Introduction:
International credit and debit cards are
designed to provide both advanced features and high transaction limits. But too
often, many of these cards only allow you to enjoy the benefits of their
rewards program within the USA. Sure, you can use them in several other
countries around the world, but what about the fees? What about when you’re
just traveling for a week or two? You’ll want to find the best international
credit card for you.
If you have to make a big purchase, it’s always
best to get the lowest price. But when you are traveling overseas, it can be
hard to find the same prices that you would find at home. That’s why using
reward cards with no foreign transaction fee (FTF) is something I recommend
everyone do. If you live outside of the United States, then one of the best
ways to pay for things overseas is with a credit card as credit cards offer
many convenience features.
CapitalOne Venture.
CapitalOne Venture cards are the best credit
cards for entrepreneurs. They offer a variety of perks and benefits, including:
No annual fee for the first year (but there is a
$95 annual fee after that). There are no fees for balance transfers or cash
advances, either.
No foreign transaction fees.
Earn up to 3 miles per dollar on all purchases.
You earn 1 mile for every $1 you spend with CapitalOne Venture Rewards, up to
$100 total in rewards per calendar year.
You can get a 0% introductory APR on purchases
and balance transfers for 12 months with your CapitalOne Venture card.
Cardholders get access to an exclusive member-only
website with features such as personal finance tools and exclusive deals from
partner brands like Uber and Capital One 360°.
CapitalOne Venture cards are issued by Capital
One, a bank. They are credit cards that offer a 0% APR for the first 12 months
and then a 10.24% – 22.24% variable APR on all purchases. You can redeem your
rewards at any Capital One branch or travel agent location, or transfer them to
an eligible travel partner. To be eligible for this card, you must have a valid
checking account with Capital One and open the account within 45 days of
receiving your card in the mail.
CapitalOne Personal Checking
The CapitalOne Personal Checking account is
available nationwide, though there may be additional fees if you use this
account outside of the country where it was opened. This online-only account
allows you to manage your finances online, including deposits, withdrawals, and
transfers between accounts. The minimum opening deposit is $100, which can be
waived if you have a qualifying relationship with them (such as a student). You
can also get this account with no balance requirement if you’re younger than 14
years old.
Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Chase Sapphire Preferred cards are among the
most popular credit cards in the United States, and for good reason. They come
with a 40,000-point signup bonus if you spend $4,000 on purchases within three
months of opening your account. That’s enough to redeem for two round-trip
economy flights from the U.S. to Europe or one first-class ticket to Europe
from North America.
The card also comes with an annual fee of $95
which is waived for the first year. After that, you’ll have to pay it before
you can use any of its benefits again. However, there are plenty of other ways
to save money on travel expenses with Chase Sapphire Preferred cards:
Earn 3X points on airfare purchased directly
with airlines or through airline websites (such as Southwest or JetBlue)
Earn 2X points on hotels booked directly through Hotels.com/Chase (or at booking sites like
Expedia), 1 point per dollar spent at other retailers through Hotels.com/Chase (or at booking sites like
Orbitz), and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases (including cash
advances, balance transfers, and other cash equivalents).
Chase Sapphire Preferred cards.
Chase Sapphire Preferred cards are great for
people who want to rack up rewards points fast and pay a low annual fee. The
card offers 3x points on travel, dining, and entertainment purchases and 1x
point on all other purchases. For example, if you spend $1,000 on travel
expenses with this card in a year, you’ll earn 75,000 bonus points after your
first purchase. That’s enough to redeem for a $750 travel statement credit
toward your next trip.
The annual fee is $95, which is waived the first
year as long as you use your card at least 20 times within the first three
months of opening it. Although there are no foreign transaction fees, there is
an annual fee of $75 if you don’t pay it off by the end of the year (and this
applies to any Chase card).
Barclaycard Arrival Plus.
The Arrival Plus credit card from Barclaycard is
a great option for customers who have been approved for one of our Barclaycard
Rewards credit cards and want to earn even more points.
