Wise card as a debit card

Please write an actual title to your posts to get the attention of people who know about your guestion.
Note other posts do not have a name or salutation as the title.
Also, you are able to edit your posts and titles.

Karen, as Liz said above, titles that describe the sort of assistance you're looking for are a signal for others likely to have the knowledge/experience needed to help you.

If you're signed in, there will be the word "edit" in blue at the end of your original text. Click that, change your thread title - maybe to "Is a Wise card a good idea?" or similar - then click "Update Topic."

I looked at this post because I thought it might have an interesting/humorous "Karen" travel story....

But, I believe that a Wise card ends up being no different (with the possible exception of small fees)
than using your bank ATM card at an international ATM, which is definitely the way to go if you need cash.

At the same time, depending on your actual itinerary/needs, the need for cash is much much lower than
it used to be. A single withdrawal may be sufficient to cover your needs, or getting EUR/CHF upfront
from your US bank. Getting a new card/Wise account (if you don't have one already) seems potentially
like overkill. Just about everyone accepts credit cards now.

I agree with Shoeflyer that the need for cash is much less now than a few years ago. I just got back from 5 weeks in France and the few times I needed cash was when I was eating with others and the restaurant had difficulties splitting the bill. On my own I used ApplePay ALL the time. I did get cash out of an ATM twice using my regular bank Debit card which I have done for years. Admittedly this was FRANCE and not Germany!

Do you have credit cards set up in a phone wallet - either Apple or Google Pay?

Are you going to be traveling to different countries that you would want access to currency other than Euro or Swiss Francs?

I have a Wise card which I have used in Germany and Belgium and will be using it in both those locations again in December. It is quite good for shifting money around (very large or very small amounts) and is attractive to me because the exchange rates are very minimal. It can be used anywhere, from point of sale transactions to ATMs to tapping on on public transport, and also functions as an international bank account, with very modest interest offered, if you choose to turn on that function. I would not hesitate to get one. You can use it either on your phone or as a physical card, which cost me AUD$10. This is handy because my husband lost his card in Japan in April and just switched over to using a card on his phone, blocking the card when he was not using it. Lots of advantages.

Lavandula

Last month in France, I used my Wise card to pay for just about everything, including the dreaded péages (I’ve seen reports that some US cards don’t work at French toolbooths, but Wise euro accounts are Belgium-based, and thus “European” as far as the autoroute authorities are concerned).