What is the best way to carry money abroad?

A combination, rather than any single method — and the biggest savings come from avoiding a few specific traps rather than from choosing the perfect card.

The options:

A specialist debit or travel card from a provider that does not add a foreign transaction fee and uses a rate close to interbank. Generally the cheapest option for spending and for cash withdrawal, and the reason these providers grew so quickly. Check for weekend markups and monthly withdrawal limits, above which fees apply.

A credit card with no foreign transaction fee. Good for spending, and adds Section 75 protection on purchases over £100 — genuinely valuable when booking abroad. Do not withdraw cash on a credit card: it is treated as a cash advance, attracting a fee and interest from the moment of withdrawal with no interest-free period.

An ordinary UK debit card typically adds a foreign transaction fee of around 3% plus a cash withdrawal fee, which is poor value.

Cash, which remains necessary. Some countries are heavily cash-based, small vendors and markets may not take cards, and having some local currency on arrival avoids being forced into a bad airport rate.

Prepaid currency cards, which lock in a rate — useful if you want certainty, and the rate loaded is usually worse than a specialist card's live rate.

The three traps that cost the most:

Dynamic currency conversion. When a card machine or ATM offers to charge you in pounds rather than local currency, decline it. The convenience costs a markup of several percent, and this is the single most common avoidable loss.

Airport exchange bureaux, with the widest spreads anywhere.

ATM operator fees, particularly from independent machines in tourist areas. Use bank-operated ATMs.

Practical approach: carry two cards from different providers on different networks, kept separately; a modest amount of cash; and tell your bank you are travelling, though most now detect it automatically.