Capital One Platinum Credit Card. No annual or hidden fees. Citi Custom Cash® Card. After that, the variable APR will be No rotating bonus categories to sign up for — as your spending changes each billing cycle, your earn adjusts automatically when you spend in any of the eligible categories.
No Annual Fee Citi will only issue one Citi Custom Cash® Card account per person. Show more Show less. Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card. Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card.
Apply online Secure. Ideal for those seeking an introductory premium travel card that provides exceptional airfare redemption, access to hotel privileges and elevated service beyond the ordinary. Find peace of mind with protection benefits that exceeds standard credit cards.
Earn one point for every dollar spent. Straightforward redemption without needing a high-maintenance reward strategy. No foreign transaction fees, no earning caps, no rotating categories, and no need to chase down transfer partners to escape very low point values.
Requests do not require a purchase, incure no charge for making them, and do not involve department transfers. Receive protection benefits like trip cancellation and interruption, auto rental car collision waiver, travel accident and baggage delay. Plus additional World Elite Mastercard® benefits.
Members-only LUXURY MAGAZINE®. Brushed Metal Card Design: Weighing in at an industry-leading 22g. Designed for frequent shoppers, big ticket purchases and everything in between. Terms and conditions apply. We calculate this number by multiplying the card's intro offer by Bankrate's valuation of this issuer's rewards program , showing you how much your points or miles are worth in dollars.
It also maintains other consumer-friendly features, including no foreign transaction fees and flexible redemption options. Read our full Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card review.
Not only does this card come with no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees and a generous rewards program, it features a decent intro APR for both purchases and balance transfers for those looking to save on interest or consolidate credit card debt.
Read our full Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card review. Terms apply Earn unlimited 1. One of a handful of cash back credit cards that skip foreign transaction fees, this popular Capital One card combines consumer-friendly terms with a decent rewards program.
We particularly like it for first-time rewards credit cardholders. Read our full Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card review. Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
This card is a terrific choice for frequent travelers thanks to its laundry list of high-value perks, including some of the most comprehensive lounge access privileges available on a rewards card.
As long as you make use of these perks, the annual fee should be easy to offset. Read our full The Platinum Card® from American Express review. Read our full Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card review. This popular travel credit card operates on all cylinders, touting an excellent rewards rate on travel and dining, a lucrative sign-up bonus, and, yes, no foreign transaction fees.
You can also enjoy 25 percent more value when you redeem points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. Read our full Chase Sapphire Preferred Card review.
Bonus: the credits you earn will put a nice dent in the annual fee. Intro Offer: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers — only from Discover. This classic card from Discover pairs forgiving terms like no penalty APR for missed payments with a generous rotating category cash back rewards program, making it a rare cash back credit card that skips foreign transaction fees.
Its first-year Cashback Match also sweetens the deal. Read our full Discover it® Cash Back review. Unlimited Bonus: Unlimited Mile-for-Mile match for all new cardmembers - only from Discover. For example, if you earn 35, Miles, you get 70, Miles.
Just a Miles-for-Miles match. Automatically earn unlimited 1. This budget-friendly travel credit card sweetens a decent return on purchases with a generous first-year welcome offer and consumer-friendly terms, like no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees.
Occasional travelers should consider applying. Read our full Discover it® Miles card review. Just a dollar-for-dollar match. Read our full Discover it® Student Cash Back review. Earn 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.
Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points at U. Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel. International travelers who always remember to pack their appetites will find the American Express Gold Card a rich source of travel rewards, without swallowing foreign transaction fees.
Read our full American Express Gold Card review. Earn 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Earn 5x total points on flights through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining. Read our full Chase Sapphire Reserve review.
The low-maintenance flat rate and easy redemption of miles for any recent, travel-related purchases made in the previous 90 days, including flights with any airline.
Rookie international travelers or someone who only travels occasionally but wants to earn miles on everyday purchases. Read our Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card review or jump back to offer details.
