How do I activate the Wise Card complimentary travel insurance?

You can't, because the Wise Card has no complimentary travel insurance to activate. On New Zealand cards that do carry cover, it switches on when you charge prepaid travel costs (flights, accommodation, tours) to the card before you leave: any amount on some cards, $500 or half the trip on others. Paying for your flights with the Wise Card triggers nothing of the kind, because there is no insurer, no policy wording (the insurer's full policy document) and no benefit table behind it. Wise built the card for spending in 40+ currencies at the mid-market rate, not for insuring trips. If you want cover, buy a standalone travel policy before departure and keep the Wise Card for the spending.

Who is covered under my Wise Card complimentary insurance?

Nobody, because the Wise Card comes with no complimentary insurance. There is no cover for you as the account holder, and none for a partner or children travelling with you, whoever paid for the trip. That matters most for families: a credit card with complimentary cover often extends it to a spouse and dependent children when they travel with the cardholder, and the Wise Card has no such benefit. Each traveller in your group needs to be named on a standalone travel policy, and a family policy can cover two adults and their children on one premium. Check the age limits for children and how pre-existing medical conditions are handled when you buy.

Does the Wise Card cover rental car excess?

No. The Wise Card has no rental vehicle excess cover, either for a hire overseas or for a hire car or campervan in New Zealand. The excess is the amount the rental company charges you after damage to or theft of the vehicle, and hire companies commonly set it in the thousands of dollars. Some New Zealand credit cards reimburse it when the hire is paid on the card, but paying with the Wise Card gives you nothing back. You have two ways to close the gap: take the rental company's excess-reduction option at the desk, or buy a standalone rental excess policy before you travel. Check too that the hire company accepts a debit card for the bond.

What does the Wise Card not cover?

The Wise Card carries no complimentary travel insurance, so there is no overseas medical, cancellation or baggage cover, and no purchase protection or extended warranty. That means no emergency medical or evacuation cover overseas, where ACC (the Accident Compensation Corporation, New Zealand's no-fault injury scheme) and the public health system pay nothing for treatment. There is no trip cancellation, travel delay or missed connection cover either, and no rental car excess, ski or snowboard cover, personal liability or mobile phone insurance. What the card does handle is the money side: spending in 40+ currencies at the mid-market rate with a conversion fee, and free ATM withdrawals up to $400 a month. For everything else, pair it with a standalone policy.

Does the Wise Card cover skiing or snowboarding?

No. The Wise Card has no snow-sports cover of any kind: no ski injury medical costs, no mountain rescue, no cover for your own or hired gear and no refund of unused lift passes. It does not even sell snow cover as a paid extension, because there is no underlying policy to extend. On a ski trip to Japan or Canada, a fracture treated overseas quickly reaches five figures, and ACC doesn't pay for treatment overseas. At home it's different: ACC covers treatment for a ski accident on a New Zealand ski field. For an overseas snow trip, buy a standalone travel policy and add its snow-sports option before you leave, because the option cannot be added once you are injured.

Do I still need separate travel insurance if I have the Wise Card?

Yes. The Wise Card includes no travel insurance, so a trip with this card alone leaves you exposed to the large costs: hospital bills, an air ambulance home and non-refundable bookings. ACC and the public health system pay nothing for treatment overseas, and a few nights in a Honolulu hospital commonly run to six figures. An air ambulance from Bali to New Zealand commonly costs six figures too. A standalone New Zealand travel policy covers medical treatment, cancellation and baggage, without any condition about which card paid for the trip. The setup that works on an overseas trip is simple: the Wise Card for spending at the mid-market rate, and a separate policy for the risks.

Does the Wise Card include mobile phone insurance?

No. The Wise Card includes no mobile phone insurance, and it carries no purchase protection or extended warranty either. If your phone screen cracks or the handset is stolen after you paid for it with the card, the repair or replacement is entirely your cost, and a flagship screen repair commonly costs several hundred dollars. For a phone bought from a New Zealand retailer, the Consumer Guarantees Act still covers faults, but not drops, theft or loss. For those, you need contents insurance that lists the phone, a dedicated phone policy, or a card that offers phone cover. What the Wise app does give you is an instant freeze if the card itself goes missing.

Is the Wise Card a credit card or a debit card?

It is a debit card. The Wise Card draws on money you have already loaded into your Wise account, in NZD or any of the 40+ currencies it holds, so there is no credit limit, no interest and no annual fee. That is also why it carries no complimentary insurance: in New Zealand, that cover mostly comes with credit cards that charge an annual fee. The card is issued by Wise Payments New Zealand Limited, and Geekzone users describe it as a Visa debit card with no NZ EFTPOS component, so an EFTPOS-only terminal may decline it. Keep a bank card in your wallet as a backup for those terminals, at home and at a transit airport.

