BEST FOR
Spending abroad
Compare travel credit cards for 2023
The right travel credit card can give your trip an extra lift. Choose from cards with no foreign transaction fees, or perks like lounge access.
BEST FOR
Travel insurance
BEST FOR
No annual fee
BEST FOR
Frequent flyers
What makes a credit card a good travel companion? There are many ways credit cards can improve your trip abroad, from saving a few pounds on fees to making you feel like a VIP with airport lounge access.
The best travel credit card option for you is going to depend on what you need the card to do. Let’s break it down.
Compare travel credit cards
Table: sorted by representative APR, promoted deals first
Approval for any credit card depends on your status. The representative APRs shown represent the interest rate offered to most successful applicants. Depending on your personal circumstances, the APR you're offered may be higher, or you may not be offered credit at all. Fees and rates are subject to change without notice. It's always wise to check the terms of any deal before you borrow.
Priority Pass discounts
Deal
Access 1,400+ airport lounges and travel experiences with this link
Access 1,400+ airport lounges and premium travel experiences globally, in 600 cities across 148 countries
How to choose your travel credit card
Even if you go on holiday only once a year, it’s a good idea to have a separate credit card for when you travel. That’s because your needs will be different when you’re on the road or enjoying the sun on a tropical beach from when the longest distance you travel is that between your house and the office. But how do you go about picking a good travel credit card?
The main decision you have to make is which features you want to prioritise. Here’s a basic list of things you may want to consider when comparing travel credit cards:
Approval for any credit card depends on your status. The representative APRs shown represent the interest rate offered to most successful applicants. Depending on your personal circumstances, the APR you're offered may be higher, or you may not be offered credit at all. Fees and rates are subject to change without notice. It's always wise to check the terms of any deal before you borrow.
Avoid non-sterling transaction conversion fees
When travelling abroad, avoiding foreign exchange fees can be a tough task, but it’s not impossible. When using your credit card overseas, there are three main kinds of fees you should expect and learn how to dodge:
- Foreign transaction fees charged by your credit card provider. They’re charged every time you pay in a foreign currency and can amount up to 3% of the transaction. The only way of avoiding them when paying on plastic is getting a credit card that allows fee-free spending abroad.
- Fees charged by local merchants. When paying with your card, you may be offered the option of paying in pounds instead of the local currency. If you’ve taken out a credit card designed for use abroad (one that offers fee-free non-sterling transactions) you should opt to pay in the local currency, since you know that your own bank is giving you a favourable currency conversion deal. Outside the EU merchants sometimes also apply a surcharge if you want to pay by card and not in cash. If you’re concerned that this may be the case, it’s worth asking about it before picking a payment method.
- Cash advance fees. Almost all credit cards charge you extra for withdrawing cash, both in the UK and abroad. Out of the country, it’s even more expensive because the cash advance fee will add up to the foreign currency transaction fee, so you should only get cash with your credit card in case of emergency.
Compare 0% foreign fees credit cards
Spread the cost of your getaway
Planning a great holiday but not sure you can afford to pay for it in one go? With a 0% purchase credit card, you’ll be able to spread the cost over a few months without having to pay any interest on it.
0% purchase credit cards can be great for breaking down the cost of a trip into more affordable instalments, but you really need to have paid the sum back by the time the introductory deal expires. Otherwise, your balance will start accruing interest at the card’s standard rate (which is usually not very competitive). It’s essential to work out a repayment plan (divide your expenditure by the number of months in the 0% deal to work out what you should repay each month) and stick to it to make sure you pay the whole sum back on time.
Compare 0% purchase credit cards
Finder's pick
Santander World Elite Mastercard
18
months
0% interest on balance transfers
0%
Balance transfer fee
18
months
0% interest on purchases
49.8%
Representative APR
Only available to existing Santander Select or Private Banking customers, and going head-to-head with the slightly-more-expensive HSBC World Elite, this card offers interest-free periods on both balance transfers and purchases, as well as significant rewards and travel perks.
Cardholders can travel in style with free LoungeKey membership – one of the most popular programmes going – allowing unlimited access to airport lounges in over 120 countries. Plus when you use your card overseas, you won’t have to worry about pesky non-sterling transaction fees.
- Earn cashback on purchases.
- No foreign transaction fees on purchases.
- 0% interest on purchases and balance transfers for an introductory period.
- No balance transfer fee within introductory period.
- Mastercard Concierge.
- Free LoungeKey airport lounge membership, with complimentary access for additional cardholders.
- No extra fees for up to three additional cardholders.
- Did we mention the monthly account fee?
- Must be a Santander Select or Private banking customer.
- High annual income requirement to open Select or Private bank accounts.
| Minimum income | 10500 |
|---|---|
| Residency | UK Resident |
| Availability | Available to existing customers |
| Foreign usage charge (EU) | 0% |
| Cash advance fee | 29.9% |
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 18.9% (variable) p.a. with a fee of £15 per month, your representative rate is 49.8% APR (variable).
Get yourself some hotel perks
A small number of credit cards offer special hotel benefits like room upgrades, priority check-in, later check-out times or the opportunity to earn points that can be redeemed for free stays.
These cards are often offered by the hotel companies themselves and are more suitable to people that travel quite often and stay at the same kind of hotel. If that sounds like you, you’ll be able to make the most of the perks while also earning points quite quickly.
Finder's pick
The Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card
48.9%
Representative APR
£75
Yearly account fee
20,000
points
Max. intro bonus
Earn
2
points
per £1 spent
If you like to travel in style, then you can still earn tailored rewards while you spend with this specialised offer.
