All Airports · Money Management Guide · Last checked 18 October 2026

Credit Card or Cash Abroad: When Each One Actually Wins

"Just use your card, cash is outdated" is common advice, and it is sometimes right. It is also incomplete, because a card can cost more than cash in some cases and less in others, and because there are three things that decide which one you should reach for: the fees on your particular card, the setting on your card that lets it work abroad at all, and what you are paying for. This guide sets out what the sources we found say about each, uses made-up numbers to show how to compare, and is plain about what we could not confirm.

An earlier version of this page said that foreign transaction fees on cards are "often 1 to 3 per cent" and are "usually smaller" than the markup you would pay exchanging enough cash. It also said that dynamic currency conversion markups are "frequently worse" than either a card's normal fee or a compared cash exchange, and that a lost card "can typically be frozen and disputed". We found support for the 1 to 3.5 per cent range and for the safety point, but not for the claim that a card fee is usually smaller than a cash markup. We found no dated cash markup figures, so that comparison has been replaced with a method. Where a detail rests on a single source, we say so. Everything was last checked on 18 October 2026.

The short version

• Foreign card fees in the sources we read run from nothing on a zero-markup card to about 3.5 per cent, plus GST, on several Indian products. On a 3.5 per cent fee, the real cost is about 4.13 per cent.
• Whether a card beats cash depends on the gap between the counter's rate and the mid-market rate, which we could not find a dated figure for. You can measure it yourself in a minute.
• Under RBI rules, a card issued in India has international use switched off when it is issued, and you must switch it on. Do this before you fly.
• RBI's customer liability rules cap what you pay for unauthorised card transactions if you report quickly, which is a real advantage over cash. Cash that is lost or stolen is gone.
• Some costs can only be paid in cash. We found one clear example, the Thai visa on arrival fee, for passports that still use visa on arrival.
• Always say no if a machine offers to charge you in your home currency.

What a card really costs abroad

The charge on a card is rarely one number. The figures below come from our guide to ATMs and forex cards, and each carries the caveat given there.

• Business Standard, citing Bankbazaar in March 2025, puts credit card foreign transaction fees at 1 to 3.5 per cent, and a cash advance at 2.5 to 3.5 per cent plus interest.
• moneyHOP, a commercial comparison site, describes State Bank of India charges as 3 per cent plus 18 per cent GST on debit card purchases abroad, and 3.5 per cent plus GST on credit card purchases. We have not checked this against the bank's own page.
• SharpScroll, an independent website, lists four credit cards that advertise zero forex markup and notes that 18 per cent GST turns a 3.5 per cent fee into 4.13 per cent.

The arithmetic is worth knowing. A 3.5 per cent fee multiplied by 1.18 is 4.13 per cent, and a 3 per cent fee multiplied by 1.18 is 3.54 per cent. The "zero markup" card removes the bank's fee. It does not necessarily remove other charges, which is why our guide on ATMs and forex cards separates them.

What cash really costs

For cash exchanged at a counter, the cost is the gap between the counter's rate and the mid-market rate. We could not find a dated figure for how large that gap normally is at an airport, and we removed the "8 to 15 per cent" claim from our other guides for that reason. So we cannot tell you that cash is cheaper or dearer than a card in general.

What we can tell you is how to find out. Our mid-market guide shows the check: take the mid-market rate on your phone, subtract the counter's rate, divide by the mid-market rate and multiply by 100. If that gap is below your card's total fee, cash is cheaper for that exchange. If it is above, the card is cheaper.

Cash from an ATM has its own cost. In Bangkok, two 2026 guides put the machine fee at about 220 baht per foreign card withdrawal, on top of whatever your own bank charges. That is 2.2 per cent on a 10,000 baht withdrawal, by our arithmetic, and your card's own fee comes on top.

A worked example, with made-up numbers

The numbers below are invented. They are not any bank's or counter's real charges. You plan to spend the equivalent of 1,000 units of your home currency.