Is the Wise travel card worth it for an overseas trip?

For spending, yes; for protection, no. As a Wise travel card, it does three things well: no annual fee, the mid-market exchange rate with a small conversion fee in 40+ currencies, and free ATM withdrawals up to $400 a month (then 2.69% of the amount above that). Past that, it insures nothing. If a flight is cancelled, a bag goes missing or you end up in a hospital in Tokyo, the card pays nothing toward those costs. The setup that works for most New Zealand travellers is the Wise Card for payments plus a standalone travel policy for medical, cancellation and baggage. Bring the card for the savings and the policy for the risks.

Does the Wise Card include travel insurance, or do you need separate cover?

Wise·$0/year·Visa Debit

Pauline LauroreAuthor of HelloSafe's card insurance reviewsUpdated 13 October 20268 min read

0,0/5Independent review · verified October 2026

Travel Insurance

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Car Rental

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Winter Sports

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Protection

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Our Verdict · Travel Insurance

Our take on travel insurance for the Wise Wise Card

Expert review · Pauline LauroreAuthor of HelloSafe's card insurance reviews

Cheap spending abroad. No travel insurance at all. Here's what that means before you book. So, you're in an emergency department in Honolulu and the front desk asks who's paying: with the Wise Card, the answer is you, because this debit card carries no overseas medical, cancellation or baggage cover. Does paying for the flights on it switch anything on? No. Most people assume a Wise travel card comes with at least some cover, and it doesn't, while ACC (the Accident Compensation Corporation, New Zealand's no-fault injury scheme) and the public health system pay nothing for treatment overseas. A standalone New Zealand travel policy covers the medical bills, cancellations and lost bags this card leaves out, with no condition about which card paid for the trip. If all you want is a low conversion fee in 40+ currencies, the Wise Card does that job well; if you want the trip itself protected, buy that cover separately before you leave.

What works on travel

No annual fee: the physical card costs nothing to order and the digital card is free
Mid-market exchange rate in 40+ currencies: a small conversion fee instead of a bank's foreign transaction fee
Free ATM withdrawals up to $400 a month, then 2.69% of the amount above $400

Where travel breaks down

No complimentary travel insurance: paying for flights or hotels with the card switches on no cover
No overseas medical or evacuation cover: ACC and the public health system pay nothing for treatment overseas, so the bill is yours
No cancellation, delay or baggage cover: a cancelled trip or a lost bag is fully out of pocket

Our methodology

Every score is derived from official bank documents: terms and conditions, benefit guides, and claim procedures. No commercial relationship influences our ratings.

Travel Insurance · 20 guarantees

What does Wise Wise Card Travel Insurance actually cover?

No trip cancellation. This benefit is not included with this card. Prepaid flights, hotels and tours are not reimbursable if you cancel, and a non-refundable week in Tokyo for two commonly runs to several thousand dollars.

No overseas medical cover. This benefit is not included with this card. All medical costs overseas are the cardholder's responsibility, because ACC and the public health system don't pay for treatment overseas, and a few nights in a Honolulu hospital commonly run to six figures.

No evacuation or repatriation. This benefit is not included with this card. Evacuation and repatriation costs are entirely the cardholder's responsibility, and an air ambulance from Bali to New Zealand commonly costs six figures.

No emergency dental cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Emergency dental treatment overseas is out of pocket, because ACC and the public health system don't pay for treatment overseas.

No hospital cash allowance. This benefit is not included with this card. No daily allowance is paid during a hospital stay overseas, so the incidental costs of an admission are yours to cover.

No travel disruption cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Extra accommodation and transport after a disruption, such as a cyclone closing Nadi airport, are the cardholder's responsibility.

No travel delay cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Meals, accommodation and transport during a long delay, such as an unplanned night in Honolulu, are the cardholder's responsibility.

No missed connection cover. This benefit is not included with this card. The cost of alternative transport to reach a prepaid cruise, tour or event on time is out of pocket.

No trip curtailment cover. This benefit is not included with this card. The cost of flying home after a family emergency, and of resuming the trip afterwards, is out of pocket.

No baggage delay cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Clothes and toiletries bought while your bag is delayed, say on arrival in Rarotonga, are out of pocket.

No baggage cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Replacement costs for lost or stolen bags and belongings are the cardholder's responsibility.

No travel documents cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Replacing a lost passport or stolen cash overseas, including the extra travel to reach a consulate, is out of pocket.

No personal liability cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Legal liability for injuring someone or damaging property overseas is uninsured, and claims of this kind commonly reach hundreds of thousands of dollars.

No personal accident cover. This benefit is not included with this card. No lump sum is paid to you or your estate if an accident on the trip causes death or permanent disablement.

