Travel cards have become a very popular and widely used payment method for travelers. A travel card is a prepaid card that is quite different from other plastic cards like credit cards or debit cards. The usage of prepaid travel cards is easy and comfortable.
We all know how important commodity is money during travel. Carrying cash while you travel to different places is not comfortable and safe too. There will be several things to be noted like, converting home currency to the destination’s local currency, carry cash only till a certain limit, etc. A credit card or debit card usage in international destinations may end you up with high currency conversion charges and international transaction rates. In such situations, prepaid travel cards come in handy.
Check: Best ways to save money on Currency Exchange
Benefits of a Travel Cards
- Accepted widely at most of the merchants that accept card payments
- Can add different currencies to a single card
- Prevent the cardholder from currency fluctuations if he loads the card in advance
- Safe and secure
- Can reload the card easily anywhere and anytime
Travel Cards in UAE
There are several banks and financial institutions in the UAE that provides Travel Cards with a good range of benefits.
| Travel Cards in the UAE |
|---|
| Cash Passport |
| RAKBank Travel Cards |
| Go Cash Cards |
| TravelEZ Card |
| AAE Travel Card |
| Najm Load n Travel Prepaid Card |
Cash Passport
Cash Passport is a product of Mastercard.
Features and Benefits
- Can load the card with multiple currencies i.e up to 6 currencies
- Can withdraw cash from ATMs
- Can get additional cards on the primary card
- The initial card purchase fee of AED 30 is charged
- The maximum balance that can be maintained on the card is USD 10,000
- Can load the card maximum of USD 100
- Reload fee of USD 10 is charged
RAKBank Travel Cards
RAKBank travel prepaid cards make travelling convenient for travellers. They provide two different travel prepaid cards that are Dual Currency and Single Currency.
Features and Benefits
- The forex rate charged is low
- The currency conversion fee of 2% is charged
- There are no charges on cash withdrawal at RAKBank ATMs
- Provides up to 5 cards on a primary card
- Each card can be funded up to AED 50,000
- Card opening charges of AED 10 is charged
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Go Cash Cards
GoCash provides different cards that are Standard Multi-Currency Card, Platinum Multi-Currency Card, Clear-trip Co-branded UAE Exchange Multicurrency card, Playstation Co-branded Multicurrency card.
Features and Benefits
- Can get 10% OFF at duty-free stores and bookings at Travza on using Platinum Multi-Currency Card
- Free cab rides are provided to the airport on using Platinum Multi-Currency Card
- Can get access to Mastercard “Buy 1 – Get 1 Free” offers on using Platinum Multi-Currency Card
- Can get free travel insurance on Clear-trip Co-branded UAE Exchange Multicurrency card
- Card opening fee of AED 50 – AED 100 is charged (varies with the card)
- Can maintain a maximum balance of AED 25,000 in the card
- AED 2 is charged on reloading the card
TravelEZ Card
TravelEZ card is provided by Al Fardan Exchange. It is accepted at every merchant. There are 3 different variants in the TravelEZ cards i.e. TravelEZ Plus Rev, TravelEZ Plus Najm and TravelEZ Gift Card.
Features and Benefits
- Can manage the account and card easily using the app or from the website
- Card opening fee ranges from AED 20 – AED 35
- Can withdraw cash from ATMs
- The maximum validity of the card is from 1 year – 5 years
- Can load the card for free first time
- Can load the card only once in a day
- No annual fees are levied
- Can maintain a maximum balance of AED 36,700 on TravelEZ Plus Rev Card and USD 10,000 on TravelEZ Plus Najm Card
AAE Travel Card
Al Ansari Exchange provides an AAE Travel Visa Card. The features and benefits of the card are as follows,
Features and Benefits
- Can load the card with multi-currencies
- Provides high security on the card
- AED 50 is charged as card opening fees
- A maximum balance of USD 10,000 is allowed on the card
- No charges on reloading the card
- AED 2 – AED 5 is charged on ATM withdrawals using the card
Other than these, there are several Travel cards provided in the UAE region. They can help you with managing your money easily while you are traveling. Instead of carrying cash, travelers can carry these Prepaid Travel cards that are safe and comes with good benefits.
About the author
Nikitha is a Senior Analyst at MyMoneySouq.com. She has been writing about personal finance, credit cards, mortgage, and other personal finance products in the UAE. Her work on Mortgage loans has been featured by the GulfNews and other popular Financial Blogs in the UAE.