• Card with a 3.5 per cent fee and 18 per cent GST: cost about 4.13 per cent, or 41.3 units.
• Card with zero markup and no other foreign fees: cost 0 units, as long as no other fee applies.
• Cash at a counter that is 3 per cent from the mid-market rate: cost 30 units.
• Cash from an ATM where the machine fee works out at 2 per cent, plus a card fee of 3.5 per cent with GST: cost about 6.13 per cent, or 61.3 units.

On these made-up figures, the zero-markup card wins, the cash counter beats the ordinary card, and the ATM route is the most expensive. Change the numbers and the order changes. That is the point: the answer depends on your card and on the counter in front of you.

Set up your card before you fly

Most guides skip this, and it is the one that stops a card working at all. The RBI circular of 15 January 2020 on enhancing the security of card transactions, as summarised by MediaNama on 16 January 2020, says cards issued or reissued must be enabled only for ATM and point-of-sale use by default, and that issuers must let customers switch international use on or off, and set limits, at any time through an app, internet banking, ATMs or a phone line. It also requires an SMS or email alert for any change in a card's status. Federal Bank's page, updated on 18 October 2026, confirms its credit cards have international use disabled when issued, and says a customer can switch it on in its app for each channel: point of sale, online, ATM or contactless.

Our advice, which is not a sourced fact, is to do three things at home: switch on international use for the channels you need, set a limit that matches your trip, and tell yourself how to switch the card off from your phone if it is lost.

Safety: what a lost card and lost cash have in common

The old version of this page said that a lost card can typically be frozen and disputed. The RBI circular of 6 July 2017 on customer liability gives that claim real content for Indian accounts:

• If the fraud is the bank's fault, or a third party's breach that you report within three working days of the bank's message, the customer's liability is zero.
• If a third-party breach is reported in four to seven working days, the liability is capped at the transaction value or a table amount, whichever is lower. For most savings accounts and credit cards with limits up to 5 lakh rupees, the cap is 10,000 rupees.
• If you were negligent, for example by sharing your credentials, you bear the loss until you report it.
• Banks must credit the disputed amount within 10 working days of being told, and the bank has to prove that you are liable.

This is Indian regulation for Indian-issued accounts. It does not cover a loss of cash, and we did not find any equivalent protection for cash. It also depends on how fast you report, which is hard from a foreign airport with a dead phone, so keep your issuer's number somewhere that is not your wallet.

A tax point for Indian cards

Indian travellers often ask whether tax is collected at source on card spending abroad. The sources we found disagree. A Standard Chartered Bank notice says that from 1 April 2026, tax collected at source under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme is nil up to 10 lakh rupees and 2 per cent above it for education and medical purposes, 20 per cent above 10 lakh rupees for other purposes, and 2 per cent on overseas tour packages. The same notice says that using international credit cards overseas is not treated as an LRS remittance until further notice, so TCS does not apply to that spending. An undated ClearTax page says the opposite, with 20 per cent above a threshold, but its text appears to date from 2023. Because the two conflict, we cannot settle it, and this is not tax advice. Ask your card issuer what applies to your card and your spending.

Where cash is the only option

Some costs cannot be put on a card. The example we found is the Thai visa on arrival, for passports that still use it, where a Thai embassy page says the 2,000 baht fee is cash only, in Thai baht. Since the September 2026 changes, that visa is reported to apply to only a few nationalities, and our visa on arrival guide explains who. Changi's own SIM page says cash is accepted only in Singapore dollars for SIM purchases, though cards are accepted as well.

Beyond those, we did not find a source on which countries or shops have unreliable card acceptance, so we make no claim about it. Our advice is to carry a small amount of local cash for the first taxi, a meal and anything cash-only, and to ask your hotel before you arrive.

The question to say no to

If a card terminal or ATM asks whether you want to be charged in your home currency, choose the local currency. The sources we read give different sizes for this extra cost: Business Standard puts the fee at about 1 per cent plus taxes, and SharpScroll puts DCC markups at 5 to 8 per cent. They disagree, and neither is a measured study, so we cannot give a single number. What both agree on is that you can decline it. Cash avoids the question completely, since DCC is something card terminals offer. Our guide to Dynamic Currency Conversion explains it.

