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If you are reading this article, it’s likely a safe assumption that you have heard about YouTrip, or may even have used it before.
We have covered YouTrip extensively in the past. From our experience using it for 21 days in the USA to a guide on how you can apply for your own YouTrip card, we already know that the YouTrip card is worth having, especially if you are a frequent traveler. It’s not only easy to use, but also saves you money during your travel. You can also save money buying books online as a family.
But we were still curious, how much exactly can YouTrip save us?
Read Also: Complete Guide To Multi-Currency Accounts And Wallets In Singapore
Brief Introduction To YouTrip
For those of you who are new to this card, or need a quick refresher, let us briefly introduce what YouTrip does.
YouTrip is a multi-currency mobile wallet that allows you to pay in more than 150 currencies when you’re shopping online or travelling abroad, without incurring any currency conversion fees. It taps on the Mastercard network – which means if you are able to pay for a bill or complete a transaction using a Mastercard-issued credit card, you can also use your YouTrip card to pay for the bill.
If you are interested in finding out more about how YouTrip work, do read our comprehensive guide on the card here.
Using Our YouTrip Card In Western Australia
On a recent trip to Western Australia with the family, we spent a few days at Margaret River. Among many things, Margaret River is well known for its many wineries. If time and budget permits, having lunch at a winery is also an experience you should go for.
We had lunch at Fishbone Wines on one of our days. While we are not a food review site, we would like to say that the food (and wine) were very good and the ambience was excellent. For our group of six adults and two toddlers, the cost of our meal came up to AUD193.
In all my previous trips to Australia, the Singapore Dollar (SGD) had always been weaker than the Australian Dollar (AUD). For this trip, however, the exchange rate was in our favour with the SGD being the stronger currency. So this means that the cost of the meal was going to be lower than S$193. But by how much exactly?
How Much The Meal Costs Depend On How We Pay For It
The interesting thing about paying in foreign currency is that how much we end up paying for an item doesn’t only depend on the exchange rate, but also on our payment method. So two people can buy the same things on the same day, yet end up paying two different prices (in SGD) because of how they choose to pay for it.
For this meal, we decided to use our YouTrip card. Since our YouTrip card had very little AUD left, we had to do an instant top-up and currency conversion first, which can be done quickly and easily as long as you have internet connection. All you need to do is use your credit card to top-up funds in SGD your YouTrip account, and then use the YouTrip app to do the currency conversion from SGD to AUD.
YouTrip rate on that day (15 February 2020) for SGD/AUD was 1.064. This means for every S$100, we receive A$106.40. Since our meal was AUD193, this means it costs us S$181.39, assuming we pay using our YouTrip card.
For reference, the exchange rate on 15 February was 1.069 (according to XE.com). So the YouTrip rate comes very close to the SGD/AUD spot rate for the day. YouTrip does not earn any revenue from currency conversion you make on its platform, hence there is no reason for them to mark up the rates, unlike a traditional moneychanger.
Source: XE.com
But How Much Would The Meal Cost (In SGD) If We Paid Using A Regular Credit Card?
To find this out, we rely on transactions that we made using a regular credit card the day before. We made two transactions for that day.
From the screenshots above, you can see that the currency conversion rate we got was about 1.034 for spending, which was made on 14 February. This comes as no surprise since most credit cards in Singapore would charge a foreign currency transaction fee of about 2.5% to 3.0%.
In other words, had we paid using a regular credit card, our meal would have cost us about S$186.65, or about S$5.26 more compared to paying using a YouTrip card.
| YouTrip Card | Regular Credit Card | |
| Cost of Meal In AUD | A$193 | A$193 |
| Cost Of Meal In SGD | S$181.39 | S$186.65 |
Final Thoughts On Using A YouTrip Card
Some of us may feel that $5.26 isn’t much. Perhaps this could be true if you are making a small, one-off purchase. Or if you are someone who typically uses only cash when travelling overseas, with the occasional charge to your credit card made only if it’s necessary.
However, for someone (like me) who prefers to hold as little cash as possible while travelling overseas, both for safety and convenience’s sake, the total overseas transactions made using a credit card can add up.
Sometimes, being ignorant is bliss. But after returning to Singapore and having checked on my credit card statement, I couldn’t help but think how much I could have saved on the trip if I had just used YouTrip entirely.
In total, I spent AUD$4,353.67 on my regular credit card for the trip, including the cost of accommodation and car rental. When converted to SGD, I was charged S$4,205.75, or a conversion rate of about 1.035. During the period, the SGD/AUD conversion rate was between 1.06 to 1.07.
If I had used YouTrip instead throughout the trip, I would have paid S$4,091.79 (based on SGD/AUD of 1.064) instead, which would have saved me about S$113.96.
I am not suggesting that we all dump our credit cards entirely for overseas trips. Given only one choice, I would still choose to carry and pay using my regular credit cards and incur the foreign currency transaction cost, than be caught carrying thousands of dollars in cash around.
Also, credit cards are incredibly useful if you need to put a deposit down for your hotel and car bookings. In the event of an emergency, it’s also good to use your credit cards.
At the same time, however, for regular payments for items such as food, gifts, and attraction cost, I see no reason why people shouldn’t just use their YouTrip card more often.
DollarsAndSense Exclusive:
Use the promo code DNS5 during your YouTrip registration to receive a welcome credit of $5 in your YouTrip account.
Read Also: Step-By-Step Guide to Getting And Using A YouTrip Card For Your Next Holiday Or Shopping Online
This article was originally written on 9 March 2020.
The post YouTrip Card Vs Regular Credit Card: How Much Can You Save When Spending Overseas? appeared first on DollarsAndSense.sg.
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