- Generous introductory bonus and nice ongoing rewards.
- An expensive option if you carry a balance from month to month.
| Residency | UK resident and has a UK bank or building society account. |
|---|---|
| Availability | Available to new customers |
| Foreign usage charge (EU) | 2.99% |
| Cash advance fee | 38% |
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 30.7% (variable) p.a. with a fee of £75 per annum, your representative rate is 48.9% APR (variable).
Travel in comfort with airport lounge access
Airports – not much fun are they? But if you can relax in an airport lounge, you’ll cut out much of the stress and feel pretty smug at the same time. You’ll need to be comfortable with the idea of paying an annual or monthly account fee in return for complimentary lounge access (if that’s a deal-breaker, consider a one-off membership to a scheme like Priority Pass). But on the plus side, lounge access won’t be the only benefit these cards offer.
Compare cards with airport lounge access
Finder's pick
HSBC Premier World Elite Credit Card
0%
Balance transfer fee
59.3%
Representative APR
£195
Yearly account fee
40,000
points
Max. intro bonus
- Rewards points for every £1 you spend.
- Welcome points offer when you first open account.
- Anniversary points boost.
- Access to HSBC Premier Privileges (discounts and experiences).
- Free LoungeKey airport lounge membership.
- Must be an existing HSBC Premier Bank customer.
- Minimum income of £75,000 and have a HSBC mortgage, investment, life insurance or protection product; or have at least £50,000 in savings or investments with HSBC.
- High annual fee.
- No 0% interest introductory offers on purchases or balance transfers.
- Foreign transaction fees.
- Fees for additional cardholders.
| Residency | Must hold a HSBC Premier Current Account, eligibility criteria apply. |
|---|---|
| Availability | Available to existing customers |
| Foreign usage charge (EU) | 2.99% |
| Cash advance fee | 18.9% |
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 18.9% (variable) p.a. with a fee of £195 per annum, your representative rate is 59.3% APR (variable).
Collect air miles with a frequent flyer card
Just like credit cards that offer hotel perks, frequent flyer credit cards are meant for people who fly, well, frequently. If you get on a plane once a year, you won’t be able to make the most of them; if it’s more like once a month, they can really be worth it.
They work just like rewards credit cards, but let you earn air miles on all your spending instead of points or cashback. Usually, you’ll earn even more miles when you use the card to purchase tickets with the card’s partner airlines. You can get both basic options without annual fees and premium options that do charge an annual fee in return for a higher earn rate.
Compare frequent flyer credit cards
Finder's pick
British Airways American Express® Credit Card
30.7%
Representative APR
£0
Account fee
5,000
points
Max. intro bonus
Up to
56
days
Interest-free each billing period
Earn points virtually every time you use your card, to redeem with British Airways or a number of other airlines, for flights, flight upgrades, hotel stays and more. You can also benefit from a generous intro points offer, and won't pay an annual fee.
- Earn Avios as you spend
- Free supplementary cards
- Companion flight voucher each year you spend £12,000
- Generous welcome offer
- No annual fee
- Use Amex’s referral programme to boost your points earnings. For every friend who is approved, you receive 4,000 Avios (up to 9,000 Avios). Check out our guide to Amex's referral programme
- Travel accident insurance up to £75,000 (subject to enrolment), plus access to Global Assist® 24/7 emergency assistance
- Refund Protection (90 days to return, receive max £200 per item, £750 per year)
- No annual fee
- Big spenders who clear their balance in full each month may get more from the Premium Plus version
- If you carry an outstanding balance month-to-month, the relatively high interest rate will cancel out any benefits
- Welcome bonus limited to new Cardmembers or those who have not held a personal American Express card in the past 24 months.
- This card carries a 2.99% foreign usage charge
| Residency | UK resident and has a UK bank or building society account. |
|---|---|
| Availability | Available to new customers |
| Foreign usage charge (EU) | 2.99% |
| Cash advance fee | 38% |
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 30.7% (variable) p.a., your representative rate is 30.7% APR (variable).
Enjoy peace of mind with complimentary travel insurance
There are a few premium cards out there that come with travel insurance included and save you the hassle of having to purchase it separately. Expect fairly pricey annual fees in return for a whole lot of benefits, such as airport lounge access.
It’s not easy to calculate when it’s better to get a card that offers it and when it’s more convenient to purchase it separately, but as we said, the travel insurance will usually be combined with other perks, so it’s a good idea to check whether those are appealing to you or not.
Finder's pick
The Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card
48.9%
Representative APR
£75
Yearly account fee
20,000
points
Max. intro bonus
Earn
2
points
per £1 spent
If you like to travel in style, then you can still earn tailored rewards while you spend with this specialised offer.
- Generous introductory bonus and nice ongoing rewards.
- An expensive option if you carry a balance from month to month.
| Residency | UK resident and has a UK bank or building society account. |
|---|---|
| Availability | Available to new customers |
| Foreign usage charge (EU) | 2.99% |
| Cash advance fee | 38% |
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 30.7% (variable) p.a. with a fee of £75 per annum, your representative rate is 48.9% APR (variable).
Track real-time spending in an app
We know how it goes: you’re on holiday, buy a souvenir here and an extra ice cream there, and when you come back and check your card statement you realise you’ve spectacularly exceeded your budget for the trip.
A practical way of keeping an eye on the money you spend while travelling is downloading your credit card’s app on your smartphone. The best mobile banking apps will notify you whenever you use the card and allow you to check all your recent transactions in real time. For example, the American Express app does just that, while also allowing you to set up a spend tracking alert that will notify you when you overspend.
How to use a credit card in…
Q
We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you.
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