No loss of income cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Injured in Bali and off work for 8 weeks on your return, you get no income replacement from this card, and ACC weekly compensation only applies to injuries ACC covers.

No domestic cancellation cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Prepaid domestic flights and accommodation, such as a Queenstown ski week, are not reimbursable if you cancel.

No domestic delay cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Meals and accommodation during a delayed or cancelled domestic flight are the cardholder's responsibility.

No domestic disruption cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Extra accommodation and transport after a disruption on a trip within New Zealand are out of pocket.

No domestic luggage cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Lost or stolen luggage on a trip within New Zealand is not reimbursable through this card.

No domestic bag delay cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Essentials bought while your bag is delayed on a domestic flight are out of pocket.

We source benefits from official card guides, but PDFs are sometimes hard to obtain or update. Spotted something off?

Report an error Send updated PDF

Coverage Radar

Where the Wise Wise Card wins, where it loses

Coverage snapshot for this tab — click any layer to highlight its scores.

Trip cancellation: not covered by this card

Medical fees abroad: not covered by this card

Medical repatriation: not covered by this card

Compare

Wise CardThis card0.0/5?

$0/yr

With travel insuranceIdeal

Complete coverage · 5.0 / 5

Premium card avg.

$293 avg. annual fee

Click a layer to highlight its scores on the radar.

Side-by-side comparison

How the Wise Wise Card stacks up against the alternatives

Same 5 coverage dimensions, ranked head-to-head against the cards most Wise Card shoppers also consider.

Card	This card Wise Card Wise · $0/yr 0.0/5?	Afterpay Afterpay · $0/yr 0.0/5?	Platinum Card American Express · $850/yr 3.6/5?
Trip cancellation Per person, per trip cap	Not covered Cover this gap →	Not covered	$30,000 per person All prepaid travel, $30,000 cap
Emergency medical Hospital bills abroad	Not covered Cover this gap →	Not covered	$5,000,000 Capped $5,000,000, overseas only
Emergency evacuation Air ambulance + repatriation	Not covered Cover this gap →	Not covered	$5,000,000 Approved by Chubb Assistance
Trip delay trigger Hours before benefits kick in	Not covered Cover this gap →	Not covered	4h / $650 Trigger: 4 hours
Trip interruption Covered amount	Not covered Cover this gap →	Not covered	$5,000 per person Trip change during the trip

StrongLimited / misleadingNot covered

Data verified against each card's Guide to Benefits, May 2026.

Cardholder reviews

What cardholders say about the Wise Wise Card

Real experiences of spending overseas with the card 2 reviews

engedib (Geekzone)

May 2022

Better rate than NZ banks

It converts the money at a very good rate, not on the crazy margins what NZ banks are charging. Some cash withdrawal is also free.

openmedia (Geekzone)

June 2022

Stolen card can be blocked instantly

If you have their app installed you can block the card instantly and the only potential exposure is based on any credit you have loaded at the time. If you want to control things further you can even cache money in wallets that can't be used for debit purchases.

What to do if you need travel cover with the Wise Card

Step 1: Buy a standalone travel policy as soon as you book

The card includes no travel insurance, so arrange a standalone policy whose policy wording (the insurer's full policy document) states its overseas medical, cancellation and baggage limits. Cancellation cover only protects you from the date the policy starts, so buy it when you book, not the week you fly.

Step 2: Keep the insurer's emergency number and your receipts

Save your travel insurer's 24/7 emergency number and your policy number on your phone. Keep itemised medical bills, a police report or the airline's property irregularity report, and your booking receipts to support a claim.

Step 3: Take a complaint about Wise itself to FSCL

For a dispute with Wise over the card or your account (not travel insurance), complain to Wise first. If that does not resolve it, you can take it to Financial Services Complaints Ltd (FSCL), the free independent dispute resolution scheme Wise belongs to in New Zealand.

