Michael Hardy You’re standing at the currency exchange counter at Heathrow, holding £500 in cash. The screen shows the rate. You do the mental math and feel vaguely sick. Then you wonder: should I have got one of those travel credit cards Martin Lewis keeps talking about?
Short answer: probably yes, but not for the reason you think. And definitely not the card your bank pushed on you last time you logged into online banking.
This guide is a no-nonsense breakdown of travel credit cards in 2026. No affiliate links. No sponsored nonsense. Just the math, the mistakes, and the specific cards worth your time.
The Core Problem: Your Bank Is Charging You to Spend Your Own Money Abroad
Most standard UK credit cards and debit cards add a foreign transaction fee of 2.75% to 3% on every purchase you make outside the UK. That’s not a small print detail. That’s £27.50 to £30 on every £1,000 you spend.
Then they add a separate cash withdrawal fee if you dare to use an ATM abroad. Typically £3 to £5 per withdrawal, plus interest from day one. Withdraw €200 in Barcelona on a standard card and you could pay £9 in fees before you’ve even ordered your first cortado.
Martin Lewis’s core message on this has been consistent for over a decade: the right travel credit card eliminates these fees entirely. No foreign transaction fee. No cash withdrawal fee (though interest still applies if you withdraw cash, so don’t).
But here’s the part most people miss: a travel credit card is not a rewards card. It’s a fee-avoidance tool first. Rewards are secondary. If you’re chasing points but still paying 3% foreign fees, you’re losing money.
What Actually Matters When Picking a Card
- Zero foreign transaction fees — non-negotiable. If the card charges these, it’s not a travel card.
- Zero cash withdrawal fees — useful for countries where cash still rules, like Japan or rural Portugal.
- Interest rate on cash withdrawals — typically 25% to 30% APR. You should never withdraw cash on a credit card unless it’s an emergency.
- Section 75 protection — any purchase between £100 and £30,000 is protected if the airline goes bust or the hotel doesn’t exist. This is a free insurance policy built into credit cards. Debit cards don’t have it.
- Annual fee — some premium travel cards charge £250+. That’s only worth it if you spend enough to earn it back in rewards.
The Cards Worth Considering in 2026
Here’s the thing: the best travel credit card for you depends on whether you want zero fees, cashback, or points. They’re not the same card. Let me break down the three main options.
Best for Fee-Free Spending: Halifax Clarity
The Halifax Clarity has been the go-to recommendation for years, and in 2026 it still holds up. Zero foreign transaction fees. Zero cash withdrawal fees. No annual fee. Representative APR is around 23.9%, but that only matters if you don’t pay it off in full each month.
The catch: no rewards. You earn nothing. But you also pay nothing in fees. For most travellers spending £1,000 to £3,000 abroad per year, this is the mathematically correct choice. The fee savings alone beat most rewards cards.
Best for Cashback: Barclaycard Rewards
The Barclaycard Rewards pays 0.25% cashback on all spending, including abroad. That’s not much — £2.50 per £1,000. But it also has zero foreign transaction fees and zero cash withdrawal fees. So you get fee-free spending plus a tiny kickback.
The real advantage over the Halifax Clarity: Barclaycard Rewards also has no fees on purchases made in the UK. The Clarity is purely a travel card. The Barclaycard works as an everyday card too. One card, no annual fee, no foreign fees, small cashback. It’s the sensible all-rounder.
Best for Points: Amex Gold or Chase Sapphire Preferred
If you’re spending £10,000+ per year on travel and dining, a points card starts to make sense. The Amex Gold earns 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent, with 2x on travel booked through Amex. The Chase Sapphire Preferred (US-focused but increasingly available to UK customers via Chase UK) earns 2x on travel and 3x on dining.
But here’s the warning: the Amex Gold charges a £195 annual fee. The Chase Sapphire Preferred charges $95. You need to be earning enough points to justify that fee. If you spend £5,000 a year on travel, the fee eats most of your rewards value. Points cards only win at higher spending levels.
Comparison Table: The Three Cards Side by Side
| Feature | Halifax Clarity | Barclaycard Rewards | Amex Gold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign transaction fee | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Cash withdrawal fee | 0% | 0% | 2.99% (min £3) |
| Annual fee | £0 | £0 | £195 |
| Rewards | None | 0.25% cashback | 1-2x points |
| Representative APR | 23.9% | 24.9% | 31.0% |
| Section 75 protection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Best for | Pure fee-free travel | Everyday + travel combo | High spenders chasing points |
My verdict: for 80% of travellers, the Halifax Clarity or Barclaycard Rewards is the right choice. The Amex Gold is only worth it if you spend over £10,000 a year on travel and dining and actually use the points. Most people don’t.
The Biggest Mistake: Treating a Travel Credit Card as Free Money
This is where Martin Lewis gets genuinely angry. A travel credit card eliminates fees. It does not eliminate interest.
If you spend £2,000 on holiday and don’t pay it off in full, you’ll be charged around 24% APR. That’s £480 a year in interest. Your fee savings were maybe £60. You’ve lost £420.
The rule is simple: only get a travel credit card if you pay it off in full every single month. If you carry a balance, you should not be using a credit card for travel. Use a prepaid travel card like Wise or Revolut instead. They also have zero or low foreign fees, but they don’t let you spend money you don’t have. No interest. No debt spiral.
When a Prepaid Card Beats a Credit Card
If you have a history of credit card debt, or you know you’ll be tempted to spend more than you can repay, get a Wise card. You load it with money before you travel. You spend only what’s on it. The exchange rates are close to the mid-market rate, and fees are transparent. You lose Section 75 protection and don’t build credit history, but you also can’t get into debt.
This is the Martin Lewis-style reality check: the best card is the one you can’t mess up with.
Five Questions to Ask Before Applying
Answer these honestly. They’ll tell you which card to get, or whether to get one at all.
- Do I pay off my credit card in full every month? If no, stop. Get a prepaid card.
- How much do I actually spend abroad per year? Under £1,000 — fee savings are modest. Over £3,000 — fee savings are significant.
- Do I need to withdraw cash abroad? If yes, Halifax Clarity or Barclaycard Rewards. If no, more options open up.
- Am I chasing points or avoiding fees? These are different goals. Don’t mix them.
- Does the card have an annual fee? If yes, calculate whether your spending justifies it. Most people’s doesn’t.
The Verdict: One Card for Most People
Here’s my position, clearly stated: for the typical traveller spending £1,000 to £3,000 abroad per year, the Halifax Clarity is the best travel credit card in 2026. Zero fees, zero annual fee, Section 75 protection, and no gimmicks. The Barclaycard Rewards is a close second if you want one card for everything and a tiny bit of cashback.
Skip the Amex Gold unless you’re a high spender who actually redeems points. Skip your bank’s own travel card — it almost certainly charges foreign fees. And skip any card with an annual fee unless you’ve done the math.
Back to that moment at Heathrow. You’re holding £500 in cash, staring at the terrible exchange rate. With the right card in your wallet, you wouldn’t be holding cash at all. You’d be tapping your Halifax Clarity at a tapas bar in Madrid, paying the exact mid-market rate, earning Section 75 protection, and paying zero fees. That’s the whole point. Not points. Not perks. Just not getting ripped off.
