We all love it when we manage to save a bit of money on things we’d buy anyway. Discount codes and cashback deals are great, but for some reason many of us still shy away from fintech cards and alternative financial services. Yet these payment cards are one of the simplest ways to cut down on payment fees and save money on everyday purchases.
Financial companies are happy to reward you for shopping with their payment card. They earn commissions on your purchases and pass a portion of that back to you as an incentive for using their services. By taking advantage of this, you can easily pocket up to 7% off virtually anything you buy.
The same principle applies to payments abroad and currency conversion. Did you know that by using a Revolut card to buy euros or any other foreign currency — instead of visiting a bureau de change or your high street bank — you can save around 5% just thanks to better exchange rates?
Because we personally use and combine payment cards from various fintech startups to get the maximum savings, we decided to show you which ones are the best.
Each card serves a slightly different purpose, so you’ll need to decide which features matter most to you. Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from getting all of them 😉
Twisto – The Payment App That Simplifies Your Life
Twisto is a Czech fintech project that works similarly to a credit card. You get a monthly spending limit that you can’t exceed (it gradually increases as you prove you’re a reliable payer), and once a month you settle everything in one go.
How Can You Save with Twisto?
The Twisto card offers cashback (up to 13% of your purchase amount returned to you) on a wide range of online services: pharmacies, clothing retailers, Booking.com, Aliexpress.com, and more. You currently have over 150 major online shops to choose from, and the selection keeps growing.
On top of that, at hundreds of e-shops you can buy with a single click and only pay after your order has been delivered (seriously!).
Key benefits of the Twisto card:
- Cashback up to 13%, averaging 2–3%
- Better exchange rates for payments abroad
- You can pay even when your account balance is zero
- Free payment card and payment wristband
Extra perks when you subscribe to the monthly premium account:
- Travel insurance for the whole family, valid worldwide
- Twisto Snap (forward an invoice by email and Twisto pays it for you)
- 3% discount on all foreign transactions
- Cashback through the Mastercard Priceless Specials programme
- Virtual payment card
The Twisto card is a MasterCard, and once you register it with the Mastercard Priceless Specials programme, you unlock additional discount coupons and cashback opportunities.
Twisto is still actively recruiting new customers, and every new sign-up gets a €2 bonus. Just apply for a card, and once it arrives you can spend that bonus straight away.
Interested in Twisto? Read our detailed review of all their services.
Order your Twisto card and get a €2 bonusRevolut – How to Save on Payment Fees Abroad
Revolut is a card primarily for those of you who travel frequently or regularly pay in foreign currencies. It’s also perfectly suited for domestic payments, and Revolut holds a UK banking licence, so it’s fully regulated. The app also lets you trade stocks and cryptocurrencies without commission.
You can set up a Revolut account in minutes via the mobile app, and within a couple more minutes your card is on its way. Think of Revolut as a bank account on steroids. You can effortlessly pay in over 150 currencies, with your money converted at the real interbank exchange rate — no hidden payment fees.
You top up your Revolut card with money, and the easiest way is via your existing bank’s debit card. A bank transfer works just as smoothly.
Within the app you can open accounts in 24 different currencies and freely convert your money between them whenever you like.
Cards with Toggleable Features and Disposable Virtual Cards
Revolut cards are also extremely secure. The moment you realise you’ve lost your card (or you’re just being cautious), you can instantly freeze it in the app. Revolut will send you a new one, and if you find the old card later, just unfreeze it with a single tap.
The GPS-based security feature deserves a special mention. If you always carry your phone with mobile data turned on, the card automatically checks whether you’re physically present at the location where a payment is being made. If someone has stolen your card and tries to use it a few streets away, tough luck — the transaction will be declined.
More Revolut Benefits
- The app automatically categorises your spending
- Budgeting tools — set monthly limits for each spending category
- Round-up feature that saves your spare change automatically
- Instant push notifications for every transaction
- Free ATM withdrawals abroad
- Virtual payment cards
- Commission-free stock trading
If you opt for a monthly Premium plan, you’ll also get access to cryptocurrency accounts, discounted insurance (travel and mobile), and the ability to hold multiple cards.
Interested in the Revolut card? Read our detailed review of all their services.
Order your free Revolut cardCurve – One Card to Rule Them All
One card to rule them all. If you’ve got several bank accounts with their own debit cards, chances are your wallet is bursting at the seams. How would you like to carry just one card that’s linked to all the others?
That’s exactly what Curve offers. You sign up via the mobile app, order a free Curve payment card, and add all your existing cards to the app. Once the card arrives, activate it and from then on you only need to carry the one.
Before you pay, you simply switch to whichever underlying card you want to use in the app — or you can reassign the payment afterwards. Curve calls this “Go Back in Time” — you can change which card a transaction is charged to for up to 14 days after the purchase.
With Curve you also earn cashback, much like Twisto. Since it’s a UK-based service, the partner selection is geared towards international brands — think Tesco, Lidl, IKEA, H&M, Zara, Netflix, and more.
Enter our promo code “UUATX” when you register and order your card to receive £5 — so why not give it a go?
Order your Curve cardTips and Tricks for Your Vacation
Don’t Overpay for Flights
Search for flights on Kayak. It’s our favorite search engine because it scans the websites of all airlines and always finds the cheapest connection.
Book Your Accommodation Smartly
The best experiences we’ve had when looking for accommodation (from Alaska to Morocco) are with Booking.com, where hotels, apartments, and entire houses are usually the cheapest and most widely available.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Good travel insurance will protect you against illness, accidents, theft, or flight cancellations. We’ve had a few hospital visits abroad, so we know how important it is to have proper insurance arranged.
Where we insure ourselves: SafetyWing (best for everyone) and TrueTraveller (for extra-long trips).
Why don’t we recommend any Czech insurance company? Because they have too many restrictions. They set limits on the number of days abroad, travel insurance via a credit card often requires you to pay medical expenses only with that card, and they frequently limit the number of returns to the Czech Republic.
Find the Best Experiences
Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can book guided walks, trips, skip-the-line tickets, tours, and much more. We always find some extra fun there!