You can't, because the Wise Card has no complimentary travel insurance to activate. On New Zealand cards that do carry cover, it switches on when you charge prepaid travel costs (flights, accommodation, tours) to the card before you leave: any amount on some cards, $500 or half the trip on others. Paying for your flights with the Wise Card triggers nothing of the kind, because there is no insurer, no policy wording (the insurer's full policy document) and no benefit table behind it. Wise built the card for spending in 40+ currencies at the mid-market rate, not for insuring trips. If you want cover, buy a standalone travel policy before departure and keep the Wise Card for the spending.
Nobody, because the Wise Card comes with no complimentary insurance. There is no cover for you as the account holder, and none for a partner or children travelling with you, whoever paid for the trip. That matters most for families: a credit card with complimentary cover often extends it to a spouse and dependent children when they travel with the cardholder, and the Wise Card has no such benefit. Each traveller in your group needs to be named on a standalone travel policy, and a family policy can cover two adults and their children on one premium. Check the age limits for children and how pre-existing medical conditions are handled when you buy.
No. The Wise Card has no rental vehicle excess cover, either for a hire overseas or for a hire car or campervan in New Zealand. The excess is the amount the rental company charges you after damage to or theft of the vehicle, and hire companies commonly set it in the thousands of dollars. Some New Zealand credit cards reimburse it when the hire is paid on the card, but paying with the Wise Card gives you nothing back. You have two ways to close the gap: take the rental company's excess-reduction option at the desk, or buy a standalone rental excess policy before you travel. Check too that the hire company accepts a debit card for the bond.
There is nothing to claim on: the Wise Card carries no travel insurance, purchase protection or phone cover, so no insurer handles claims for it. If something goes wrong overseas, the claim goes to the standalone travel insurer you bought a policy from, through its emergency line and claim form, with itemised medical bills, a police report or the airline's property irregularity report, and your receipts. Problems with the card itself go to Wise: freeze the card in the app straight away if it is lost or stolen, then contact Wise support. If a complaint about Wise is not resolved, you can take it to Financial Services Complaints Ltd (FSCL), a free independent dispute resolution scheme, within the time limit FSCL sets.
The Wise Card carries no complimentary travel insurance, so there is no overseas medical, cancellation or baggage cover, and no purchase protection or extended warranty. That means no emergency medical or evacuation cover overseas, where ACC (the Accident Compensation Corporation, New Zealand's no-fault injury scheme) and the public health system pay nothing for treatment. There is no trip cancellation, travel delay or missed connection cover either, and no rental car excess, ski or snowboard cover, personal liability or mobile phone insurance. What the card does handle is the money side: spending in 40+ currencies at the mid-market rate with a conversion fee, and free ATM withdrawals up to $400 a month. For everything else, pair it with a standalone policy.
No. The Wise Card has no snow-sports cover of any kind: no ski injury medical costs, no mountain rescue, no cover for your own or hired gear and no refund of unused lift passes. It does not even sell snow cover as a paid extension, because there is no underlying policy to extend. On a ski trip to Japan or Canada, a fracture treated overseas quickly reaches five figures, and ACC doesn't pay for treatment overseas. At home it's different: ACC covers treatment for a ski accident on a New Zealand ski field. For an overseas snow trip, buy a standalone travel policy and add its snow-sports option before you leave, because the option cannot be added once you are injured.
Yes. The Wise Card includes no travel insurance, so a trip with this card alone leaves you exposed to the large costs: hospital bills, an air ambulance home and non-refundable bookings. ACC and the public health system pay nothing for treatment overseas, and a few nights in a Honolulu hospital commonly run to six figures. An air ambulance from Bali to New Zealand commonly costs six figures too. A standalone New Zealand travel policy covers medical treatment, cancellation and baggage, without any condition about which card paid for the trip. The setup that works on an overseas trip is simple: the Wise Card for spending at the mid-market rate, and a separate policy for the risks.
No. The Wise Card includes no mobile phone insurance, and it carries no purchase protection or extended warranty either. If your phone screen cracks or the handset is stolen after you paid for it with the card, the repair or replacement is entirely your cost, and a flagship screen repair commonly costs several hundred dollars. For a phone bought from a New Zealand retailer, the Consumer Guarantees Act still covers faults, but not drops, theft or loss. For those, you need contents insurance that lists the phone, a dedicated phone policy, or a card that offers phone cover. What the Wise app does give you is an instant freeze if the card itself goes missing.
It is a debit card. The Wise Card draws on money you have already loaded into your Wise account, in NZD or any of the 40+ currencies it holds, so there is no credit limit, no interest and no annual fee. That is also why it carries no complimentary insurance: in New Zealand, that cover mostly comes with credit cards that charge an annual fee. The card is issued by Wise Payments New Zealand Limited, and Geekzone users describe it as a Visa debit card with no NZ EFTPOS component, so an EFTPOS-only terminal may decline it. Keep a bank card in your wallet as a backup for those terminals, at home and at a transit airport.
For spending, yes; for protection, no. As a Wise travel card, it does three things well: no annual fee, the mid-market exchange rate with a small conversion fee in 40+ currencies, and free ATM withdrawals up to $400 a month (then 2.69% of the amount above that). Past that, it insures nothing. If a flight is cancelled, a bag goes missing or you end up in a hospital in Tokyo, the card pays nothing toward those costs. The setup that works for most New Zealand travellers is the Wise Card for payments plus a standalone travel policy for medical, cancellation and baggage. Bring the card for the savings and the policy for the risks.