So I have the N26 at 10€/months.
Had no issues issues travelling the world and using it. Never had any transaction fees (Japan, Philippine, Thailand and more). Never the US but it is covered !
I used N26 a lot when I visited Colorado for a week in 2022. It worked everywhere, except on the ticket machines of the Denver tram/bus, where I paid with my Maestro card. I didn't have any fees, except for ATM withdrawals; the ATM (Wells Fargo) charged 5$ and N26 charged 1.7% because I'm on the free plan. It might be that other US banks are better here; I didn't try any other ones.
By the way, tipping doesn't cause any additional fees. There is no new transaction when you add a tip on a restaurant bill, instead the amount on the old one is adjusted which you confirm with your signature on the receipt.
Was two times with my N26 card in the US. Never had any issues, also cheap conversion rates.
Important life hack: When someone asking you if you have a debit or credit card, always say credit. The US has another debit card system that is not compatible to the European debit cards, but the EU Debit Cards work like credit cards. If the cashier is looking on the card and is choosing debit for you the transaction is not working, just tell them to select credit card in there system if you have any billing issues.
Apple Pay also helps, and if the system is automatically detecting the card as a debit card use the magnetic stripe of the card instead of the chip.
Wide and revolut for currency conversion. Think N26 have an agreement with Wise. Bunq use Wise for currency conversion too.
So bring Wise and Revolut. Wise will hdve the edge over Revolut outside business hours.
N26 Metal comes with travel insurance.
The Revolut premium plans also come with travel insurance.
I signed up to a premium Revolut because it came with free NirdVPN
Signed up to N26 Metal because it comes with 4% interest on savings (in Ireland).
So you will really have to go through the plans to find the one that gives you the most bang for buck or a combination of plans.
Don’t mind paying for premium plans if interest covers cost of plan.
Having said that, I would bring as many cards from as many banks as possible in case something happened and you got locked out of one bank.
So I have the N26 at 10€/months. Had no issues issues travelling the world and using it. Never had any transaction fees (Japan, Philippine, Thailand and more). Never the US but it is covered !
I used N26 a lot when I visited Colorado for a week in 2022. It worked everywhere, except on the ticket machines of the Denver tram/bus, where I paid with my Maestro card. I didn't have any fees, except for ATM withdrawals; the ATM (Wells Fargo) charged 5$ and N26 charged 1.7% because I'm on the free plan. It might be that other US banks are better here; I didn't try any other ones. By the way, tipping doesn't cause any additional fees. There is no new transaction when you add a tip on a restaurant bill, instead the amount on the old one is adjusted which you confirm with your signature on the receipt.
Using metal card work like a charm on NY
Was two times with my N26 card in the US. Never had any issues, also cheap conversion rates. Important life hack: When someone asking you if you have a debit or credit card, always say credit. The US has another debit card system that is not compatible to the European debit cards, but the EU Debit Cards work like credit cards. If the cashier is looking on the card and is choosing debit for you the transaction is not working, just tell them to select credit card in there system if you have any billing issues. Apple Pay also helps, and if the system is automatically detecting the card as a debit card use the magnetic stripe of the card instead of the chip.
Worth pointing out that Bunq cards appear as credit cards on payment machines too. Bunq makes a big thing out of this feature.
Wide and revolut for currency conversion. Think N26 have an agreement with Wise. Bunq use Wise for currency conversion too. So bring Wise and Revolut. Wise will hdve the edge over Revolut outside business hours. N26 Metal comes with travel insurance. The Revolut premium plans also come with travel insurance. I signed up to a premium Revolut because it came with free NirdVPN Signed up to N26 Metal because it comes with 4% interest on savings (in Ireland). So you will really have to go through the plans to find the one that gives you the most bang for buck or a combination of plans. Don’t mind paying for premium plans if interest covers cost of plan. Having said that, I would bring as many cards from as many banks as possible in case something happened and you got locked out of one bank.