Best for expanded travel rewards categories. If you book travel through Bank of America Travel Center, you can earn additional points per dollar on airfare, hotels and rental cars, boosting your reward earning potential. Plus, purchases made at campgrounds, zoos, art galleries, aquariums and more can be redeemed for travel statement credits.
People looking for travel rewards in solid spending categories and nonrestrictive redemption options. This credit card lacks premium perks like airport lounge access that many luxury travelers are looking for, so a traveler searching for premium rewards and perks might find a card like The Platinum Card from American Express to be a better fit.
Read our Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card review or jump back to offer details. Best for flat-rate cash back. You can automatically redeem your cash back earnings, making this one of the most streamlined rewards experiences available.
If you want to maximize cash back earnings in multiple categories or have a higher rewards rate, we suggest the Discover it® Cash Back.
Read our Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card review or jump back to offer details. Best for lounge access. The card also comes with plenty of perks, including statement credits for expedited security screening, airline incidentals, hotels and Uber.
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a great alternative thanks to its lower annual fee and solid travel perks, including annual travel credits and bonus miles that can offset the annual fee. Read our Amex Platinum card review or jump back to offer details.
BEST FOR FLAT-RATE TRAVEL REWARDS. You can earn unlimited miles on all purchases, which can be very lucrative even without a jet-setting lifestyle since your can earn as many bonus miles on everyday purchases as your general travel purchases. Read our Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card review or jump back to offer details.
Best travel card for beginners. The Chase Sapphire Preferred's welcome bonus is a steal compared to bonuses on luxury cards with much higher annual fees. You can also enjoy ongoing elite value at a budget price with its robust travel protections and 25 percent redemption boost toward Ultimate Rewards travel.
Travelers looking for luxury perks such as airport lounge access or free checked bags may prefer the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card or the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card.
Read our Chase Sapphire Preferred Card review or jump back to offer details. Best for budget luxury travel. It strikes a unique balance between luxury and mid-tier travel card features.
If you want a card that rewards your personal travel habits, such as booking with your favorite airlines or hotels, there are cards with brand-specific perks. Co-branded credit cards, such as the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card , help you earn rewards with the hotels and airlines you prefer.
Read our full Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card review or jump back to offer details. Best for rotating category rewards. People who enjoy bonus category variety to cover popular seasonal expenses or already have a card that rewards staple categories year-round, such as grocery purchases.
Read our Discover it® Cash Back review or jump back to offer details. Best for first-year value. Read our Discover it® Miles review or jump back to offer details. Best for students. Students who are ready to dive into the world of credit card rewards. If you don't want to activate the card's rotating bonus categories each quarter, the Discover it® Student Chrome , which has a more simplified rewards program, is a better alternative.
Read our Discover it® Student Cash Back review or jump back to offer details. Best for travel rewards on dining. Although a few cards reward both at-home dining and eating out, this card's generous annual foodie-related credits are harder to come by. Read our American Express Gold Card review or jump back to offer details.
Best for luxury perks. Your points are also worth 50 percent more when you redeem for travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Frequent travelers looking to capitalize on air travel, car rentals, hotel stays and Chase Dining purchases.
Read our Chase Sapphire Reserve review or jump back to offer details. Best for everyday travel. It carries solid perks at a relatively low cost, allowing you to get a taste of luxury travel even if you only take a few flights per year. It also offers one of the most generous rewards rates out there on transit, making it a great pick for commuters.
Occasional travelers, fans of public transit and anyone who wants to try out perks like lounge access while keeping costs relatively low. Indeed, it may be a better value than the Amex Green overall thanks to its wider-reaching lounge access privileges, annual travel credit and ongoing anniversary bonus.
Read our American Express Green Card review. All information about the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.
com and has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer. It may seem like any other transaction, but the credit card issuer covers various costs associated with international purchases like transferring money through a foreign bank. Many issuers offset these costs by charging a foreign transaction fee for overseas purchases.
