Codes and rewards are accurate as of October 2024
Wealthsimple (for Canadians)
The Wealthsimple Cash card is a debit Mastercard with no monthly fees, and most importantly no foreign transaction fees + 1% cashback, making it a really good option for spending money while abroad. The average credit card foreign transaction fee varies around 2%, which can add up to a lot of money over time.
I've used the Wealthsimple card to buy things in many places in the UK + Europe and it seems to have very wide acceptance. Their platform is also great (commission free, fractional shares, etc.) for investing in stocks, so even if you're not planning on traveling, it might be worth looking into.
If you use my referral code to open an account and fund at least $1, you will get $25 for free.
Use my code: V66QRQ 🎁 T&Cs apply. https://www.wealthsimple.com/invite
Wizz Air is a very cheap airline in the UK and Europe. By joining the Wizz Air Discount Club (Standard), you get a €10.00 discount on flight fares from €19.99 for yourself and one companion. It costs €39.99 / year to join (so you make the money back immediately on one round trip if you go with a companion), I highly recommend it!
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| Flying to another country for the price of a meal! |
Beware: the reason these flights are so cheap is that you are only allowed one carry-on bag of certain dimensions for free, so this is great for short trips.
Unfortunately, there is no referral or discount code for the Wizz discount club.
The Wise card is similar to the Wealthsimple Cash card with good exchange rates and low fees, however it's a bit harder to load money onto it (good to have both though). Where Wise really shines is that you can use it to make international money transfers with good rates.
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| Wise can help you save $100s compared to Canadian banks/Paypal for International Money Transfers |
I paid my accommodation fees with a Wise international money transfer which saved me a significant amount of money in exchange fees.
If you use a referral code for Wise, your first $800 CAD transferred will be fee-free. I don't have a referral code for it, but you can easily find one online by searching "Wise referral codes".
This app is a true hidden gem - not only is it great for reading restaurant reviews and making reservations in the UK and Europe, but you can get up to 50% off food at certain restaurants by making a reservation during certain time ranges (which are pretty long and normal). I've done this several times and it has always worked so far!
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| Veal steak for €12.50 + Truffle risotto for €8.25 from La Burlingue in Paris thanks to The Fork :) |
In addition, if you use my promo code when making your first reservation, you get €20 worth of points afterwards to use at some restaurants: 84C3D557.
Saily is a very easy service to buy and load a data-only eSIM for almost any country. I got a 30-day Saily eSIM before I landed in the UK and activated it when I landed so that I didn't have to stress out about getting a SIM card at the airport to have data reception.
The prices are also quite reasonable, for example $12.99 for 30 days 5GB in the UK, $11.99 for the same in France, etc.
If you use my referral code, you will get $3 off your first eSIM: ANAIHE7186.
Too Good To Go
This app is also available in Canada, but seems to be more widely used in Europe. It allows you to get unsold surplus food from stores/restaurants for around 1/3 of the original price. The catch is that they are surprise bags, so usually you don't know what you're going to get apart from a broad category like baked goods, cold food, etc.
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| Food from a $8.39 surprise bag in Calgary |
It can be hit or miss but they're usually so cheap that even one or two good food items is worth the price of the bag. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have any referral program, but I highly recommend trying it out :)
Let me know...
Hope this post has been helpful, and if you have any of your own recommendations I would love to see them in the comments below. It's not easy to find or keep track of useful tools among all the... less useful ones!
Until next time,
Ana
Great post!
ReplyDelete- I like Wealthsimple a lot. They still have some problems but the fractional shares and no fees are great as you start and continue to build wealth.
- I also agree Wise might the best for sending/receiving money abroad. You can use this referral link to get that free transfer: https://wise.com/invite/dic/catalinc19
- "The Fork" is great; I wish it was available in Canada! Miam Miam as you say!
Thanks for sharing your code! Yess really hope one day it makes it to Canada :D
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