This Canadian bank card can boost your travel budget and help you skip the travel math

Your flights are booked, itinerary planned out and you’re ready to jet off for your summer adventure. But whether you're ordering cocktails poolside in Mexico, dining on handmade pasta in Italy, snorkelling in the Bahamas or touring Irish castles, every vacation abroad comes with one inevitable question: What’s the best way to spend your Canadian dollars?

Your go-to credit or debit card might seem fine for travel — until you do the math. Most of them charge FX fees of up to 2.5% on each purchase. Add in potential ATM withdrawal fees charged by your bank to these marked-up conversion rates, and the costs can stack up fast. Travelling like a local is hard when you're busy crunching numbers.

If that gives you pause, you're not alone: According to EQ Bank research¹, 80% of Quebecers say it's important to save on foreign exchange fees when travelling — and the iconic EQ Bank Card can help you do just that.

Available wherever Mastercard is accepted (that's over 210 countries, by the way), the EQ Bank Card has zero added FX fees², while offering 0.5% cashback³ on every purchase as well as interest on your entire card balance. Plus, because it's a prepaid card⁴, you're spending your own money and not at risk of blowing your budget.

EQ Bank’s research shows most Quebecers plan to spend between $1,000 and $3,000 on their next vacation this year. With most banks charging up to 2.5% in FX fees with every purchase, that’s about $75 lost to just FX fees (among many other types of fees!) on a $3,000 trip just for using your regular credit or debit card.

That could have gone to a really nice meal out, paid for your morning coffees many times over, gone towards a surprise gift for your travel partner or a cherished souvenir of your escape — anything better than your travel budget getting thinner to go into your bank’s pocket.

One of the best parts of travelling abroad is having the freedom to dive into new experiences headfirst, so leave the math for your nine-to-five. With the EQ Bank Card, you can tap away and unlock delightful, rewarding travel experiences without worrying about how fees will add up or dreading your credit card statement when you return.

The EQ Bank Card is just as easy to use overseas as it is at home, giving you the freedom to tap, explore and travel exactly like a local. Ready to start travelling without the paranoia over getting hit with fees? Learn more about the EQ Bank Card today.

1. Based on findings of a study/survey conducted by EQ Bank from May 16 to 20, 2025 among a representative sample of 1,524 online Canadians who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. The survey was conducted in English and French. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
2. Foreign currency transactions will be subject to the Mastercard Currency Conversion rate. EQ Bank does not charge any additional FX fee or markup.
3. Cash back will be paid monthly. See the EQ Bank Card Agreement for details on earning cash back and other terms and conditions that apply to the EQ Bank Card.
4. The EQ Bank Card is a prepaid reloadable Mastercard® issued by Equitable Bank pursuant to a licence from Mastercard International Incorporated.