YouTrip Card Review – Multi-Currency Wallet & Better Exchange Rates

While it may not be practical to travel at the moment, possessing a card that allows one to pay for overseas transactions with as little charges as possible is as relevant as ever. Online shopping has become a major pastime in the current situation – more so if you consider that the only way to get one’s coveted items from abroad these days is to have them shipped here. Enter YouTrip – one of the digital wallets available that allow you to make foreign currency transactions both online and in stores using wholesale exchange rates and with no extra charges.

 

What is YouTrip?

As defined in their website, YouTrip is a multi-currency travel wallet that comes with a linked Mastercard to allow users to pay in over 150 currencies worldwide with no fees. 

Through its accompanying app, users can also exchange and store 10 different currencies at competitive rates. Plenty of usage opportunities come to mind – including saving on FX rates when making purchases overseas or online where the charge is in foreign currency to withdrawing physical cash while overseas (in places where the local currency is one of the 10 currencies on YouTrip).

As a Mastercard, the YouTrip card public transit payment function is automatically activated for contactless fare payments on public buses and trains. No registration is required

Through YouTrip Send, users can also transfer money to others in the YouTrip ecosystem. It is generally more helpful in group buy situations where one might need to transfer funds to the user who transacted the sale.

How to Top-Up Into the YouTrip Card

There are two ways to top-up your YouTrip wallet. The most conventional method is by choosing a credit card or debit card. Do note that only Visa and Mastercard cards are accepted, and top-ups through the Grab Mastercard, which in itself draws from an online wallet, are not allowed. Minimum top-ups through the credit and debit card method is S$20.

A second and probably most accessible method is to top-up YouTrip balances through PayNow. With PayNow top-ups, there is no minimum amount unlike the S$20 required for credit/debit cards.

It’s a Prepaid Card

As a prepaid card, do note that YouTrip has a storage limit of S$5,000 or its equivalent in foreign currencies. As of this writing, there are no daily transaction limits although an annual transaction limit of S$30,000 applies and that includes both card spend and ATM transactions.

Better Exchange Rates

The rates offered by YouTrip is the mid-market exchange rate and there are no additional fees charged, unlike for conventional credit cards. This means that the rates should be pretty much the same as what you see in Yahoo Finance or by googling a particular currency pair.

Pay in over 150+ currencies for foreign transactions

A big help while overseas, YouTrip’s platform allows you to pay in more than 150+ currencies at wholesale exchange rates – effectively skipping the need to change for cash at the Raffles Arcade as long as the establishment overseas accepts Mastercard. While it may not be that practical now to travel, you can still avail of the competitive foreign exchange rates when purchasing online in stores located in other countries.

Exclusive promo codes + cashback campaigns from time to time

There are also ways for users to earn rewards or cashback for transactions made with YouTrip. Previously, they had a 1% cashback campaign for the first 5,000 app-wide top-ups made with PayNow. From time to time, YouTrip also offers promo codes with selected merchants for discounts. An example is their CNY deals 2021 where they have discounts with platforms such as WhyQ, iHerb, Mr Porter, iShopChangi and more.

No Rewards Programme

As a prepaid card, YouTrip does not have a rewards programme so that means no regular miles or cashback for transactions. However, as previously stated – the savings from the better exchange rates are immediate. If you compare them to traditional credit cards from the major banks – you’ll be saving on about 3.5% to 4% of FX charges.

Fraudulent Transaction Protection

Through one click in the app, you can toggle between locked and active status for the YouTrip card as an added protection against fraudulent transactions when not in use.