What makes a travel credit card a travel credit card? Really, this is the wrong question.

There are plenty of credit cards that offer travel rewards of various kinds - from air miles or frequent flyer miles of various kinds to money off holidays from various travel providers to special deals on currency from specialist providers - but none of these offers, taken alone, are enough to make a card a travel credit card.


When one goes to do a credit card comparison the real question should be: what makes these cards unsuitable for travel?


Travel credit cards


There are several answers to this because, generally speaking, credit cards offer poor value when used abroad.


The main point to bear in mind is that most banks and other lenders will add a foreign transaction fee which is a percentage of every transaction that's made out of the UK and can add up and become expensive very quickly.


There are also often additional charges for making cash withdrawals and normal rewards that might be applied to the card, such as cash back or points schemes, will typically not be applied to the user when paying using the card.


It's worth pointing out that the extra fees tend to be applied even to debit cards so use abroad credit cards are actually even better value as travel products when compared to other products.


For example, the post office credit card doesn't have any foreign transaction fees at all.


Dynamic currency conversion


Another problem with card use abroad can be dynamic currency conversion.


This means that the merchant from whom the card holder makes a purchase asks them to make the purchase in their home currency rather than the currency of the country that they're in at that time.


This seems good for the consumer but, in fact, the system gives a much poorer exchange rate than the bank would under normal circumstances so this way of paying while travelling should be avoided at all costs.


So, with all of these things in mind: how can consumers find a travel credit card.


One of the best ways is to use a comparison site to check out the deals before signing up. As has already been mentioned it's also important not to confuse card which come with travel rewards with cards which are actually good for taking abroad.


When using reward cards that have some sort of travel aspect caution is usually advised in any case as, to be rewarding, they should be paid off in full at the end of every month.

When you're getting ready to jet off into the sun you'll need a credit card you can use there.

There are plenty of credit cards that have travel rewards - some let you rack up the air miles to get away on a plane ride for free or at reduced cost and some offer travel extras such as discounts on packaged holidays and flights or a chance to take advantage of travel insurance or travel accident insurance - but that doesn't mean their suitable for use abroad.


Security issues, a high foreign transaction limit and high fees and interest for taking out cash could all be enough to put you off paying on a credit card in the sun altogether.


Foreign transaction fees


When it comes to use abroad credit cards the foremost of these is the foreign transaction fee since it'll be applied to everything you buy in a foreign country.


This is a percentage amount of the transaction that is paid in fees and then, as with a normal credit card purchase, it's also subject to fees.


This is also applicable to cash advances including cash withdrawals at an ATM, cash back at the till and - crucially - buying foreign currency at an exchange.


Since the interest rate charged to cash is so much higher than those charged to purchases, and there's no interest-free period, it's by far preferable to pay with a card and avoid making that cash transaction altogether, wherever you are.


When you compare credit cards look for the lowest foreign transaction fee you can find.


Only a few credit cards have a 0% foreign transaction fee.


Security issues


Security issues could also be a problem when you're abroad. You're more relaxed on holiday and so more likely to let your card out of your sight.


Also, you're less likely to check your account for fraud by looking it up online and, clearly, you won't be getting your statements delivered so you wouldn't be able to check those even if you had the inclination to.


For this reason it may be worth checking the level of security protection available on your chosen credit card. This could be protection against fraud, a holiday guarantee or even a service that gets a card to you if you lose it abroad with a minimum of effort.


Whether those are available to you will depend on the prestige of your card so look for black, purple or platinum to get as many travel extras as possible: banks are still largely stuck in the stone age and only expect the rich to get away.