WISE Travel card review (2024): How much can you save?

We have been using the Wise Travel card for the past 5 years and it has saved us a tremendous amount of money by reducing foreign transaction fees. However, most people don’t even look at their credit card statements following a vacation so they are likely not even aware of the exorbitant amounts their banks as well as the foreign bank is charging them. The problem is that there are so many hidden fees and markups on exchange rates that it can be hard to understand. In this review post, we will help break it all down for you, provide real-life price illustrations and comparisons, and our tips on avoiding the hidden fees to show you how WISE can save you hundreds of dollars during your travels.

Let’s jump right in!

How does Wise Travel card work?

If you are seeing this post, you likely already know a bit about the Wise Card. Essentially, the Wise travel card acts as a debit card that can hold multiple currencies. You can use it to pay for merchandise/services at a terminal machine, and can also withdraw cash at an ATM. The biggest strength of the WISE card is how it minimizes the fees you pay on these foreign transactions by providing you with the optimal currency exchange rates and reducing your transaction fees.

Also, the fact that this is an online ‘bank’ service means you always have full and easy control of your money through their app.

Keep in mind this is not a credit card. You will always need to load money into your Wise card before you can spend.

The Problem with Hidden fees when using a credit/debit card

Imagine this. You come back from your amazing trip and look over your bank statements, and can’t quite understand why all the transactions seem higher than you recall. At the moment, you even googled how much 80 euros was going to cost you for that dinner, but your statement says 130 CAD instead of 120 CAD.

You then look at your statement to verify that time you had to pay for the 3 day trek offered by a local company. They didn’t accept credit cards so you had to send them the payment through Paypal. But 300 euros should have cost you around 450 CAD. Why does it show 493 CAD? Why is the price you paid so much higher than the exchange rate shown in Google?

This happened to us when we trekked the Volcano Acatenango in Antigua Guatemala and the surprising price difference was frustrating!

And don’t get me started on ATM money withdrawals.

To better understand why you end up paying a lot higher than what you expect, you will need to first understand the 4 types of bank fees involved in these transactions, and then see how the banks can markup those fees to charge you more.

The Rates charged by banks for Foreign transactions

There are four main rates that we need to be aware of when doing foreign transactions:

• Mid-Market rate
• Currency exchange rate
• Foreign transfer fee by Home bank
• Foreign transfer fee by foreign bank

Mid-Market Rate

The Mid-market rate is the ‘real’ exchange rate. It is the rates that banks and large money transfer institutions get when exchanging money with each other, thus providing the greatest value. But this beneficial rate seldom gets passed on to us.

This mid-market rate is also the rate that we see when googling “80 euros in CAD”. If you want to read more in detail about the mid-market rate, check out the description on the WISE website.

Currency Exchange Rate

However, most institutions, such as your bank or Paypal, will add their markup to the mid-market rate and provide you with their own currency exchange rate. This is why you will see a different currency exchange rate depending on if you use RBC, TD bank, Wise, or Paypal etc… I mean just look at the table below and you will see how the rates can vary by as much as 6% between each other.

This is also the first reason why the amount reflected on your credit card bill is higher than the amount when googling “80 euros in CAD”. We are not getting the mid-market rate but instead getting their marked-up currency exchange rates!

Foreign Transfer fee by Home Bank

Third, most banks will add on a Foreign transfer fee, in the form of a fixed rate or a %. This foreign transfer fee will vary depending on if you are doing a direct money transfer, or an ATM cash withdrawal. Take a look at the third column (Transfer fee) in the picture above to see how the fees can be as low as 0$ and as high as 25$!

However, keep in mind that a 0$ transfer fee doesn’t mean it is the best option. When they don’t charge a transfer fee, they may be marking up the exchange rate to make their money.

In the case of withdrawing money at an ATM with my TD bank card (home bank), I will be charged a fixed rate of 5$ per withdrawal.

Foreign transfer fee by foreign bank

Finally, if you are withdrawing cash from a foreign ATM, there will likely be another transfer fee charged by the foreign bank. The amount will depend on which country you are in as well as which bank you are dealing with.

