a Spanish IBAN with which you can operate normally and access many promotions and discounts that are continually being released. And all of this is free, of course.

– Card limits . This is one of its advantages, as in principle there are no limits for withdrawing money abroad or for making payments in non-euro currencies.

– Do you have a promo? At this time, they do not have any welcome promotions.

4. VIVID Card , with interesting cashback promotions

In addition to offering some pretty good travel conditions (no fees for withdrawing money and a 1% surcharge for paying in non-€ currency), it has some very interesting cashback promotions. Especially in the Prime account, with which you can earn up to €100 each month. It also has a very complete cryptocurrency market and other advantages worth considering.

→ More about the Vivid card

– Where does VIVD come from? It was created in 2020 with the support of the German bank Solarisbank to offer an app for managing both cash funds (in many different currencies) and for trading in the cryptocurrency and stock markets.

– What does it offer? There are two plans, the free Standard plan and the paid Prime plan (€9.90 per month). Both offer a VISA card with benefits for travel and other extra services. The big difference is the limits on the use of the card and the access to much more interesting promotions in the case of the paid account.

– Card limits . With the free account you can withdraw up to €200 without fees, while with the paid account you can withdraw up to €1,000 per month. Above that amount, a 3% fee is charged. For payments in non-euro currencies, there are no limits, but a 1% fee is applied to the official VISA exchange rate.

– Do you have any promos? No, but they often offer very interesting things for users, such as cashback offers in a lot of stores.

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5. Revolut Card, a guarantee

It is one of the best-rated options among travelers. They have been improving their account and card for many years to save on travel and boost transactions with other currencies, although keep in mind that the free plan has somewhat low limits. As it was created with the purpose of offering benefits to travelers, this policy has not changed so right now this is our first alternative to take with us on trips.

→ More information about the Revolut card

– Where does Revolut come from? It is a digital financial services provider that began operating in 2015. After making its way across Europe, it entered Spain in 2018 and is already the best-known in the travel world, with more than 50 million users within the Revolut Group.

– What does it offer? It has a Mastercard card included, and you can also open an account with a Spanish IBAN. There is a free version with limits (no management or maintenance fees, 0% APR, 0% NIR), and paid versions with different prices and with more advantages and broader limits. The best thing is that it uses a very competitive exchange rate for transactions with foreign currency.

– Card limits . In the free version, you have a limit of €200 in foreign ATMs per month without additional fees (after that, 2% applies) and a maximum amount of €1,000 in purchases in a currency other than € (Monday to Friday within the limits of your plan). The limits are somewhat higher in the paid versions, it may be interesting to get one of these plans if you travel a lot.

– Do you have a promo? Yes, right now if you register with the following link you get a €10 welcome bonus for new users after making a purchase of at least €1.

    4 Comparison of card limits 

Below we leave you a comparison of all the cards, focusing on the two limits that matter to us: the maximum amount that we can withdraw from an ATM without fees, and the purchases in foreign currency that we can make, per month:

To make it easier, let's take a practical example: we are travelling in Thailand and we withdraw 5,000 THB from an ATM (about €136) and make a payment of 1,000 THB at a hotel (about €27)*. This is what would happen with different cards:

At the time of writing, the official exchange rate was: 5,000 THB = €135.40 / 1,000 THB = €27.08. The above information applies when paying and withdrawing money with Revolut, N26, Imagin and Vivid cards (and their respective paid or standard plans), as well as Openbank and Evo Banco cards in Thailand. The fees and exchange rates shown are illustrative, and reflect the conditions applied by the providers for typical THB transactions in Thailand. Exact fees should be checked in the app before making a payment.

The comparative data is based on information obtained from official pages, ensuring its verifiability and representativeness. Although this comparison serves as a reference, it is the client's responsibility to analyze the option that best suits their needs before making a transaction. More information at: Revolut , N26 , Imagin , Vivid , OpenBank and Evo Banco.

As you can see, one of the best options for withdrawing money from an ATM abroad is the Revolut card , which uses a competitive exchange rate (as long as you have a pocket with the currency open or make the transaction on a weekday), followed by cards that use the official Mastercard exchange rate, such as the N26 card , the Vivid card , or the imagin card .

Similarly, to make payments in foreign currency, any card will do, but keep in mind that the Revolut card uses the most favorable competitive exchange rates, while the rest apply the tables of the card providers (Mastercard and VISA), and Vivid charges a 1% surcharge.

Openbank is an example of most banking entities, which charge a percentage on these types of operations, specifically 4.5% for withdrawing money, and 3% for payments in foreign currency. Finally, we have Evo Banco , which is an example of a bank that uses its own exchange rates and, although they say they do not charge commissions, they do charge indirect fees, and they are not insignificant.

    5 Conclusion: best cards for traveling and withdrawing money without fees 

Based on reviews and experience, the card we recommend is Revolut . In fact, we have been using it on all our trips for several years now and we are delighted. But we always recommend getting one for each person in the group or couple and not just from the same provider. So also take the N26 card , another one of the ones that offer the most guarantees, just in case. Imagin seems like it could also be a good option, if you use it, let us know 😉

As for  Vivid , they have been behind in this race for a long time and from what we see, they are launching campaigns that are a bit desperate, with high interest rates and promos that will probably end up being withdrawn sooner or later.

    6 Latest Recommendations 

To conclude, here are important things to keep in mind:

• There are some fees charged by local banks that you cannot avoid. They do not always exist, but they are becoming more common.
• If the ATM offers you an exchange rate when withdrawing money, never accept it, as it is usually very bad. Therefore, always choose the local currency.
• Carry multiple cards , if you only have one and it fails, you'll be in trouble!
• When you withdraw money from an ATM, always cover the keypad when entering your PIN and check that the plastic part where you insert the card is not an add-on.
• Withdraw money in shopping malls or at ATMs inside bank offices  whenever you can.
• Check your card transactions from time to time through the apps. If you find any strange transactions, analyze them and, if it is a theft, notify the bank as soon as possible and block the card.
• Bring your active phone number . For most online payments you will need to receive an SMS to confirm the transaction. Remember that receiving messages abroad is free.

We hope that you now have a better idea of ​​how to withdraw money abroad without fees and that you can compare all the commission-free travel cards that we have presented to you.

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