The Arrival Plus card earns you 2 points per $1
spent on travel purchases, 1 point per $1 on all other spendings, and 1 point
per $1 on the first $25,000 in annual travel purchases.
You also get an introductory APR of 0% on
Purchases and Balance Transfers made within the first 90 days from account
opening, then the ongoing APR of 14.49%-24.74% Variable depending on your
creditworthiness.
The Barclays Arrival Plus card is a great option
for those who are looking for a no-annual-fee credit card with decent rewards
and an awesome sign-up bonus.
The card has two membership categories: Premier
and Elite. The Premier tier offers one point per dollar spent on travel,
dining, and entertainment purchases, with an annual fee of $0 that’s waived the
first year. There are also no foreign transaction fees. The Elite tier offers
double points per dollar spent at restaurants, hotels, and gas stations and an
annual fee of $89 that’s waived the first year. There are no foreign
transaction fees with either tier, but there is a 4% foreign transaction fee on
all purchases made outside the United States.
Since this article is about rewards cards, I’ll
focus on the Premier tier here.
The Arrival Plus card comes with 3 points per
dollar spent on travel purchases — 2 points when you use your card for
purchases at restaurants and hotels, and 1 point when you use it for everything
else (including gas stations). You also get 1 point per dollar spent on all
other purchases (including groceries and wholesale clubs), so it’s not just an
airline card; you can use this card anywhere!
BankAmericard Travel Rewards.
BankAmericard Travel Rewards is a new loyalty
program that rewards you for all your purchases at the Bank of America. You
earn 1 point for every $1 you spend and can redeem your points for discounts
and other special rewards. The Bank of America Travel Rewards Card is one of
the best credit cards for travelers because it offers a variety of
travel-related perks, including:
Double bonus miles when you use your card to
book flights on any airline through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal.
3X bonus miles when you use your card to book
hotel stays at select hotels through Chase Marriott Rewards ® portal.
2X bonus miles when you use your card to make
purchases from American Express OPEN SavingsSM while traveling abroad or in
Canada (excluding gas stations).
Bank of America’s Travel Rewards program is a
great way to earn miles and points for your travel spending. But there are a
few things you should know before you sign up.
Miles: You can earn 1,000 Bank of America
rewards bonus miles when you transfer 20,000 Bank of America Rewards points to
United Airlines. You’ll also get 5,000 bonus points when you make $100 in
purchases during your first 90 days with the card.
Points: You can get 10% back on all purchases
made with your Bank of America credit card, up to $200 per month. That’s just
one of the many ways you can earn points with this card.
Annual Fee: The annual fee is $39 and it’s
waived the first year. After that, you’ll pay $89 per year (waived the first
year).
Discover it, Miles.
Discover it Miles has a program called Discover
it Miles that rewards you with 1.5 miles per dollar spent at restaurants,
grocery stores, drugstores, and wholesale clubs. You also get one mile for each
dollar you spend on eligible travel purchases and transfers from other card
members.
You earn unlimited miles on every purchase,
including cash advances and balance transfers. The annual fee is $0 intro for
the first year, then $99 after that.
Discover it Miles cards.
Discover it Miles is a credit card company that
provides its clients with miles on their purchases. The confusion comes in
because the credit cards are not issued by Discover. Instead, they are issued
by Barclaycard and run on a Visa platform. The only way to earn miles with
these cards is to use them to make purchases in the Discover Network.
As far as earning miles goes, there are two ways
to do this:
The first is through the Discover it Miles
product. This program lets you earn 5X points whenever you use your card at any
place that accepts Visa, which includes gas stations, grocery stores, and even
restaurants if they have an associated mobile app (which most do).
The second way is through other programs such as
those run by Chase or American Express. These programs allow you to earn bonus
points based on certain factors such as meeting spending requirements or
reoccurring payments over time.
Discover it Miles cards.
Miles are a great way to get free travel.
Discover offers one of the best rewards programs out there, with tons of ways
to earn miles. There are even ways to earn bonus miles by using your card in
everyday life!
The more you spend, the more you earn.
