The vacation is just around the corner, but hidden cost traps lurk when preparing your travel budget. From card limits that are too low to expensive foreign currency fees – if you pay attention to a few important points, you will save money on vacation and avoid unpleasant surprises.
Check and adjust card limits before departure
An often overlooked point when preparing for a trip is the credit limit of your own payment cards. As can be seen from a current communication from the service provider Euro Kartensysteme, the limit of use of checking and credit cards abroad is often lower than in Germany. Although this security measure can protect against misuse in an emergency, it can significantly limit your financial flexibility when on vacation.
It gets particularly tricky when booking hotels and rental cars, as a deposit is usually reserved on the credit card. Although the amount is not debited, it still significantly reduces the available credit limit. If the credit limit is too small, further card payments or cash withdrawals may become difficult. Daily or weekly limits can usually be adjusted temporarily at banks – only for the travel period. This often works conveniently via online banking or app, so the effort is kept to a minimum.
Choosing the right card saves you high foreign fees
When choosing the right travel credit card, vacationers can save significant amounts of money. With an average credit card, there are up to three percent fees when withdrawing cash abroad and at least five euros per withdrawal. As Reisetopia reports in its comparison from August 2025, a 100 euro withdrawal can quickly result in ten euros or more in fees – money that is then missing from the travel fund.
Especially when traveling outside of the Eurozone There are additional foreign currency fees, which quickly add up if you use the card regularly. As a rule of thumb, anyone who spends the equivalent of 4,000 euros in a foreign currency per year will pay between 40 and 80 euros in “hidden” fees with a conventional credit card. Free travel credit cards, on the other hand, completely waive foreign currency fees and enable free cash withdrawals worldwide.
When using the card abroad, travelers should always choose to be billed in the local currency. Both at ATMs and when paying in shops, an immediate conversion into euros is often offered, but this is usually associated with a significantly worse exchange rate than later billing by your home bank.
The optimal mix for maximum security
According to the Stiftung Warentest recommendation, the perfect travel fund consists of a combination of different payment methods: some cash for the first few hours abroad, the Girocard and a credit card. This means you are on the safe side almost anywhere in the world. However, notes and coins should not play a major role – the risk of theft in tourist regions is too great.
As the Handelsblatt recommends in its credit card guide, holidaymakers should at best take two cards with them so that one of the two can be stored in the hotel safe. This provides additional security if a card is lost or stolen. In the event of an emergency, the central blocking hotline +49 116 116 should always be at hand so that lost or stolen cards can be blocked immediately. Modern banks also offer the option of blocking cards directly via the app, which is particularly practical abroad.
A survey by norisbank from the summer of 2025 shows that Germans’ payment habits are continuing to move towards cashless: Over three quarters of those surveyed say they prefer to pay with a credit card while on vacation. More than half generally prefer cashless payment methods – a trend that is likely to continue to grow due to the high level of card acceptance and the ability to pay free of charge. Those who optimally prepare their travel budget will not only benefit from more comfort, but will also save a lot of money on their holiday budget.
D. Maier / editorial team finanzen.net