Splitting your budget between cash and card

Most trips use both, and the split matters less than the habit of checking. As an illustration with made-up numbers, suppose you expect to spend 1,000 units abroad and keep 100 of them in cash for the first taxi, a meal and anything cash-only.

• If that cash is exchanged at a counter 3 per cent from the mid-market rate, it costs 3 units.
• If the other 900 units go on a card with a 4.13 per cent total fee, that costs about 37.2 units.
• If the other 900 go on a zero-markup card, the card part costs nothing.

The cash portion is small, so the gap at the counter matters little, while the card portion is large, so the card's fee matters a lot. That is why our advice is to spend your effort on the card you will use most. The counter check is still worth doing, because it takes a minute and it protects you from a poor rate.

How to choose, in practice

This is our advice, based on the sources above. It is not a sourced fact.

• Big payments such as a hotel: check your card's total fee. If it is zero or low, use the card. If it is about 4 per cent, compare it with a counter gap you have measured.
• Small daily spending: a card is convenient, but a fixed fee on a small cash withdrawal is a worse deal than a card payment, so avoid many small withdrawals.
• Mandatory cash costs: carry a small amount of local cash.
• Safety: keep most of your spending on a card, and keep the issuer's number safe.
• If the terminal asks about your home currency, say no.

What we could not confirm

• A dated figure for the gap between counter and mid-market rates at airports.
• That a card fee is usually smaller than a cash markup. The old claim had no source.
• How large DCC markups are. The two sources disagree.
• Which countries or shop types have unreliable card acceptance.
• Whether TCS applies to international credit card spending. The sources conflict.
• The current charges on the State Bank of India products. The source is a commercial site.
• Whether other issuers disable international use by default in the same way as Federal Bank. The RBI summary says they must.

A simple plan

1. Check your card's foreign fee, its ATM fee and its cash advance fee in its fee document.
2. Switch on international use for the channels you need, and set a limit.
3. Note the mid-market rate for your destination currency.
4. Carry a small amount of local cash for mandatory cash costs.
5. Choose the local currency whenever a terminal asks.

FAQ

Is a credit card better than cash abroad?
It depends on your card's total fee and on the counter's gap from the mid-market rate. A zero-markup card can beat cash, and an ordinary card with a 3.5 per cent fee plus GST can cost more than a counter with a small gap.

Why does my Indian card not work abroad?
RBI rules say international use is switched off by default on cards that are issued or reissued, and you can switch it on through your bank's app or website. Do it before you travel.

Am I protected if my card is stolen?
Under the RBI circular of July 2017, your liability is zero if the loss is the bank's fault or a third-party breach reported within three working days. It is capped if you report in four to seven working days.

Should I pay in my home currency when asked?
No. Choose the local currency. The offer is Dynamic Currency Conversion.

Sources and how we checked them

Checked on 18 October 2026. Where we call something confirmed, at least two of these sources agree. Several are commercial companies promoting their own services.

• Business Standard, news outlet, article citing Bankbazaar on forex cards and credit card charges, 27 March 2025.
• moneyHOP, commercial comparison site, State Bank of India charges page, updated 15 May 2026.
• SharpScroll, independent website, zero forex markup credit cards, 2026.
• Reserve Bank of India, official, circular RBI/2017-18/15 on customer liability, 6 July 2017.
• MediaNama, news site, RBI card transaction guidelines, 16 January 2020.
• Federal Bank, bank, enhanced card control page, updated 18 October 2026.
• Standard Chartered Bank India, bank notice on TCS under LRS, effective 1 April 2026.
• ClearTax, commercial tax service, TCS on international credit card spends, undated.
• Royal Thai Embassy, Copenhagen, official page, visa on arrival.
• Changi Airport, official site, SIM card purchase page, read 18 October 2026.

Editorial note: The counter, rate and airport information in this guide is editorial and is not paid for. Rates and fees change, so confirm the final rate at the counter before exchanging.