Discover Miles is one of the most generous
rewards programs available today. You can earn up to 70,000 miles when you
spend $5,000 in your first three months as a cardholder. Even better, there are
no minimum spend requirements: You can sign up for an account and start earning
right away!
Schwab Investor Card.
The Schwab Investor Card is an investment card
that allows you to buy stocks and ETFs, mutual funds and exchange traded funds
(ETFs) with an annual fee. It’s available from all Schwab brokerage accounts,
including Schwab One accounts.
The card comes with a $0 cash-back rewards
program, which means you’ll earn one point for every dollar spent on purchases
made through your card. You can use the points to redeem gift cards up to
$25,000 per year.
The Schwab Investor Card is a credit card that
offers you the best of both worlds. It’s not just a debit card, but it also
allows you to deposit checks, pay bills, and more!
The Schwab Investor Card gives you access to
more than 95,000 fee-free ATMs, including those located at grocery stores and
retailers like CVS and Walgreens. You can use these ATMs for free with your
Schwab Investor Card.
The Schwab Investor Card also comes with free
check cashing and bill payments through Schwab Bank, which is part of the
Charles Schwab Corporation. They have been in business since 1923 and are one
of the top 10 largest U.S.-based banking companies by assets.
You will also earn rewards on purchases made
with your Schwab Investor Card through the popular Schwab Rewards program or
through PayPal cashback on all eligible purchases made online with PayPal
(including those made with your credit card).
Schwab Investor Card.
The Schwab Investor Card is a great way to get
the most out of your financial investments. It has no annual fee and comes with
a rewards program that gives you cash back on your purchases, which can be
redeemed for cash or used toward future purchases.
Schwab Cash Advances.
Schwab Cash Advances are short-term loans that
let you borrow up to $1,000 at a time and pay back funds in cash over time. You
can choose from a variety of terms, including one-month, three-month, and
six-month options. You also have the option to borrow up to $100,000 with no
annual fee.
Schwab Treasury Certificate of Deposit (CD)
Schwab Treasury CDs are insured by the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The interest rate on these accounts is
based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), which is an average
interest rate for similar deposits at other banks worldwide. This makes them
very competitive compared to bank CDs because they’re guaranteed by FDIC
insurance.
Fidelity Rewards Visa
Signature.
Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature cards are a
great way to earn rewards points that can be redeemed for travel, merchandise,
or cash.
Fidelity offers both cash back and travels
rewards cards, but the most popular ones are the Fidelity Rewards Visa
Signature and Fidelity Rewards Platinum Rewards.
These cards offer a variety of benefits
including:
No annual fee
Earn unlimited 1% cash back on every purchase.
3% cash back at supermarkets, gas stations, and select U.S. department stores;
2% in select categories; 1% on all other purchases (including online shopping
and wholesale clubs) – up to $15,000 each year.
No foreign transaction fees
Foreign transaction fees of 1% per transaction
when you use your card overseas (not including ATM withdrawals). This is waived
if you use your card at least once a month.*
No balance transfer fee (up to 12 months)**
Redeem your rewards as a statement credit or
directly onto an eligible Fidelity account such as an investment account,
brokerage account, or 401(k).
Fidelity is a great place to earn rewards
points, but the Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature card is one of the best ways to
use those rewards. Earn 1.5X points on every dollar you spend at airline and
hotel merchants, and 1 point per dollar spent everywhere else. There are no
annual fees and no foreign transaction fees, so you can use your card as often
as you want without worrying about costs.
Conclusion:
If you travel abroad regularly, it may be worth
it to look into a card that has no foreign transaction fees and a generous
rewards program. These cards could save you quite a bit of money in the long
run and would make it easier to find the balance between getting the best deals
possible while still avoiding getting gouged by your rewards program.
If you’re a frequent traveler or make regular
card payments to international suppliers – whether for work or for pleasure –
the chances are that you’ll pay hefty fees for each transaction.
They have no foreign transaction fees and very
low cash advance fees. Sign-up bonuses on the Chase cards are huge, earning
$600+ toward travel when you spend $3k in the first three months. These are
some of the best credit card rewards around, and the sign-up bonuses make them
even more attractive.