Why use a credit card when travelling

From booking flights and accommodation to shopping and exploring new places, your credit card offers more than just a way to pay or get you out of an unexpected situation.

It’s designed to give you complete control over your finances wherever you are in the world. Paying by card may be safer than carrying cash, while travel perks and discounts can help you get more from your holiday.

Here’s why using your credit card is the smartest way to pay on holiday and how a few simple tweaks before you leave can save you time and money.

• It’s safer and simpler
  
  When you travel, convenience and safety go hand in hand. Whether you're staying close to home or venturing far away, carrying large amounts of cash is always a risk. Pickpockets and scammers often target holidaymakers, and lost cash can’t be recovered. With a credit card, your money is protected behind secure PINs, biometric app verification and real-time fraud monitoring.
  
  Since Visa and Mastercard are accepted widely across the globe, you won't have to waste precious holiday time searching for ATMs or foreign exchange booths.

• It lets you do (and get) more
  
  Your credit card gives you access to lifestyle and travel benefits, such as discounts on flights, car rental and accommodation locally and internally. When you use your Standard Bank Credit Card to buy your flight tickets, you automatically receive free basic travel insurance, giving you a safety net for travel disruptions and medical emergencies.
  
  Plus, when you use your credit card at participating retailers, you can earn UCount Rewards Points that can be used to pay towards fuel, groceries and even your next trip.
  
  Learn more about UCount and Standard Bank Travel.
   
• It’s convenient and makes life easier
  
  From paying for toll gates and fuel on local road trips to reserving boutique hotels and hire cars overseas, credit cards make transactions effortless. Most vehicle hire companies and accommodation providers require a credit card to hold security deposits, making it an essential key to unlocking your trip.
  
  Withdrawing cash from out-of-network or foreign ATMs often incurs steep processing fees, withdrawal charges and currency conversion markups. Paying directly at merchant points of sale is generally far more economical.

Why you should use a Virtual Credit Card on holiday

A Virtual Credit Card lives digitally in your Banking App on your phone or smartwatch. There’s no fee to create one, and you can use it to pay online for purchases such as flights, accommodation and tour tickets, or tap and pay at local restaurants and stores.

Because your Virtual Credit Card uses a unique card number and dynamic security details, your main physical credit card details are never exposed to merchants or skimmers. Plus, you don’t have to worry about losing or misplacing your wallet.

Managing your credit card in seconds: What to know before you go

You can simply and easily control, customise and protect your account and credit card on our Banking App or online at any time. Here’s how you can manage your account and card to get holiday-ready:

• Planning a big expense? If it fits your budget, your credit card’s budget facility can help you spread the cost of flights or accommodation into manageable monthly payments.
• Forgotten your PIN? View your PIN directly in the app.
• Want one view of all your accounts? Link your card to your banking profile so everything is in one place.
• Misplaced your card? Enable or disable card transactions with a single tap. 

Let us know if you’re travelling by activating your card for overseas travel. It’s free to activate your card for international travel, and it takes less than a minute on our Banking App. If international purchases suddenly reflect on your card, we could see it as suspicious activity and suspend your card to protect against fraud.