Because of the terrible foreign exchange rates, a lot us in the UK have been delaying any plans for travelling to the States or the Eurozone, however there is now something available that will help shrink the potential damage to your budget: travel money cards.

How do travel money cards work?

These cards are fairly new additions to the cards that are already out there, and they provide you the ability to place a certain amount of a specific currency on the card at a predetermined exchange rate, so that you have immediate access to money when you travel.

You can apply for these cards through online providers, then upload funds anytime you choose on the internet, or by phone, or possibly via SMS services. At the present time the cards are available with just these currencies: dollar, euro, and pound.

What's the big difference?

Importantly, the rate of exchange is usually more favourable than you'll find in a typical foreign currency exchange office. Also, the exchange rate is fixed in stone at the time you upload money to the card — so when you spend while travelling, you already know what it's costing you. This is vigorously different than credit and debit cards, which use an exchange rate that's dynamic — whatever the going rate is at the moment you use the card.

So is that all there is?

No, not really. These cards, not like regular debit and credit cards, don't have a foreign currency exchange rate charges, which can be an additional 2.75%, that some providers will charge on to the basic exchange rate!

If you didn't know, debit and credit cards might also elicit an additional "till charge" when used in restaurants or shops, though the currency exchange card doesn't have this charge. Be aware that debit and credit cards have high rates for any cash withdrawals, but the money on the currency card have been prepaid, not borrowed, so it's not applicable.

That is great news! Now, what are the possible drawbacks?

Well, since the cards need to have funds transferred to them before you take off, you might find yourself having to save up for your trip, instead of just relying on your credit cards. However, considering these economic climate that's not such a bad thing, is it? Another minor drawback is the costs required for ATM withdrawals, but the good news is those fees will be a lot less on currency cards than on credit or debit cards.

One case of this is that, when this article was written, NatWest and RBS both had a withdrawal fee of two percent, which amounts to about 6 each time you withdraw the sum of 300. Currency exchange cards, however, have a one off fee that amounts to as little as 1.50 no matter how much your ATM withdrawal is.

The real downfall for you is the fee you're charged for using your card to pay for something in a currency other than one specified – and FX convert fee; using the example of a dollar transaction which is made with a euro currency card, you could be charged a fee of up to 2.75%. However, there are a number of cards that don't charge this fee (see list below).

Aren't there some good companies offering credit cards intended for use abroad?

Traditional credit cards like Post Office, Nationwide Gold, and Abbey Zero fit into this type of cards. The first two cards, though, have 2.5% withdrawal fees for cash with a minimum charge of 3 per transaction, even though they don't carry FX fees. This isn't as good a deal as a travel money card, unless you don't have the cash upfront for your vacation.

In contrast, the card from Abbey has no cash withdrawal fees no foreign exchange conversion fees,costs as always, there's a catch — it's got the highest interest rate of the three, at 25.9% presently.

Tell me more. So which travel money cards are the best?

FairFX Euro Currency is simply the best card on the market at the moment, with exceptionally fair exchange rates, a 0% fee for the exchange rate conversion, and a very low ATM fee (1.50). You'll also find a low ATM fee (1.95) with the Indigo Travelcard Euro, but it has a high conversion charge of 2.75%. For no conversion fee, there's the ICE Travelers CashCard Euro… but it has a higher ATM fee (4).

When it comes to dollar cards, FairFX comes at the top again: its Dollar Currency Card gives you a low $2 ATM fee with no costs for converting. Another excellent deal is ICE Travellers CashCard Dollar with its' $3 ATM fee and again, no convert fee. Don't forget no convert fees gives you the option of using these cards in any country.

What's the best travel money card for world travel?

An 'Anywhere Card' has just been launched by FairFX in addition their current euro & dollar card offering. This is an good card for travel to countries outside the USA and eurozone.

One of the great things about the Anywhere Card is that there are no ATM fees, and no loading fees either! A 1.5% transaction fee is the only fee you'll incur – and that's at the time of the transaction, so you don't need to worry about exchange rates.

There's a special offer right now with travel money card FairFX where you can get a free euro card, free dollar card or free sterling global travellers card and save the normal 9.95 setup fee (Subject to a very small initial load). Start saving on exchange rates with a travel money card from FairFX exchange travel money services today!!