In our travels, we always search to see if there is a bank there that doesn’t charge fees or has minimal fees. The Foreign Transfer fee by the foreign bank is unavoidable though so you will be charged that regardless of if you are with WISE or another bank.

Example of all the fees together

To give you an example of how all the fees are applied, we’ll look at this situation with my TD debit card. When withdrawing cash at a foreign ATM, TD will charge:

• 5$ foreign transfer fee
• Then take a 2.5-3.5% markup on the mid-market exchange rate for the withdrawn amount
• Then the foreign ATM may charge another 2-5$.

On a withdrawal of 100$ at an ATM, this can easily add up to 13$ in fees! You can see how these fees can quickly add up!

Types of transactions and their costs

There are three main types of transactions we face when traveling.:

• Credit card payments at a terminal
• ATM withdrawals for cash
• Direct money transfer (usually for smaller independent companies)

Fortunately, the Wise Travel card can help with all three types of transactions, while providing you with the best rates as compared to a regular bank credit/debit card.

Regular Credit card transactions (~2.5% fee):

For most, credit card payments provide the most convenience when paying for goods and services while we travel. With my TD Aeroplan Visa card, the bank will add a markup fee of 2.5% on every foreign transaction, then VISA will use their own currency exchange rate.

Fortunately, the VISA exchange rate is only a tiny bit higher than mid-market rate. At the time of writing in July 2024, the VISA exchange rate for EURO:CAD is 1.503, only 0.002 above mid-market rate.

So overall, when doing credit card transactions, you will be receiving the best value foreign exchange rate as compared to ATM withdrawals or direct money transfer. Keep in mind though that there is still that 2.5% markup fee on the exchange rate.  

Regular ATM withdrawals (5-10% fee):

For many countries, cash is still preferred so inevitably you will need to make an ATM cash withdrawal. For these transactions, the foreign ATM machine will almost always charge their own base transfer fee (3-10$), then your bank will charge their transfer fee (5$ in our case), in addition to a 2.5-3.5% currency exchange markup.

As you can see, these fees can add up quickly.

On top of that, many ATMs limit the maximum that you can withdraw in a day.

For example, when we were in Guatemala, most ATMs had a limit of 2000 Quetzales, the equivalent of 350$. So if you add the 6$ foreign ATM fee, 5$ issuing bank fee, then a 3.5% foreign exchange fee (12.25$), and withdraw the maximum, the total additional fees come out to 23.25$, a whopping 6.6% total transaction fee! 

Regular Direct Money Transfers (4-10% fee):

Finally, there are times when the merchant doesn’t accept credit cards and requires a money transfer to book your activity. This was the case when we went to Casa Del Mundo Hotel, a beautiful remote hotel in Lake Atitlan Guatemala.

I made my payment through Paypal but in the end was charged a foreign transaction fee of 8$ (the options ranged from 8-30$ depending on if I paid directly from my bank account vs. credit card) and had to use Paypal’s currency exchange rate, which was about 3% worse than the mid-market rate.

On this transaction of 350USD, I paid around 22$ in fees, a substantial 6% transaction fee. 

The Solution: How Wise can help you save

Since most of us don’t ever read the fine print and 14 page pamphlets that come with our bank cards, we often don’t realize the substantial fees we are being charged when traveling. Fortunately, since we’ve discovered Wise, it has helped us save hundreds of dollars on every trip.

Not only does WISE use the REAL exchange rate (mid-market rate), but they also keep their foreign transaction fees to a minimum, usually 30-50% of the price of my bank card. This applies to using it for foreign credit-card-type transactions, ATM withdrawals, and even direct money transfers.

Here’s a summary of how WISE can save you hundreds, no matter what type of transaction you are doing.

Below we will go into detail about how WISE helps you save on each transaction type.

WISE Credit card transactions (WISE average 0.89% VS. 2.50% Credit card):

WISE provides a physical card that can be used like a debit card. When making payments abroad, WISE charges a very minimal transaction fee and provides you with the most beneficial currency exchange rate, the mid-market rate.

