How The EQ Bank Card Saves Me Money When I Travel

What originally drew me to the EQ Bank Card is that it does not charge foreign transaction fees. Despite an abundance of travel cards on the Canadian market, finding one that offers no foreign transaction fees isn’t as easy as you would think. This is disappointing, because while 2.5% may not seem like a lot, it can add up really quickly, especially for someone like me who travels regularly.

Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way. When I was 22 years old, I was living in Galway, Ireland. At that time, I hated carrying cash. I was afraid that I would lose it, so I would only withdraw 20 euros at a time. This meant I visited the local bank multiple times each week and incurred foreign transaction charges multiple times a week. I racked up over $200 in those fees before I realized where my money was going.

At that time, I was very much in my broke-backpacker phase, and money was tight. Knowing I wasted $200 on something as silly as foreign transaction fees was devastating.

Thankfully, I’m no longer a broke backpacker, but that doesn’t mean I want to waste my hard-earned money on foreign banking. Yes, most foreign ATMs charge their own banking fee, which I can’t avoid. But with my EQ Bank Card, I don’t have to worry about foreign transaction fees.

The EQ Bank Card is classified as a prepaid credit card. That means I load a certain amount of money onto the card and can use it both at an ATM to withdraw cash and at local and online businesses or retailers, the same way you would use a credit card. It’s branded under the Mastercard payment network, which means it is universally accepted, so I know I won’t have an issue travelling abroad.

On top of being a victim of foreign transaction fees, I’ve also had my credit cards compromised multiple times while travelling. Most recently, while I was travelling through Africa. I had been off the grid for a few days, and when I checked my account, I discovered over $1,000 in fraudulent charges on my credit card.

Thankfully, I could dispute it, and the charges were quickly removed. However, I was told that I was on the hook for that money until my claim went through and the charges were removed.

Since the EQ Bank Card is a prepaid credit card, I can limit how much money I keep on it. Usually, I only load a couple hundred dollars on the card at a time. That way, should my card get lost or stolen, I don’t have too much money accessible to would-be thieves. Plus, if I need more, I can load it on the spot using the EQ Bank app.

The EQ Bank Card is a true no-fee card that doesn’t charge interest. Plus, I have no activation fees, monthly fees, or annual fees to worry about. As mentioned above, having no foreign transaction fees is a huge draw for my travel lifestyle, and this fee-less feature isn’t usually included in Canadian credit cards, especially ones with no annual fees. While most of my travel is international, it’s worth noting that the EQ Bank card refunds ATM fees for withdrawals made within Canada.

Additionally, the EQ Bank card is also a cash-back card. That’s right, I earn cash back at a rate of 0.5% on every purchase I make, both within Canada and abroad. Now, is 0.5% a lot? No. However, it’s better than nothing, and since this card has no annual fee and no forex fee, it really is money back in my pocket. Or rather, back on my card.

I am a big fan of my EQ Bank Card for travel. However, it’s not perfect. One incredibly important thing to note is that it will take five business days to load money into your EQ Bank account.

That’s a pretty long time. So, while you can keep your actual card balance low, you need to constantly keep tabs on your EQ bank account balance and ensure there is always money available. Otherwise, you risk being a few days without cash and will have to resort to backup credit cards, most of which charge foreign transaction fees.

However, if you keep your account loaded, you will quickly find that the EQ Bank Card can save you quite a bit of money while abroad, particularly if you travel as much as I do.