Overseas transactions are more complex than standard transactions as they require banks to convert the money spent into U. The total fee you pay often involves adding the charge from the issuing bank and the processing fee from the payment network like Visa or Mastercard.
Foreign transaction fees are becoming less common, particularly among premium or travel credit cards. However, many cards still impose the charge. It can be hard to avoid foreign transaction fees when making purchases abroad. Foreign transaction fees typically show up on your credit card statement at the end of your billing cycle and you pay them when you pay your credit card balance.
Depending on the issuer and card, a foreign transaction fee typically ranges from 1 percent to 3 percent, but it can go as high as 5 percent. On its own, one or two foreign transaction fees may seem reasonable, but the more you spend, the more those fees start to add up. When traveling overseas or shopping with international vendors, you may also have to deal with other common credit card fees that can decrease your purchasing power, including cash advance fees, ATM fees and conversion fees.
cash is a way to get out of paying a foreign transaction fee. dollars will likely cost you more because the price will include a currency conversion fee. Foreign transaction fees by credit card issuers vary widely.
Here's a quick look at how the fee structure breaks down among several major credit card issuers:. Check rewards: If you want to earn rewards while avoiding foreign transaction fees, look for cards that offer cash back, points, or miles in categories that match your spending habits.
Look at other perks: While choosing a travel credit card , compare the full suite of benefits each one offers. Along with rewards and no foreign transaction fees, top-tier travel credit cards commonly offer trip cancellation insurance, free checked bags, complimentary in-flight Wi-Fi, airport lounge access and other notable travel benefits.
Compare rates and fees: Common credit card fees include annual fees, late fees, balance transfer fees, cash advance fees and returned payment fees. Annual fees are most common among mid-tier and premium travel credit cards, even if these cards skip foreign transaction fees. Weigh whether you can offset an annual fee with reward earnings and added benefits, as you may find some cards with annual fees are worth it when they offer rewards.
Pick a card specific to your needs: For some people, no foreign transaction fees can save hundreds of dollars. Still unsure if a no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card is right for you?
Check out our Credit Card Spender Type Tool to get personalized credit card recommendations based on your credit score, spending habits and daily needs.
If you travel overseas or make purchases in foreign currencies, it's worth understanding why a card with no foreign transaction fee might benefit you.
If you're making multiple purchases in different currencies with a credit card that has foreign transaction fees, it can quickly add up.
And if you're using a credit card that already has a high balance and charges interest, those fees can be even more painful.
Using your debit card overseas comes with many benefits — but beware of some of the drawbacks. Credit cards can protect you against fraud and identity theft. Plus, you can request an overnight replacement card from the issuer.
The average foreign transaction fee rate is 3 percent, and some cards only offer 1 to 2 percent cash back, effectively negating your rewards. Using a Visa or Mastercard overseas can help you save on converting currency at a local ATM, bank or airport.
Visa and Mastercard typically charge 1 percent to convert currency to U. If you charge everything to your credit card without foreign transaction fees, you won't have to keep track of different payment methods or currency exchange fees.
Some banks no longer offer traveler's checks, so you may have to jump through more hoops to get them. However, with a credit card you can enjoy the same protections and benefits as you would with a traveler's check, such as:. If you're looking for an alternative to credit cards with no foreign transaction fees, here are some great options:.
They are also safer than carrying cash, since you can replace them if they are stolen or lost. These cards let you load money onto them at home, then use them to make purchases wherever you go — no matter where in the world you are. You can even use these cards online or over the phone, just as if they were a traditional credit card.
When evaluating the best credit cards with no foreign transaction fee, we take into account several factors, including how cards score in our proprietary card rating system and whether they offer features that fit the priorities of a diverse group of cardholders, from earning rewards to scoring a large sign-up bonus to saving on interest.
