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My Experience Travelling With A Starling Card
Me and my husband went travelling around the world with our kids. Visiting 14 different countries in 190 days, covering 31,113 miles.
I had my Starling Bank Card with me the whole time. Naturally, I did my research before I left, and Starling came out as one of the better options for using as a travel card.
We were hopping from continent to continent, and I needed a card that could come with me. I wanted it to be cheap and allow me to keep using it in all of these different places.
If you are preparing a trip then you may also be interested in.. 5 Must Haves To Save Money Whilst Travelling
Money Worries When Travelling and How Starling Fixes Them
Starling Banks Fees Abroad
You might be worried about spending money abroad and what the fees are going to be. Good news, Starling claims that you can pay by card anywhere and encounter no fees for doing so.
This also goes for withdrawing cash too. This is great because there are times when you want to spend in cash, maybe at a market or the beach. You also want to be able to spend your money without constantly thinking about the fees involved for that.
Watch out for ATM charges
Starling don’t charge a fee for using ATMs abroad, but the ATM itself may charge a fee. So you need to be careful when using these machines in other countries or even here in the UK.
Fee Comparison
As an example as to what some of the banks charge. HSBC charges £4.75 on a £100 withdrawal outside of the UK.
So that’s quite a lot compared to the nothing that is charged by Starling.
Check against your bank using the comparison section on the Starling Bank travel page.
How Does Starling Calculate Exchange Rates?
When it comes to things like an exchange rate, they use the MasterCard exchange rate with nothing added on top. So it’s about as good as you can get in terms of exchange rates and also makes it a really flexible card for using when travelling abroad.
The last thing you want to be doing is thinking, I’m going to order a round of cocktails, but I don’t know what the exchange rate is or if this is going to be a really expensive conversion.
You just want to spend your money and know you are getting maximum value because it’s there to be spent and not to be going towards fees.
Staying In Control
I like to see what I’m spending, and that can be really hard when you’re working in local currencies. Thankfully, Starling sends you an instant notification anytime you spend from your card and includes how much you spend in the local currency and in your own currency. This can be really helpful if you had put a fixed amount aside for spending, you can keep track of exactly what you have spent and how much it cost you in the conversion rate.
It can be really hard to juggle different conversion rates and we had this a lot when we were travelling. But to get from country to country, you’d have to do with a new currency and figure out what the conversion rate was. So it’s great to get that instant notification because it can help you keep on track with your spending money budget.
If you find yourself dipping too far into the pot you put aside, then you might find something useful here.. 5 Travel-Friendly Side Hustles You Can Do Around The World
Top Tip For Foreign Exchanges
If you’re ever given the option to pay in the local currency or in your own currency, always choose to go in the local currency, it is likely that the rate that you would get from the merchant is going to be far worse than the rate that you will get through your card.
So always opt to pay the local currency and let your card do the conversions for you.
Where Can You Use Your Starling Card Abroad
Can we use them in the shops or are we even going to be able to take the money out?
Your Starling card can be used pretty much wherever you see the MasterCard logo.
There are some exceptions to this, and there are some countries that you can’t use your Starling card in, such as North Korea. There is a full list of these on their website.
So you can use your card at ATMs and shops pretty much worldwide, wherever they accept MasterCard.
Restrictions From Some Other Banks
Now, some banks or credit card providers will lock you out of your account if you start spending money abroad and you haven’t told them.
So normally the recommendation is to let them know before you go, Starling however don’t insist on this they will not lock you out of your card if you suddenly start spending money abroad. This is largely thanks to the level of security and controls that you have within the app itself.
Access All Features Abroad
You can still use the Nearby Payments feature, Split The Bill feature and everything else you usually can from your app. These can make it easy to manage money transfers or payments if you are out and about travelling on holiday with friends.
You also get to see spending habits, with their Insights, if you are anywhere for a while and that can help keep you on track. Seeing the trends of my spending taught me a lot when preparing to travel.
Is a Starling Card Safe To Use Abroad?
Making sure that our money is safe is always important but it becomes a big focus when abroad. We’ve all heard the horror stories of people losing their cards or getting scammed.
The Starling Bank App has a feature inside that allows you to lock your card. This is great. If you lose your card or your handbag is stolen and all your cards are in it because it means that nobody will then be able to use that card. You can still spend from your digital wallet whilst you are waiting to get a new card.
Lost Your Starling Card Abroad
You can get a new card pretty much sent anywhere there are some terms and conditions to this, like you have to be there to sign for your new card and there is a £60 charge. This is to cover some of the fees involved in customs and shipping your card safely around the world. That’s maybe an expensive delivery but it’s nice to know it’s an option, particularly if you are out of the country for a long time.
Starling Bank Customer Support Abroad
They also have 24/7 in app support, which is fantastic. If you’re living in a completely different time zone, you don’t want to have to use UK customer service time zones. You want to be able to contact someone at any time of day and get the support that you need.
So I am a big fan of my Starling Bank account. It was really easy to keep track of our spending and budgeting using the tools. I had no problem using it anywhere or any lock-outs. (which I have had from other banks)
If we are to travel again, I will be taking my Starling Bank Card with me.
Let me know. Have you travelled or been on holiday and have you used your cards? How did it go? Any problems? Let me know in the comments.