💡 For example: when paying for a 50 euro meal in Italy, WISE will automatically convert the required amount from your home currency balance in your account to euros using the mid-market rate. This will be VERY similar to the rate when googling “50 euro to CAD”.

I have listed below an example of several popular currencies, the transaction fee, and total transaction fee in % when converting 1000 CAD to a foreign currency (if you convert less money, for example, to pay off the 50 euro meal, the WISE fee is adjusted accordingly thus the total transaction fee % overall stays the same):

I tried to provide a range of currencies to illustrate just how advantageous it can be to use WISE. For the most part, the exchange of currencies costs a total of 0.50-1.14%, giving you significant savings over the common 2.5% currency exchange fee provided by bank cards.

There are times however when I may opt to use my TD Aeroplan Visa card, to accumulate points that help me save on flight bookings.

WISE ATM Withdrawals (WISE ~2.20% VS. 6.65% Debit card):

As previously illustrated, withdrawing cash at ATMs can often come with the heftiest transaction fees. Fortunately, with WISE, you can make 2 ATM withdrawals totalling up to 350 CAD total each month without incurring any fees. For each time you withdraw money after that, you will be charged a fixed fee of 1.50 CAD.

Also, once you withdraw more than 350 CAD, you’ll pay their ‘variable fee’ of 1.75% (varies based on country).

Check below for a table showing your fixed rates and variable rates based on country:

Example of ATM withdrawal fees Debit vs. Wise

We will illustrate and compare two scenarios when withdrawing cash from an ATM using Debit card Vs. Wise card. The first example we need to withdraw 700 CAD and the second example, we need 350 CAD.

ATM withdrawal of 700 CAD

In this second example, using WISE card for the ATM withdrawal allowed us to save 27.4$ on the transaction, a huge 3.9% savings!

ATM withdrawal of 350 CAD

In this example, using WISE card for the ATM withdrawal allowed us to save 17.25$ on the transaction, a huge 4.9% savings!

I’ve illustrated two examples. One where you need a larger sum of cash, for when you are in those countries that do not commonly accept credit cards. The other example of a 350 CAD withdrawal illustrates when you are in a country where they do accept cards but you just need some loose cash to buy food/souvenirs from local merchants.

In both examples, by using WISE, you can save up to 4.9% on the total transaction fee! 

💡 TIP: Be careful with DCC

Also make sure to choose to be charged in the local currency of the country you are traveling in (USD if in the United States, Euros if in Europe, Turkish Lira if in Turkey etc…), and refuse the ATM’s offer to convert the amount to your home currency. This is something called DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion), and although it may sound great to have the ATM show you how much you’ll be charged in your home currency, it’s actually a total scam.

It essentially allows the foreign ATM machine to use a significantly marked-up exchange rate to convert your money, thus earning them a hefty bonus. 

So make sure to choose to be charged in the local currency of the country you are in, that way your WISE card can provide you with their awesome true mid-market rate and save you money! 

With that extra cash, you can maybe buy that luchador mask your partner has been nagging you about the past week. Double win!

WISE Direct Money Transfer (savings variable):

Finally, for those merchants who don’t accept credit cards, we often need to find a direct money transfer service. It is harder to illustrate the savings with exact numbers since it highly depends on the bank/service, but WISE provides a very handy tool that shows you an easy comparison.

In this example, I am sending 1000 CAD to a recipient in Europe.

Note how Paypal, although only charging a 2.99$ transfer fee, you end up with far less money as compared to using WISE. The reason for that is the Exchange rate they use.

Remember how WISE uses the mid-market rate? In this example, 0.67. Notice how Paypal’s exchange rate is 0.64, a whopping 3% below the mid-market rate. That is why it is useful to understand all the hidden fees in such a transaction. The table above is about a year old but the same savings continue to stand true.

Loading your WISE Travel card with cash

A quick note about loading your Wise card with money balance. Since the Wise card acts like a debit card, when you withdraw money from an ATM, or pay with the card at a store, you need to have a cash balance available in your account. Most of the time, it will be your home currency, and then whatever amount Wise needs, it will convert from your home currency balance, again at the mid-market rate (as shown in the credit/debit transaction examples above).

