Why the Wise Card Isn’t Your Best Option (Despite What YouTubers Say)

How to Choose Travel Cards That Outperforms Wise - A Simple Two‑Card Strategy Beats It

You have been lied to by sponsored and affiliated YouTubers for years. Most of the glowing Wise reviews you see on YouTube are affiliate‑driven — creators get paid when you sign up, so of course they make it sound perfect. Those glorious testimonies, mid‑market rates, low fees, global acceptance… but when you actually run the numbers, especially in real travel scenarios, Wise quietly becomes one of the more expensive options.

Today, I will give you a simple, real‑life example, assuming you are travelling to Malaysia and spending $500 CAD cash and $500 CAD on a no‑FX‑fee credit card. All calculations use today’s live Visa, MasterCard, and Wise rates (as of Jan 25, 2026).

Note: We’re ignoring the local ATM fee (usually ~$6) since it applies to both Wise and no-FX bank cards and varies by country.

The Wise Reality

Wise loves to promote the “mid‑market rate,” but they rarely highlight the fees required to access it. Converting $1,000 CAD to MYR in the Wise app shows a fee of roughly 0.60%, or $6.00 CAD gone instantly.

Then comes the ATM problem. Wise Canada only gives you $350 CAD of free withdrawals per month. The remaining $150 triggers a 1.75% fee plus a $1.50 flat charge. That’s another $4.13 CAD.

Total cost: $10.00 CAD — just to use your own money.

The Killer Combo That Beats Wise

Now compare that to a simple two‑card setup:
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite + EQ Bank Card (Find similar cards in your country;, for example, a credit card and a bank card with no FX fee)

Spending ($500):
The Scotia Passport Visa Infinite charges zero FX fees and uses the Visa network rate. Today, Visa shows 2.9005 MYR per CAD, while the mid‑market rate is 2.91. The Tiny spread is 0.3%.

Cash ($500):
EQ Bank charges no international ATM fees, no withdrawal limits, and no penalties. You simply get the MasterCard network rate — with no surprises. (The local foreign ATM will change you an ATM fee for both Wise and no FX bank card. We will ignore this fee for to keep things simple.)

Total cost for the entire $1,000 trip: about $3.25 CAD which comes from the tiny tiny 0.3% spread.

The Final Blow

Wise costs over three times more than this two‑card combo for the exact same trip. And the gap widens when you factor in perks: The Scotia Passport Visa Infinite includes six free airport lounge passes and full travel insurance. Wise gives you… a plastic card and a bill.

The Verdict

Wise is fine as a backup. But as your primary travel card? You’re paying for hype — and for YouTubers’ affiliate commissions. You deserve a setup that actually saves money on the ground, not just in sponsored videos.

5 Reasons to Keep TD First Class Visa Infinite

Why I Am Keeping TD First Class Visa Infinite Travel Credit Card

1. The $100 Annual Travel Credit

TD First Class Visa Infinite has an annual fee of $130, but each year it gives you a $100 travel credit when you purchase/book $500+ in accommodations on Expedia For TD, making this card only $39 per year. Visit the TD website for more details; one thing to note is that flight booking doesn't qualify.

2. 4 Free Lounge Passes + Membership

TD First Class Visa Infinite includes 4 complimentary lounge visits through Visa Airport Companion (DragonPass). Once your free visits are depleted, you can still access lounges for roughly $32–$35 USD per visit, because the annual DragonPass membership—normally up to $100—is fully covered.

This single perk alone can easily offset the card’s annual fee multiple times over.

3. Annual Birthday Bonus

Once a year, generally around your birthday, TD gives you a bonus based on how much you spent, up to 10,000 points—which is about $50 in free travel. This, along with Point #1, can pay off your annual fee.

4. ExpediaForTD Boosted Earn Rate

You earn points fast on ExpediaForTD because every dollar gets you 8 TD Rewards Points. 200 points equals $1 in travel, so that works out to a 4% return on every booking.

5. The $2500 Hotel or Motel Burglary Insurance

This is the standout protection that genuinely beats Scotiabank and Amex. Most cards offer very low hotel burglary coverage—the Amex Gold caps you at $500 , and the Scotiabank Passport only goes up to $1,000. The TD First Class Visa Infinite, on the other hand, covers up to $2,500 for items stolen from your hotel room, as long as 75% of the stay is charged to the card.

The TD First Class Visa Infinite isn’t the flashiest travel card on the market, but it delivers real, measurable value that many competing cards simply don’t match. Between the annual travel credit, lounge access, boosted ExpediaForTD earn rate, birthday bonus, and industry‑leading hotel burglary insurance, this card consistently pays for itself—and then some.

If you book travel even a couple of times a year, or if you want strong protection without jumping into premium‑fee cards, the TD First Class Visa Infinite remains one of the most practical long‑term keepers in Canada.

