Jul 24, 2025, 04:52 PM IST

Confused between Forex and Credit cards for your international trip? Learn which saves more

Muskan Verma

 Choosing the right card for your international spends can impact your savings. Here’s how forex cards compare with credit cards in terms of fees, benefits, and value.

With rising travel costs, every rupee saved matters. Both credit cards and forex cards offer benefits, but your pick depends on where and how you plan to spend abroad.

Forex Card vs Credit Card: What’s the smarter pick for travel?

A forex card is a prepaid card where you load foreign currency at locked-in exchange rates. It protects you from currency fluctuations and is ideal for managing a set travel budget.

What is a Forex Card

Credit cards help you earn rewards and cashback on international spends, but they may come with forex markup charges up to 3.5% and high ATM withdrawal fees.

Credit card offers

Credit cards charge up to 3.5% markup on foreign currency transactions. Forex cards have no such fee, letting you save more when spending abroad.

Forex markup fee

Forex cards allow nominal-fee cash withdrawals. Credit card cash withdrawals are costly, come with high interest, and offer no interest-free period.

 Why Forex cards are safer for ATMs?

If you miss repayment, credit cards charge heavy interest on all dues and new spends. Forex cards don’t carry this risk, as you're using preloaded funds.

Credit cards can be risky

Forex cards lock the rate at the time of loading. With credit cards, you get the live rate + markup at the time of transaction, which can hurt your budget.

Locked exchange rate

Opt for a forex card if you want to avoid unexpected charges, lock in exchange rates, and stick to a preset budget while travelling.

Choose Forex card if you want control and simplicity