There is also the option to open multiple balances in different currencies, that way you can also convert money to that currency during advantageous periods and hold it in your account until you need to use it. 

But that means you need to first load cash into your account. What kind of fees does that incur?

Fortunately, loading cash costs very little. I recently put 800 CAD into my account and was only charged 1.84$ (a tiny 0.23%).

WISE Travel card review

Beyond the amazing savings that you can get by using WISE when travelling, here is our review on its usability, security, and two other distinct advantages of the card. 

World Wise Usability

Now that you understand just how much you can save using the WISE card vs your bank card, the other important criterion to evaluate is its real-world usability. We have now travelled to over 10 countries in the past few years using the WISE card and it has worked under all scenarios.

Whether you are having a trip through Vietnam, Japan, Guatemala, Turkey, or just about anywhere else in the world, WISE will work for you! In fact, WISE can hold and deal with over 40 currencies around the world!    

I frequently use it to withdraw cash at an ATM abroad, and have also used it to send money directly to a merchant. If the other user has WISE, it is super easy to transfer money to them. If they don’t have WISE, then you can send money directly to their bank account using your WISE account. 

Security

Opening an account is very easy and can be done in under 10 minutes, going through all the verification steps. After that, they will send you a physical WISE travel card as well as a digital card that can be used immediately.

WISE is also extremely secure as they have a dedicated fraud and security team working to protect your money, they use 2-factor authentification, and they hold your money in established financial institutions.

We have also felt very secure using WISE since they immediately send you notifications once there are any transactions or logins to your account. 

There are also two more very helpful advantages that we have noticed with WISE

Card can be quickly replaced while abroad

If the ATM ever eats your card, you are able to easily freeze your card in the app, and then order another card. The WISE card can be delivered almost anywhere in the world and takes around a week to arrive. With my bank debit card on the other hand, they have significant limitations on if they will send you another debit/credit card while abroad.

This happened to us when our credit card got frauded, and we had to cancel the card. The bank however was unwilling to send us another credit card and the only way to get it was to go to our home bank branch. This would be very inconvenient as we were travelling for several months.

So we were glad to have WISE knowing that if anything happens to the card, we could get a replacement.

Two-factor authentification

When trying to pay for something like airplane tickets online, there is frequently some sort of two-factor verification required. Using my VISA card, they will often try to send me a text message with a code to authenticate the order.

When I am abroad, receiving these text messages can often be glitchy and oftentimes I never even receive them. This means that I am unable to process the transaction.

With WISE, however, you can either receive a text message or authenticate it directly by logging into the WISE app on your phone. This has ensured that all my online transactions while abroad goes through seamlessly.

Summary: Wise Travel Card Review

Hopefully, this guide has helped you better understand the various fees we need to consider when making foreign transactions/withdrawals and that the real-life examples have shown you just how much money you can save with WISE.

I was skeptical at first but after the first time where I had to send 300€ to our Turkish Gulet voyage while traveling through Kas Turkey, and I was only charged 1.50CAD and given the mid-market rate, I was convinced! The Wise Travel Card has yet to fail us through our extensive travels, and it is for this reason that we highly recommend it to all our traveling friends!

To Sign up and start saving, GET WISE. With this signup code, you will also get a fee-free transfer of up to 800 CAD! This is perfect for when you have a big trip or service to pay for soon!

Looking for more travel inspiration?

Incredible volcanoes and ancient Mayan civilizations: Tikal and Antigua in Guatemala.

Hiking in the Andes and discovering Machu Picchu: Travel itinerary in Peru, hiking to Machu Picchu

Exploring ancient cave dwellings and riding hot air balloons in Cappadocia. Find the most unique cave hotels in Cappadocia.

Exploring and sailing on the Turkish Coast

Hiking in one of the US’s best national parks and road tripping through Utah

Discover Vietnam including the North on the Ha Giang loop, or venturing into the Unesco town of Hoi An.