N26: THE PERFECT CARD FOR TRAVELING AND SAVING IN COMMISSIONS

You do not need to be a very active traveler to realize that whenever you leave Spain and want to get money, the commissions are exaggerated. And more if the country you visit has a different currency than €. If you change money at the airport, they creak you ... If you ask for currency in your bank before traveling, they creak you ... If you take money with your usual card, they creak you ... But there is an ideal solution: travel cards. And one of the best is the N26 cardIt is also free! With it you can get money and make payments abroad saving you the highest commissions. Here we tell you what this card consists of, its advantages (and limits), how it works and how to request it.

And do not miss the advice we give at the end of the article, which are worth both for this card and for any other while traveling

When you travel abroad, you will have to have local currency To pay, you don't get rid of that, unless you're a celebrity and you're invited to everything. You will have 3 options To get that currency:

1. Buy the currency in your bank or in an exchange house (physically or online) before leaving.
2. Exchange euros for local currency, at the airport or at a bank or exchange office, upon arrival at the destination.
3. Get money at ATMs.

The latter is the option that we have used for a long time, the most flexible and the one that does not imply being loaded with bills. But be careful, because if we use the cards of our usual bank, we may have to pay very high commissions. Do youWhat are these commissions for taking money with a card abroad? There are 3 types:

1. Commission for withdrawing money at a foreign ATM: a% of the total amount we withdraw, which can be between 4% and 5% (if you get € 500, it can be up to € 25!). Check your card contracts, the bank website or ask them directly for this commission. Sometimes the% is different if it is an EU country or outside the EU.

2. Exchange rate: the official exchange rate of the card (Mastercard, Visa ...) is usually used, but in some cases the bank adds a commission. There are even some (like EVO) that have created their own table of exchange rates that, as you can guess, favors them.

3. Fixed commission of the local bank: from which we can not get rid (unless we use the cash advance, which we will talk about later). When you are withdrawing money, the cashier will notify you of this commission (a fixed amount for each transaction, regardless of the amount), which you will have to accept. It can be from € 1.5 to € 6.

The first two can be reduced or eliminated directly with the N26 card: exchange rate which is applied in each operation (withdrawal or payment by card) is officially established by Mastercard. While the commission for withdrawal that traditional banks apply is reduced to 1.7% with the N26 card, or is eliminated with the plans N26 You Y N26 Metal.

From the third, the local bank commission, we can get rid if we do cash advance. You do not know what it is? It is basically NOT to use the ATMs, but to go directly to the bank office and ask to get money with the card. There are some countries where they are used to doing it (for example in Thailand), and in this way they will not apply the ATM commission, nor that of 1.7% of the standard N26 card. It is also a common practice in supermarkets in the Anglo-Saxon world (USA, Australia, New Zealand ...) is increasingly widespread. You ask to withdraw an amount and they charge you as if it were a card payment.

Best of all, the N26 card is free and it has no cost: neither maintenance, nor high, low, etc ... As we anticipate, there are premium plans (You Y Metal) with many other advantages that do have a monthly fee. Then we talk more about them.

Request the N26 card

N26 is a german bank, which saw the light in 2015 in response to new trends in the financial market, away from traditional banks where you have to pay for anything. Your flagship product and the one that interests us is your current account and his MasterCard, with which you can save good money when traveling, but they are also expanding their financial products.

In Spain they entered the year 2018, and right now it already has clients in practically all of Europe. The truth is that they do not stop growing, investors are increasingly and they are presented with a promising future. Come on, they hit a ball!

There are 3 types of plans, with different advantages and prices, which you can opt for:

N26 standard:

• It is the basic plan, free (without permanence)
• 5 free withdrawals in € (from the sixth they charge you € 2)
• 1.7% commission on foreign currency withdrawals
• Free international transfers
• Free Mastercard Card (maintenance free)
• More information

N26 You:

• It has a cost of € 9.90 per month (12 months of permanence)
• 5 free withdrawals in €
• No commission for withdrawals abroad
• Free international transfers
• Free Mastercard Card (maintenance free)
• Includes a travel insurance*
• Discounts with partner companies
• More information

N26 Metal:

• It is the most complete plan, costs € 16.90 per month (12 months of permanence)
• 5 free withdrawals in €
• No commission for withdrawals abroad
• Free international transfers
• Free Mastercard Card (maintenance free)
• Includes a travel insurance*
• Discounts with partner companies
• Access to exclusive experiences
• Preferred Customer Service
• More information

* More information about travel insurance in premium plans. This type of insurance linked to other products can give you some unexpected surprise at the moment you need to use them, so we always prefer to take out separate travel insurance (here are some tips to hire it). Anyway you can read the conditions of the N26 insurance and decide if you are interested in paying for a premium plan 😉

Unlike the Bnext card, by becoming an N26 customer you will have a bank checking accountwith his Spanish IBAN number, to which the Mastercard is linked. The operation and operation, both of the account and the card, is like any traditional bank, that is, you can manage it through the APP or of customer area in his web page. For increase balance The only thing you will have to do will be a normal transfer from another account, or a card payment, and that's it (then we'll tell you more).

The APP They have developed it is very cool, very intuitive and with interesting sections such as expenses sorted by category, the last movements, you can activate and deactivate the card at your leisure, make transfers, set limits, create expense groups, etc.

Request the N26 card

The process is divided into 3 phases:

1. Register online

You can do it in 2 minutes from a computer or from your mobile phone, through this link. You will have to enter your personal information (including the identity document number), and create a password to access your personal panel. We accept the terms and voila! We will receive an e-mail with all the legal information and a button to confirm the address.

