Travel profitably. Choosing a bank card
Rating: 9,5/10 (4556 votes)  In the modern world, cashless payments are becoming more and more relevant, and it is especially convenient to pay with a bank card abroad, because you can not carry a large number of paper bills in your luggage. But then a logical question arises: `` Which bank card is better abroad? '', Because today there are a lot of cards from different banks. Let's try to consider this issue from different angles. Content:
Currency or rubleWhen abroad you use a ruble card, then the money from it is converted into foreign currency automatically, at the internal rate of the bank. This rate is not always profitable, so some people prefer to choose currency cards, believing that in this way they will prevent conversion. But in reality this is an illusion. The fact is that most of the citizens of our country have income not in dollars or euros, but in rubles. And if you replenish your currency card with rubles, then their conversion takes place, it is simply carried out not at the payment stage, but even at the replenishment stage. Therefore, if you rarely travel and do not want to open a new account and pay for the card service, then your usual ruble card will be quite enough. On the other hand, the exchange rate in banks is usually more favorable than on the card. Therefore, if you regularly travel abroad, then it makes sense to purchase a currency card, and then replenish it already, for example, with dollars that you exchanged with greater benefit for yourself.  Now let's consider the issue of purchasing foreign currency. Its exchange rate is now unstable, so there is no point in converting large amounts at once. It will be a shame to immediately buy several thousand dollars for 58 rubles, and then see that the exchange rate dropped to 55 or lower, and you eventually lost money. For the most experienced and economical tourists, we recommend having two cards for travel at once – both currency and ruble. You need to pay with them alternately – when the dollar is more expensive, choose a currency, and when it is cheaper – ruble. For example, if you replenished a dollar card at a rate of 58 rubles, then at a rate of 59, use a currency card, and less than 58 – ruble. If you don't want to keep a lot of numbers in your head, then you can use a simpler scheme - – when the exchange rate grows, to pay in ruble, when the rate falls – dollar. With two more cards you can play at exchange rates without any exchanges, but this is entertainment for those who are sophisticated in finance. Dollar or EuroIf you still decide to get a currency card, then the second dilemma arises - – dollar or euro? In fact, the decision is very simple:
 Visa or MastercardThe two most popular payment systems in the world – Visa and Mastercard. The key difference between them is that with Visa you will pay in dollars, and with Mastercard - euros. Some Thai banks do not withdraw money from the Mastercard, and sometimes this happens in Thailand. Therefore, we recommend taking a Visa to Asia – you will definitely not go wrong with it. The same goes for trips to Latin America, Algeria or Cuba – there Mastercard is practically not accepted. But usually such difficulties arise only in Asia and Africa – in other countries, Visa and Mastercard are equally readily accepted. Another question is how profitable it will be to pay with this or that currency. In this case, it is better to take Mastercard for countries from the Eurozone, and keep a Visa card for everyone else. If you travel a lot to different countries, then opt for the Visa as a more universal one. You also need to take into account that different banks offer different conditions – in some, service and commissions are more profitable for one system, in others for another. Besides, We also recommend reading Christmas and New Year in Europe: Let's go to a fairy tale Topic: Travel profitably. Choosing a bank card. |
