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Travel money · Ireland

Irish Foreign-Spending Cost Comparison

Headline exchange rates hide the real cost of a card abroad: currency-conversion markups, monthly fee-free allowances, weekend surcharges and ATM withdrawal charges. This comparison applies the current public fee schedules to one consistent spending pattern so the ranking reflects what you would actually pay.

Interactive tool

Enter your details

A ranked monthly and annual cost estimate with an effective percentage and a component breakdown for each card.

Step 1 of 2Spending abroad
  1. Spending abroad, step 1
  2. Cash withdrawals, step 2

Spending abroad

Purchases in a currency other than euro, converted to euro.

Some cards add a surcharge for converting currency when the markets are shut.

Card you would use

Taking cash on a credit card is treated as a cash advance, not a purchase.

Nothing is saved. Your inputs are used only to calculate this result.

Personalised answer

Your result stays in view

Complete 2 short steps and this panel fills with your answer.

  • A direct answer to the question, in one line
  • The figures behind it, broken down
  • Practical next steps and the assumptions used

Before you begin

What this tool needs

  • Enter amounts in euro. Each card's own conversion markup is added for you.

  • Cash withdrawals are the most expensive line on pillar-bank cards, so an honest ATM figure matters.

  • Enter cash withdrawn and the number of ATM withdrawals together, or leave both at zero.

  • The result compares public fee schedules, not promotional or paid-plan pricing.

Reading the answer

What your result means

A small cost gap should not outweigh fraud protection, support, or having a backup card that is accepted where another is not.

Always choose to be charged in the local currency at a till or ATM. Accepting the machine's euro conversion (dynamic currency conversion) can cost far more than any figure modelled here.

Boundaries

Assumptions and limitations

Working assumptions

  • Card conversion and ATM fees are the current public rates, versioned to the review date.
  • Revolut, N26 and Wise figures use the free Standard tier; paid plans lift some limits.
  • Fee-free ATM allowances are treated as monthly, and charges apply only to the amount above the limit.

Where to be careful

  • The ATM operator's own on-screen surcharge is set locally and is excluded.
  • Promotions, paid plans and negotiated terms are not modelled, and exotic-currency pricing is approximated with a single higher band.
  • Revolut's weekend currency-exchange surcharge is under review for Irish customers; confirm the current rate before relying on it.

Common questions

Questions about this tool

Why is a neobank not always the cheapest?

The free allowances are monthly and finite. Heavy card spend past Revolut's exchange allowance, or frequent ATM use, can narrow or close the gap, which is why the ranking depends on your own figures.

What is dynamic currency conversion?

When a foreign till or ATM offers to charge you in euro instead of the local currency, it sets its own poor exchange rate. Always decline it and pay in the local currency, whichever card you use.

Are the rankings sponsored?

No. The engine ranks the modelled cost only. Commercial relationships never change a rate or the ordering.

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