Brim Credit Cards Discontinue No Foreign Transaction Fee

Brim Credit Cards Start Charging 1.5% Foreign Exchange Fee

I was one of the very first people to receive a Brim Credit Card when it launched. I cancelled my Brim World Elite Mastercard after the annual fee jumped to $199 (Brim now reduced it to $89). I saw no value in keeping it and switched to the free version of the Brim Credit Card just to have a MasterCard that does not charge any FX fee.

Fast forward to today, received a notice from Brim that starting May 18, 2024 all Brim credit cards will start charging a 1.5% foreign exchange fee (from 0%). This means there will be 2 less credit cards in Canada that charge zero foreign currency transaction fees.

My primary no foreign currency fee card is my Scotia Passport Visa Infinite, which is a VISA card. I always travel with a backup MasterCard, in case one card malfunctions or VISA’s network is down. This is where the free Brim Credit Card comes in as my backup card.

However, it is time to abandon this card. Both their free and World Elite Brim Credit Cards provide no value. No lounge access, no annual travel credit, no nothing. This is one of the reasons Brim was forced to reduce the annual fee from $199 to $89, as no one wanted to pay $199 for nothing.

The only other no foreign currency fee MasterCard in Canada available as an Amazon Prime member is the no annual fee Amazon Rewards Mastercard. Amazon Prime members earn 2.5% in Amazon points in any foreign currency purchase made with the Amazon.ca Mastercard, effectively offsetting the foreign transaction fee. Non-Prime members earn 1.5% in Amazon points in any foreign currency purchase.

Canada recently lost one of the best zero foreign currency fee MasterCards, which was the HSBC World Elite MasterCard. And now another free zero foreign currency fee card, MasterCard Brim, is gone.

HSBC World Elite Mastercard Canada – Get Canada’s Best Travel Credit Card Before It’s Too late

Best Travel Credit Card in Canada - HSBC World Elite Mastercard Canada

All the so-called “best travel credit cards in Canada” promoted by travel sites on the Internet have some things in common. Most of these cards do not provide zero foreign currency transaction fees and offer very low rewards on travel spending.

The HSBC World Elite Mastercard is one of the few travel credit cards in Canada that offers no FX fee on foreign currency transactions and a whopping 6 points per dollar spent on travel purchases. These points also are hybrid points that can be converted to airline points.

However, this not-so-well-known travel credit card is coming to an end due to the RBC buying HSBC’s Canadian portfolio. RBC does not offer any no foreign currency transaction fee and other benefits like the HSBC World Elite Mastercard offers. One of them is very extended travel medical insurance and even travel medical insurance for seniors beyond 65.

As of the writing this article, HSBC is still accepting applications for this card and I think you should get one right now as the window of opportunity is closing any time now.

No one knows at this point what RBC will do after acquiring the HSBC World Elite Mastercard. They may let existing account holders keep all the perks and features and stop issuing this card. They could also convert the HSBC World Elite Mastercard into an RBC World Elite MasterCard, cutting all the benefits. Another option, which is very unlikely, is that RBC may rebrand this card and keep issuing the same benefits and features under the RBC name.

Whatever the outcome is, it’s wise to get a HSBC World Elite Mastercard now and wait and see what happens. I just got mine last week and couldn’t be happier receiving it.

I Put Canada’s Only No Foreign Transaction Fees Bank Card to the Test at Foreign ATM

EQ Bank’s Debit Card Is the Only No Foreign Exchange Fees Bank Card

If you are using a traditional bank card to withdraw cash from ATMs in foreign countries, you will be charged:

- Foreign currency transaction fees

- International ATM withdrawal fees

- ATM fees imposed by your own bank

- ATM fees imposed by the local ATM

You can avoid the first 3 by using a bank card that does not charge these fees. The 4th one, ATM fees imposed by the local ATM, is not controlled by your bank card and this is something you can’t avoid.

It seems to be that the EQ Bank Debit Card is the only card that does not charge foreign currency transaction fees or its own ATM fees for using it in a foreign country.

I tested the EQ Bank Card by withdrawing from 2 different bank ATMs in Manila and Boracay in the Philippines. Each time, I paid only 250 Peso (about 6 CAD) in charges by the local bank. I walked out with cash with a very good currency exchange rate without paying any other fees.

It is very important to have a travel-friendly card in your wallet. As of writing this article, the EQ Bank Debit Card is the only card that I am aware of that offers this type of service.

So next time you travel, make sure you pack a card that offers no FX fees, no International ATM withdrawal fees or ATM fees imposed by your own bank and have a happy and smart trip.

I have documented my experience with my EQ Bank Debit Card here in this video:

I Tested Canada's Only No Foreign Transaction Fees EQ Bank Card to Withdraw Money At Foreign ATM