If you use a credit card with high foreign transaction fees when you are abroad, it is likely that you will come home only to notice fees of as much as 5% on each single transaction you have made. No one likes to pay such obscenely high foreign transaction fee whether they have spent months saving money for their big trip or have the money to globe trot on a regular basis.
These fees are unnecessary and insidious and, unlike foreign exchange fee, they may be charged even when your purchases are in US dollars.
The good news is that a lot of travel rewards credit cards now waive all these exorbitant foreign transaction fees, letting you enjoy peace of mind while you are traveling. Here are three credit cards with no foreign transaction fees that have earned a coveted spot on our list.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
This credit card was launched in 2016 and since then it has been one of the favorite credit cards for a lot of travelers. Chase Sapphire Reserve can be your go-to credit card whenever you are on the road. It is likely that a majority of purchases you make in a foreign country are for either travel or food; so, you would love to earn three points for each dollar with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
You can also get plenty of value with Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, particularly if you transfer them to various travel partners such as United and Hyatt.
Apart from the Sapphire Reserve’s Priority Pass Select membership, $300 annual travel credit and global entry credit, people love the fact that their purchases on this credit card are fully covered by Chases’s fantastic purchase protection and travel insurance.
The Platinum Card from American Express
This is considered the flagship premier travel credit card, as it offers rewards, benefits and perks that could easily net plenty of value for frequent travelers. Also, the US version of this card does not have any foreign transaction fees and will earn you 5x points on all flights that you book directly with the airline as well as prepaid hotels booked via Amex Travel.
You also get an offer of about 60,000 points if you spend at least $5,000 in the initial three months. Moreover, you would get a yearly airline fee credit of $200, as much as $200 of Uber credits per card member per year, get access to over 1,000 airport lounges throughout the world, along with complimentary elite status at various leading hotel chains. Can you really ask for more!
The Chase Sapphire Preferred
It is one of the most recommended and popular travel reward cards, offering a slew of benefits. The Chase Sapphire Preferred gives 2x points for each dollar that you spend on travel and dining, including international travels.
The great thing is that dining includes things such as restaurants, pubs, bars, coffee shops, and a lot more while travel covers airfare, Airbnb, hotels, taxis and ride-share services such as Lyft and Uber, subways, and plenty more. If you are interested, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is also offering an incredible sign-up bonus of 50,000 points.
If you are traveling abroad and want to save a lot of money, you need to get a credit card with no foreign transaction fees. Just keep in mind that most of them do charge annual fees, but there are couple of travel credit cards with no annual fee. Please review each card and apply for the one that is right for you. With these cards, you can save up to 5% on transactions made abroad and your purchases help you earn points that can be redeemed for free flights, hotel stays and car rentals. Many cards also offer generous sign-up bonuses and 0% intro APR to help you save more money.
Using credit cards is often a great way to pay for hotels, travel expenses, and daily purchases when you are traveling abroad, for two key reasons: a) convenience and b) you get the interbank exchange rate on your purchases in a foreign country, which is almost always more competitive than the effective exchange rate you’d get by trading your dollars for the local currency at an exchange booth. The problem is that many credit cards charge foreign transaction fees that can be as much as 5 percent of purchases made abroad. But you can avoid paying this annoying fee by carrying one of the cards listed above as they don’t charge foreign transaction fees.