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The Portuguese meal card, explained
5 min readUpdated on
The meal card is one of the Portuguese specifics that confuses foreign applications most, and one of those that most distorts a budget made in a hurry.
In this guide4
It is not ordinary money, which is why it needs its own line
A meal allowance on a card has three properties that set it apart from a current account balance: it loads only on working days actually worked, it spends only in accepted places, and it has its own tax treatment up to a daily limit.
Add it to the food budget and the number inflates while what actually leaves your account hides. Reading it correctly needs two separate lines.
How to estimate the month’s load
The arithmetic is simple: the daily amount times the number of working days actually worked that month. Public holidays, leave and absences reduce the load.
A month with 22 working days at 10.20 euros a day gives about 224 euros. A holiday month can give half. A budget that assumes the same figure every month will fail in August and December.
The idle balance mistake
Many people accumulate a card balance without noticing, especially those who eat at home often. That money is yours, but it is locked to a specific use.
It is worth checking the balance once a month and spending it on groceries, which are almost always accepted, instead of letting it grow.
Frequently asked questions
Does the meal card count as income in a budget?
It should not count as available income. It is a balance dedicated to food, loading variably with working days, so it deserves a separate line in the budget.
Can I use the meal card at the supermarket?
In most cases yes, because large food retailers are among the accepted places. It is the most practical way to avoid leaving a balance idle.