2. Complete the registration in the APP

After verification, it will be time to download the APP. Access is made with your email address and the password you entered when you signed up. On your first entry you will have to:

• Choose the account type: First you will be asked if you will use the account for business purposes, if you only want it for personal sporadic use, leave NO. And then you will have to select the type of plan: standard N26 (free), N26 You (€ 9.90 per month) or N26 Metal (€ 16.90 per month)
• Verify your identity: for which you will have to take several photos to the identity document, fill in new information and take a photo and a video. Just follow the instructions.
• Waiting for check the data (between a few hours and 2 days). Once this process is finished, you will receive a mobile notification, and you will have the account (with IBAN) active and operational. You can now enter money through a transfer or by card (then we will tell you more).

3. Activate the card

• On the same day of the registration you will receive an e-mail informing you of the sending of the card, which also includes a document with the conditions of the card.
• The card will arrive home within 2 weeks, and you will have to activate it. To do this you can do it through the same APP or from the personal area of ​​your website. You must choose a PIN and go!

Remember that you are not hiring a card, but a checking account, with an operation just like any other bank account. So to increase the balance, all you have to do is a wire transfer from another account and wait for the normal time (1 or 2 business days).

But there is another easier and more immediate option: a card payment. You can use the card you use in your day to make a deposit in the N26 account. In the same app or on the web you will have the option, and the process is the same as if you made a payment in an online business. The balance in the N26 account will be increased immediately and you will be able to dispose of that money at that moment. It is a very interesting advantage for travel.

For this second option, which is the most cool to us, you will have to pass a security check for online payments (the one used by your bank), which is usually a code sent by SMS. But, being abroad,I will be charged money for receiving an SMS in the Spanish number? NO, receiving text messages abroad is free, unlike receiving calls. But remember to deactivate the data!

The N26 card has many advantages, but also some disadvantages. Let's see them:

Advantage:

• The standard plan is free, without monthly or opening expenses
• The card Mastercard is also free
• You can to take money out at any ATM (both in Spain and abroad) without commissions, or with low commissions
• You can also do Payments in non-euro currency No commissions
• You have the option to do cash advance, to be able to get money directly at the bank window and save you the commission of the local cashier and 1.7% of the commission of the standard N26. To do this it is necessary that the card is registered, and the N26 is (unlike the Bnext)
• There is not amount limits
• There is not withdrawal limits in foreign currency (in € you can take out without commission up to 5 times a month)
• In foreign currency operations the official Mastercard exchange rate
• You may lock and unlock the card whenever you want from your mobile
• Benefits Interesting for frequent travelers in premium plans (such as travel insurance)

Disadvantages:

• The free plan has a 1.7% commission in cash withdrawals no €
• If you want to opt for premium plans, they have a cost monthly and a commitment of permanence 12 months
• Limit of 5 withdrawals per month no commission in ATMs with euros (in foreign currency there is no limit)
• The card is from debit, if you need to rent a car on your trip you will need to take another credit card

Surely with a practical example everything looks clearer. We are traveling through Thailand and we withdraw 10,000 THB (about € 300) and we make a THB 1,000 payment in a hotel (about € 30) *. This is what would happen with different cards:

* At the time of writing the article, the official change was as follows: THB 10,000 = € 298.57 / THB 1,000 = € 29.86

As you can see, the best options for withdrawals of the cashier are the Bnext card or the N26 cards with payment plans, the following would be the standard N26 card and finally the card of any traditional bank, in this case Openbank. For make payments It is worth anyone except the bank of a lifetime (this is what we are trying to avoid).

Request the N26 card

Keep these recommendations in mind during your trip:

• When traveling you will use ATMs that can be manipulated to clone cards. We advise you to don't have a high account balance, and that you increase the balance every little time, whenever you need it. This way you save yourself a serious dislike if the card is cloned.
• Use the cash advance whenever you can. Remember that you can do it with nominative cards and you will have to carry your passport
• When you take money in a currency other than €, do not choose the exchange rate proposed by the cashier.
• When you make purchases in currency no €, let it be always in the local currency.
• Abroad many ATMs apply a fixed commission, which we can not get rid of! But find out first, because there are some who do not have it: for example in Australia ANZ does not charge them.
• Always cover the PIN code with your hand when taking out money, it is not uncommon for you clone the card. In that case, block the card as soon as possible through the app and notify it.
• Carries other cards from other banks, you never know when you will need them. And one of them that is from credit!

The standard N26 plan with its Mastercard is perfect as a complement to the Bnext card, due to the amount limits of the latter. Both are free and we can combine them on any trip. If we can also benefit from cash advance, even better!

So use the Bnext to withdraw money as the first card, and if you reach the limit or want to make payments, then turn to the N26. It is the solution that we have found and it is the one that we recommend to frequent travelers, as well as to those who make sporadic trips, but do not want to tap money in abusive commissions of banks. And if you travel as a couple, ask for one each, you never know when a card can cause problems.

After the trip, if there is excess balance in the account you can always recover it with a transfer to another account, or continue using the account and the card for your day to day. Remember that you have up to 5 cashier withdrawals in euros per month for free!

If you travel abroad every few times and want to benefit from some very interesting advantages, such as travel insurance or access to discounts and promotions, it is not a bad idea to opt for the N26 You or N26 Metal premium plans, but keep in mind that they have a Monthly cost.

We hope you have clearer now how the N26 card works and be encouraged to avoid commissions for withdrawing money abroad. One of the best solutions for travelers!

Video: N26 test: 2-Year Review of the Free Online Bank Account +Security Tips (April 2024).