Planning a trip abroad? Make sure to bring the right credit card with you.
Many U.S. credit cards charge foreign transaction fees, which add a 3% to 5% fee to your purchase when you pay in a currency other than the U.S. Dollar. This can add up quickly, especially if you’re making a large purchase abroad or are paying for a destination wedding or other event. Even worse, these fees will likely outweigh the value of the credit card rewards you earn.
Thankfully, you can get around these fees and earn rewards on your international purchases. A handful of travel rewards cards don’t add foreign transaction fees, letting you spend just like you would at home. You’ll pay a fair exchange rate and earn rewards.
There are a handful of great credit cards that don’t add annual fees — but not all are created equal. Here’s a look at our favorite travel credit cards that do not charge foreign transaction fees.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is among the most iconic travel rewards credit cards. Chase launched the card in 2009, and it has improved since then. Its $95 annual fee includes benefits like an annual $50 hotel discount, bonus points earned on travel and dining, and no foreign transaction fees.
Here’s how many points per dollar the card earns:
The Chase Sapphire Preferred also gives cardholders a 10% points bonus every year. This is based on how much you spend in the prior cardmember year. So if you spend $50,000 on your card, you’ll get a 5,000-point bonus.
Plus, the card gives you access to Chase Ultimate Rewards points. These transfer to some of our favorite loyalty programs, like Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, United MileagePlus, and World of Hyatt.
You can also redeem points at 1.25 cents per point through Chase Travel.
The American Express® Gold Card is another Milesopedia US favorite. It earns a high bonus multiplier on dining and grocery purchases and has a suite of statement credits that largely offset its $325 annual fee (see rates and fees). As you’d expect, this card does not add foreign transaction fees.
The Amex Gold earns at the following rates:
Other benefits include $10 in monthly Uber Cash, which can be used toward Uber rides and Uber Eats orders. There’s also a $10 monthly dining credit that can be redeemed at Grubhub (including Seamless), The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys.
One downside to the Amex Gold for international use is that it runs on the American Express network. Acceptance abroad has increased over the years, but you might find it hard to use your Amex outside of major cities in Europe and Asia.
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a premium travel card with benefits like airport lounge access, an annual travel credit, and access to Capital One Travel. These benefits mean the card has a relatively high $395 annual fee, but two annual perks offset this. Like most premium cards, it doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee.
The card earns Capital One miles, which can be transferred to three hotel loyalty programs and 15 airline loyalty programs. You can also cover travel purchases charged to the card at a rate of 1 cent per mile.
The Capital One Venture X earns 2 miles per dollar on all purchases, except at Capital One Travel, where you earn 5 miles per dollar on flights and 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars.
You can access Capital One Lounges and Priority Pass lounges with this card. Further, it offers a $300 annual Capital One Travel credit and 10,000 bonus miles every year. You’ll get the travel credit starting your first year and the 10,000 bonus miles starting your first account anniversary.
The Bilt Mastercard is branded as a credit card for renters, but it’s a good choice for any traveler who wants a card with no annual fee. It’s one of the few no-annual-fee credit cards that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees — and it has some interesting tricks up its sleeve.
The Bilt Mastercard earns Bilt Rewards points, which transfer to 13 airline loyalty programs and five hotel loyalty programs. These include some of our favorites, like Air Canada Aeroplan, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, and World of Hyatt.
The card earns at the following rates:
Renters can use Bilt Rewards to earn points on their monthly rent. Regardless of your landlord, you’ll earn 1 point per dollar (up to 100,000 points per year) on rent payments. If your building is in the Bilt Alliance, you can pay directly through your building’s payment portal. Otherwise, Bilt will cut a check to your landlord or send it via bank transfer or Venmo.
The best no-foreign-transaction fee credit card for you depends on your annual fee budget and the rewards you’d like to earn. Study this list carefully and consider what’s most important for your wallet before clicking apply.
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