Best travel cards for India in the UK

If you're planning a trip to India and weighing your payment options, travel money cards are an excellent choice. Not only are they secure and reliable, but they also help you stay on budget during your holiday. They’re among the safest and most convenient ways to spend while travelling outside the UK, and some even allow you to use them at home for free.

In this guide, we’ll help you find the best travel card for India. We’ll compare the features of different cards so you can choose the one that best suits your spending habits and needs. We’ll also provide some general travel tips for India.

We’ll also show you an alternative, the Wise debit card. It’s designed for low-cost spending in India (and elsewhere), automatically converting your pounds to the local currency at the great mid-market exchange rate, only adding a tiny, transparent conversion fee*.

Learn more about the Wise debit card 💳

Best travel cards for India compared

Let’s compare a few of the best travel cards for India and point out their differences:

Caxton Red card

One of the best payment options for frequent travellers is Caxton’s Red card. The card itself doesn’t support loading Indian rupee, but you can add your pounds onto the card instead and the card automatically exchanges currency when needed. There are no currency exchange markups.

There’s a £8 monthly card fee, but if you travel and spend a lot, this still might be right for you. Although you'll be paying a fee, you get an exchange rate with no markup, so the cost of the card and the good exchange rate will balance each other out.¹

Once you return from your trip, you can just sell your currency back to Caxton. They buy back any unused currency at the same rate you bought it from them. Additionally, each time you use this card to spend in the UK, you get reward points.¹

The Caxton Red card doesn’t have any ATM fees.⁶ You can withdraw up to £300 twice a day from your account and load between £50 and £12,000 at once. Shop transactions are limited to 20 per day.⁷

Revolut Indian Rupee Card

You can also use Revolut’s currency card in India. This travel card lets you hold and use 36 currencies while travelling, including Indian rupees. You can order the card via the app and choose to add it to your mobile wallet or have it delivered to your address.⁴

The exact fees and limits depend on the Revolut plan you choose. With the Standard plan, you get 5 free ATM withdrawals or a £200 ATM withdrawal limit per month, whichever comes first. You can also exchange up to £1,000 per month without additional fees, after which a 1% markup will apply.⁵

The Standard plan card is free of charge and allows you to set a spending limit in the app, helping you stay within your travel budget. If you're looking for more premium features for your travel card, consider one of Revolut’s paid plans.⁴

Sainsbury's Bank Travel Money Card

Sainsbury’s Bank travel card is a great option for travellers, especially if you're a Nectar member. While the card uses the Mastercard exchange rate, Nectar programme participants enjoy better rates.

The card allows you to use pounds and 14 other currencies, though Indian rupees are not one of them. However, you can load the card with pounds, exchange them, and use the balance for payments. There are no foreign transaction or ATM fees, except those charged by individual banks.³

If you need the card quickly, you can collect it the same day from a local in-store bureau. Alternatively, you can have it delivered to your address, though this may take up to 8 days. Simply visit their website and click 'order for collection' for the first option, or choose 'order for delivery' if you'd prefer it sent to your home.³

You can manage your finances in India through the dedicated Sainsbury’s Bank Travel Money Card app. Plus, as the card detects your location and automatically selects the appropriate currency, you won’t have to worry about any extra hassle.

What is a travel card?

A travel card is a payment card that you can preload with foreign currencies for use abroad. It can be used for both spending and ATM withdrawals overseas. However, don’t confuse them with travel credit cards, which typically don’t hold foreign currency but offer different rewards and perks when you spend.

Travel cards offer various benefits, but the most important one is safety. Since you can only load a specific amount of money onto your card, your account funds are protected in case of theft. Additionally, because these cards are designed for travel, their foreign transaction fees are usually lower than those of regular debit or credit cards.

A bonus perk that travel cards have is that you can only spend the amount you've loaded. This makes it much easier to stay on budget!

Travel tips for India

As you prepare for India, here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind.

Depending on where you're travelling in India, you might be able to get by with just your mobile wallet. Digital payments are one of the most popular payment methods in the country, with local apps like UPI available.⁸ However, if you plan to go off the beaten track, make sure to carry some Indian rupees in cash as well.

When thinking about money in India, cash is necessary for smaller transactions, such as public transport, taxis and street food. But if you want to blend in with the locals, consider having someone set up your UPI app. This will allow you to scan QR codes and pay using your connected card and bank account.⁹

If you find yourself needing to use an ATM during your trip, you’ll be happy to know that India has one of the largest ATM networks in the world. Over 60 banks operate more than 250,000 ATMs across the country. The withdrawal limit is 10,000 INR per transaction, but there is usually no daily transaction limit.⁹

Travelling abroad? Choose the Wise debit Card

This was our guide to finding the best travel card for India. We hope your perfect travel companion is somewhere on our list.

And if you want another option for spending abroad without worrying about exchange rate markups and hidden fees, the Wise debit card could be a great solution.

Open a Wise account online and you can order the Wise card for a one-time fee of £7. You can use this clever card in 150+ countries, including India. It automatically converts your pounds to local currency whenever you spend using the mid-market exchange rate, only adding a tiny, transparent conversion fee* – or it’s free if you already have the local currency in your Wise account.

You also get two free ATM withdrawals for up to 200 GBP (or currency equivalent) each month.

Sign up with Wise for free 💰

Sources used:

Sources last checked on date: 09-Dec-2024