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Travellers' questions that don't fit anywhere else This is an opportunity to ask any question, and post any notice you wish that doesn't fit into one of the other sections.
Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 19 May 2023
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With Wise you can hold funds in more than 40 currencies. When you move from, say pounds to euros, Wise nets off its total daily movements in one direction against the movements in the opposite direction, and only physically converts the balance. So the conversion rate is far better than a normal rate.

And once the funds are in a different currency you spend from that 'jar' without conversion costs at all.

I've been using Wise (formerly TransferWise) for about six years now. Use this link for a fee-free transfer of up to £500, https://wise.com/invite/u/timc84
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  #2  
Old 19 May 2023
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Originally Posted by Tim Cullis View Post
With Wise you can hold funds in more than 40 currencies... So the conversion rate is far better than a normal rate.

And once the funds are in a different currency you spend from that 'jar' without conversion costs at all.
Is it the conversion rate savings that makes Wise so popular? I've had a few people try to convince me of how useful Wise is. "You can put your money into a bunch of different currencies!" Well.. I can use my credit cards in just about any country regardless of currency.

That is to say... I haven't seen the advantage of keeping your money in multiple currencies. I take my bank card to the ATM and withdraw local cash. I pay for things with a credit card when possible.

I've periodically checked the exchange rate I'm getting with my credit cards, and it's close enough to the official rate that I'm not worried about percentage or two. Is the exchange rate with Wise enough to make the switch?
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  #3  
Old 20 May 2023
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Jamie,

I use Wise Visa debit card as my primary card when travelling out of country on bike tours.

Reason is that if I use credit cards the conversion rates were unfavourable. If I remember correctly the banks were about 3 to 4% higher.
Using Wise the rates are close to XE mid market rate. So over the long term the Wise Visa debit card helps.

I don't keep the money in multiple currencies though. I just have the funds in my currency (Malaysian Ringgit) and I use it to pay for bike rental in Vietnam and Thailand, hotels (Philippines), gas/petrol at bigger fuel stations in Thailand etc.

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  #4  
Old 20 May 2023
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Originally Posted by 9w6vx View Post
Jamie,



I use Wise Visa debit card as my primary card when travelling out of country on bike tours.



Reason is that if I use credit cards the conversion rates were unfavourable. If I remember correctly the banks were about 3 to 4% higher.

Using Wise the rates are close to XE mid market rate. So over the long term the Wise Visa debit card helps.



I don't keep the money in multiple currencies though. I just have the funds in my currency (Malaysian Ringgit) and I use it to pay for bike rental in Vietnam and Thailand, hotels (Philippines), gas/petrol at bigger fuel stations in Thailand etc.
Same here, though no need to use an ATM unless you need to hold cash, pay with the Wise card and as well as excellent exchange rate & no additional fees (at least on UK based accounts) you get 1% cashback too - it all adds up.

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Old 20 May 2023
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Originally Posted by poldark View Post
Same here, though no need to use an ATM unless you need to hold cash, pay with the Wise card and as well as excellent exchange rate & no additional fees (at least on UK based accounts) you get 1% cashback too - it all adds up.

Sent from my motorola one using Tapatalk
All well and good until you travel in a country where places accepting cards are limited or rare and most transactions are cash.
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Old 20 May 2023
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Originally Posted by TheWarden View Post
All well and good until you travel in a country where places accepting cards are limited or rare and most transactions are cash.
Where you can use it in the ATM to draw out local currency ....

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  #7  
Old 20 May 2023
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Originally Posted by poldark View Post
Where you can use it in the ATM to draw out local currency ....
When I look at the terms for this card, it appears I'd be limited to a couple of hundred US$ withdrawals per month. That's not much of a backup plan for travel in areas where plastic cards are seldom accepted. Am I missing something?
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  #8  
Old 20 May 2023
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Originally Posted by Jamie Z View Post
Is it the conversion rate savings that makes Wise so popular?
That is part of it - it's better enough to make it worth the hassle to find my Wise card whenever I am out of the eurozone, but otherwise could use my main card. Two other advantages are the ability to send money directly to it from not just the Eurozone, but also UK, US and Australia using local bank transfer methods (no international bank transfer bullshit); and the fact that it's just really easy to get one, and it doesn't cost you anything to keep around. So if you are travelling and are a bit hesitant about where you swipe your card, it's very simple to send a few hundred euros to the Wise account (within Eurozone banks it arrives in minutes), and limit any potential fraud to that "petty cash", keeping your main account completely isolated.

I'm in Switzerland now, and have no reservations about the 0.07 EUR transaction fee that Wise is charging me for a very good CHF-EUR exchange rate.
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Old 20 May 2023
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I use Wise. Very simple, no additional fees, and you even get a percentage of the amount of money you have on your account. They're awesome, to be honest.

N26 / Bunq is also a great alternative. techwear-division.com
Last edited by krakenn; 16 Jun 2023 at 02:22.
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