1

I would not get a travel card (pretty useless in a country where the currency isn't there).

Try to get the 28 Degrees Card or an Account that allows free overseas withdrawls.

2

Get a Mastercard and a Visa as in some places only one or the other will be accepted, or one will get a much better rate.

3

I've only used visa and MC, not only in South Am but everywhere I travelled. Visa debit card for ATM withdrawals and MC credit card for payments (more rarely). I also carry a small backup in cash, about US$100, for emergencies.

4

You just need fx and transaction fee free debit and optionally credit card. Depending on your place of residency you have several options.

5

@tren84

With the 28 degrees ccard, do you know if most / all countries in South America (& Central America if you know) offer free withdrawals on their ATMs?

6

I have a credit card that allows oversees withdrawals without a charge from the provider. However the bank you are making the withdrawal from can charge.

From memory I was charged in argentina and chile but not in Bolivia. I don't think I was charged in peru but can't remember.

7

Its a mastercard and is accepted in pretty much every place. And is free withdrawls (But you still have to pay fees - like paying the bank/atm fee in the country your in and a conversion fee).

8

No charges can be an illusive benefit. You need to look closer and compare ROE. What is not paid as a fee, may be added to a higher ROE. In other words, you should look at how much you get for a dollar, with vs. without a fee.

9

No fee for me means both not withdraw and no fx fee and there are cards like this in the almost any market (in Poland Citi one offers something like this, but card currency is EUR, I'm unaware of any cards like this in PLN)
Schwab for US
28 deg - for OZ
Nothing for Canada as far as I know
(the closest is Select Service in TD, no ATM fees, but they strike you with 2,5% FX fee)

Anybody from UK that can recommend something similar? We can make a list and ask to make it a sticky as this question is asked over and over again.

10

As the OP is Australian you have some options but they are limited. Following info is for Australian debit/credit cards suitable for travelers.

At the moment the 28 degrees master card is your best bet. There is no international transaction fee and the forex rates are very good, similar to what you see on xe. This is a credit card so you must be approved to receive one and remember to top it up to avoid absurd interest rates.

Citibank have an account called Citibank Plus which offers similar benefits to 28 degrees. Online reviews say the forex rate is good and there is not transaction fee. However, there are a lot of complaints about their customer service. It's a visa debit, not credit card. It's also a fee free account so you could leave it idol for years between trips without paying anything. I've actually ordered this card and waiting for it to arrive in the mail, hopefully it's good :-) Personally I found the account very easy to open even from overseas. Whether or not the Bolivian postal service delivers the card is another story.

NAB used to have a very good option called Gold Banking but it has been recently scrapped.

Travel cards that you preload are useless in SAM because you cannot load them with local currency (except in Ecuador with $US). Those types of cards are only useful for Europe, USA, UK etc. Even then you are better off with 28 degrees or Citibank.

Try using any normal ATM debit card and you will get royally screwed. Most charge around AUD$5 plus 2-3% of the transaction. This works out to be around 5% of your hard earned cash going straight to one of the "big four". I worked out I could save $1000 (on a 20K trip) in ATM fee's by changing banks when I left home some 18 months ago. Definitely worth the effort.