Best credit card for a world tour

Which is the best Swiss credit card to take with me on a world tour. Which has the lowest costs for paying in many different currencies? Which ahs the best exchange rates? How can I cut the cost of changing money and using credit cards when travelling?

Greetings,

A world tour normally involves a great deal of transactions in many different currencies. Caryying some internationally accepted currency with you in cash is generally a good idea, especially if your world tour includes countries in which credit cards are not widely accepted.

Swiss banks generally let customers purchase foreign currencies like U.S. dollars, euro and Japanese yen at the bank's going rate without paying commissions paying commissions. You can find tips in our guide to purchasing foreign currency.

The moneyland.ch credit card comparison makes it easy to find the credit cards which charge the lowest foreign transaction fees. Just select the "Abroad only user" profile.

Many Swiss banks offer credit cards based on the euro or U.S. dollar. When you use these cards to pay in countries which use the euro or in the U.S. (with a U.S. dollar credit card), you do not pay a foreign transaction fee on top of the cost of the bank's exchange spread. However, you will still pay the exchange spread if you pay your credit card bill in Swiss francs or change money into the relevant foreign currency to pay your card bill.

An alternative is to apply for a credit card from a foreign bank. Some foreign banks, like the German DKB bank, do not charge foreign transaction fees for their credit cards. That means you only pay in the way of the exchange spread. This applies to debit cards as well. Swiss banks generally charge a fee for withdrawals at ATMs outside of Switzerland.

Best regards from Moneyguru

More on this topic:
Guide to foreign currency exchange
Guide to credit card foreign transaction fees