Finance Tools

Travel Money Exchange Calculator (Cash vs Card)

Compare the all-in cost of getting foreign currency via cash exchange vs card payments using exchange rates and fees.

Travel Money Exchange Calculator (Cash vs Card)

When traveling, you can exchange cash or pay by card. This tool compares the all-in cost using exchange rates and fees, so you can choose the cheaper option.

Baseline “true” exchange rate for comparison.
How much you plan to exchange/spend.
Cash Exchange
The cash exchange rate you’re offered.
Card Payment
If you don’t know it, leave blank to assume card uses mid-market.
Foreign transaction fee percentage.

How it works

We compare each option to the mid-market baseline. Cash uses the offered rate minus any cash fees. Card uses the card rate (or mid-market if unknown) and applies the FX fee to your base-currency cost.

FAQ

Is the card rate really mid-market?
Often it’s close, but not always. If you know your card network rate, enter it for accuracy.

What about ATM fees?
Add them as additional “Cash Flat Fee” if you withdraw cash abroad.

How to use this travel money exchange calculator (cash vs card)

  1. Enter the mid-market exchange rate.
  2. Enter the cash exchange offered rate and fees (if any).
  3. Enter the card rate (or use mid-market) and card FX fee (%).
  4. Enter the amount you plan to spend/exchange.
  5. Click Calculate to compare total cost and effective rates for cash vs card.

Example

Compare exchanging cash at 1.05 with a $5 fee vs paying by card with a 2% FX fee at 1.10:

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