We analyzed over of the most popular credit cards and selected standouts that carry no foreign transaction fee. In other words: Does the card earn rewards at a high rate in the most popular spending categories?
We then narrow our focus to which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards, subtracting expenditures like housing, vehicle purchases and education. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.
With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other cards in its primary category. The better these values, the higher its score will be, making it more worthy of inclusion in our list and increasing its potential ranking.
Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value. However, if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score and a spot in our list even if it carries a high annual fee.
After all, the highest rewards rates and most valuable perks are often found on cards with annual fees. Along with rewards value and cost, we consider other factors that could give cards great long-term value, like flexible rewards redemption and especially unique and valuable perks.
These restrictions could include only allowing users to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requiring users to meet a certain earning threshold before they can redeem rewards. We also examine whether points are worth less when you opt for some redemption options over others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners.
Cards that offer top-tier benefits like airport lounge access or travel credits are likely to stand out, but we also aim to highlight cards that offer valuable under-the-radar perks, like cellphone protection or one-off credits for everyday expenses like dining and streaming services.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
The best overall card for international transactions will vary depending on your specific overseas travel needs, but Bankrate has rated cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, Platinum card from American Express and the Capital One VentureOne Rewards card as some of the best travel rewards cards with no foreign transaction fee.
Then add the result to the purchase price. To understand what you're being charged overseas versus what you'd be paying in your home currency, just divide the base amount base currency by the finishing amount foreign currency to determine the exchange rate.
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is a top pick for small business owners due to its useful benefits, valuable rewards for business purchases and generous welcome bonus. Ink Business Preferred cardholders can add employee cards for free and also take advantage of various travel and purchase protections, including:.
Points can be redeemed toward travel through the Chase travel portal at a rate of 1. Points can also be transferred to numerous hotel and airline partners, unlocking all sorts of redemption possibilities.
The fees a bank charges vary depending on what card you have. So regardless of what card issuer you're applying for a credit card with, it's important to review the fees that are assessed to that specific card, including possible foreign transaction fees.
Discover is one of the few issuers that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees on any of its credit cards. If you are charged a foreign transaction fee, you could call your card issuer and ask for a fee waiver.
However, you might have limited success with this strategy, it's better to review your card's fees beforehand and to use a card that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees whenever possible. Some American Express cards have foreign transaction fees, but many do not. There are no foreign transaction fees with cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express see rates and fees , the American Express® Green Card see rates and fees and the American Express® Gold Card see rates and fees.
Whether there is a foreign transaction fee varies depending on which Chase card you have. For example, the best Chase travel credit cards, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card , have no foreign transaction fees, while many of the no annual fee Chase cards do charge foreign transaction fees.
The good news is, there is no shortage of travel credit cards without this fee. So you'll be able to earn valuable cash back or travel rewards while using a no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card abroad. Money matters — so make the most of it. Get expert tips, strategies, news and everything else you need to maximize your money, right to your inbox.
Sign up here. At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every travel credit card review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit cards.
While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best credit cards.
To determine which cards will put the most money back in your pocket, CNBC Select evaluated the most popular rewards credit cards with no foreign transaction fees offered by major banks, financial companies and credit unions that allow anyone to join.
We compared each card on a range of features, including travel rewards points and miles , annual fee, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR, one-time perks, annual perks, redemption rates, as well as factors such as required credit and customer reviews when available. Catch up on CNBC Select's in-depth coverage of credit cards , banking and money.
And follow us on TikTok , Facebook , Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
For rates and fees of the Discover it® Miles, click here. For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here. For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
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Learn More. Rewards 5 Miles per dollar on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 2X miles per dollar on every other purchase. View More.
Credit cards with no foreign transaction fees give you the freedom to spend internationally without the added cost Best cash back card with no foreign transaction fee No annual fee — The card has a $0 annual fee, which is nice for budget travelers. Extended Many international travelers encounter foreign transaction fees while making purchases or withdrawing cash from an ATM in a foreign country