Credit cards with no foreign transaction fees can help keep costs in check while you’re traveling around the world. If you use a card that charges extra for foreign transactions, your trip is going to cost quite a bit more: Cards with these fees tend to tack on as much as 3% of the US dollar amount for every purchase. The good news is that there are plenty of no-foreign-transaction-fee options for your wallet.
Our team of experts reviewed dozens of credit cards with no foreign transaction fees, considering various factors including rewards, benefits and other costs like annual fees and APRs. Using a data-based approach, we narrowed down the list to the top eight credit cards that scored highly based on our weightings. Read our full methodology below.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Regular APR
21.49% – 28.49% Variable
On Chase Bank USA, NA’s Secure Website
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
*Best card with no foreign transaction fees
Key Takeaways
2X
Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day.
5X
Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you’ll get Capital One’s best prices on thousands of trip options.
5/5
Best card with no foreign transaction fees
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
*Best premium travel card
Key Takeaways
2X
Earn 2 miles per dollar on all eligible purchases.
2X
Earn 5 miles per dollar on flights.
10X
Earn 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booking via Capital One Travel.
5/5
Best card for travel protections
Key Takeaways
5X
Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually.
3X
Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
4.6/5
Best card for travel protections
On Chase Bank USA, NA’s Secure Website
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Best mid-tier travel rewards card
Key Takeaways
5x
Earn 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
2x
Earn 2x on all other travel purchases
4.6/5
Best mid-tier travel rewards card
On Chase Bank USA, NA’s Secure Website
Best card for bonus categories
Key Takeaways
3X
Earn 3 points per dollar at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, hotels and air travel.
1X
1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
4.2/5
Best card for bonus categories
Best store card
Key Takeaways
5%
Earn 5% cash back on Instacart app and Instacart.com purchases.
5%
Earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through the Chase Travel Center, including flights, hotels and more.
2%
Earn 2% cash back at restaurants, gas stations and on select streaming services.
1%
Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases.
3.6/5
American Express® Gold Card
*Best card for dining and grocery rewards
Key Takeaways
4X
Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points at restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.
4X
Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points at US supermarkets on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases.
3X
Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com.
1X
Earn 1X points on other eligible purchases.
3.3/5
Best card for dining and grocery rewards
Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
*Best no-annual-fee card
Key Takeaways
1.25X
Earn unlimited 1.25X miles on every purchase, every day. Miles won’t expire for the life of the account and there’s no limit to how many you can earn.
5X
Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you’ll get Capital One’s best prices on thousands of trip options.
3/5
Our picks at a glance
- Are you willing to pay an annual fee? Some credit cards with no foreign transaction fees charge annual fees, while others don’t have a yearly cost associated with them.
- Is there a welcome bonus? If you’re about to book your next flight outside the country, you may want to open the new card first to begin working your way to a sizable welcome bonus.
- How often do you travel? Some premium travel credit cards offer perks such as airport lounge access and credits to cover the application fee for Global Entry.
- How will you earn rewards? Pay close attention to rewards structures to pick a card that offers bonus payouts that align with your top spending categories.
- What will the card do for you when you’re not traveling? Be sure to consider whether the card is a good fit when you’re at home, too, in case your travel schedule slows down.
What is a foreign transaction fee?
A foreign transaction fee is an additional cost that a credit card issuer may charge for purchases made with retailers outside the US. These fees can occur when you are physically outside the country or when you make a purchase in a foreign currency or with an international merchant while you are physically present in the US.
What foreign transaction fees do different issuers charge?
A common foreign transaction fee is 3% of the purchase amount, but it’s important to review the terms and conditions of every credit card agreement to understand the potential costs.
Some of the biggest issuers offer cards with foreign transaction fees and cards without them, while others never charge foreign transaction fees. Here’s a rundown of the foreign transaction fees you might see from different issuers:
- Chase: 3% on cards that charge a foreign transaction fee.
- American Express: 2.7% for personal and small business cards and 2.5% for corporate cards that charge a foreign transaction fee.
- Citi: 3% on cards that charge a foreign transaction fee.
- Capital One: No foreign transaction fees on any cards.
- Bank of America: 3% on cards that charge a foreign transaction fee.
- Discover: No foreign transaction fees on any cards.
- Wells Fargo: 3% on cards that charge a foreign transaction fee.
How to use your credit card internationally
Using your card internationally requires some planning. Before you go, you may want to call your issuer to verify that the payment network is operational in your destination. For example, Discover’s international acceptance tool shows that there is a high merchant acceptance rate in Poland, while neighboring Lithuania earns a lower “just starting acceptance” designation.
Consider bringing a Visa or Mastercard when you travel abroad, as not all businesses accept Discover or American Express. Since there may be merchants that don’t accept credit cards at all, also think about carrying a small amount of cash in the local currency. Contact your bank or credit union before you leave to see if they offer currency exchange services, and check the exchange rate so you understand the cost of each transaction.
What is a dynamic currency conversion fee?
When you’re traveling outside the US, you may see an option to convert the local currency into your currency (US dollars) when you make a purchase. The service, called dynamic currency conversion, might help you understand exactly how much you’re paying, but it’s likely going to come with a fee. Even if you’re using a card with no foreign transaction fees, the dynamic currency conversion fee is a separate cost. Mastercard recommends avoiding currency conversion tools.
What didn’t make the cut
If you’ve been browsing for the best credit cards with no foreign transaction fees, you might be wondering why The Platinum Card® from American Express (terms apply, see rates and fees) isn’t on this list. While the card does offer a lengthy list of benefits and a welcome bonus of 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (terms apply, see rates and fees) is a better bet for anyone looking for a premium card due to a significantly lower annual fee — $395 versus the $695 annual price tag for the Amex Platinum.
And for anyone searching for a mid-tier premium card, it was a very close call between the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. In the end, though, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card won primarily due to the ability to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to any of Chase’s 14 travel transfer partners that can potentially increase the value. U.S. Bank, on the other hand, does not have a transfer feature.
Methodology
Our money and data analytics teams evaluated over two dozen credit cards with no foreign transaction fee. From there, we narrowed down our list of the best credit cards without foreign transaction fees by giving them a star rating out of five, based on the following factors:
Rewards value (35%)
Not all credit card points and miles have the same value. We used spending data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and valuations from The Points Guy to determine which cards dole out the best rewards value.
Welcome bonus value (25%)
Many cards offer bonus cash back, points or miles to consumers who spend a certain amount in their first months with the card. We calculated how much those bonuses are worth using points valuations from The Points Guy, and boosted cards that offer more value.
Benefits (25%)
Cards that offer benefits such as trip cancellation and interruption insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, and airport lounge access received a boost.
Annual fee (10%)
Cards with no annual fees scored better than cards with annual fees.
Annual credits and bonuses (5%)
Credit cards that come with credits and bonuses for spending in categories including groceries, dining, entertainment and gas received a boost.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Some credit cards with no foreign transaction fees do not charge annual fees. For example, the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card (terms apply, see rates and fees), the United Gateway℠ Card and the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card all have no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees.
You can use credit cards with no foreign transaction fees anywhere you can use credit cards. There may be some merchants or locations where your card or card’s payment network is not accepted, particularly if you use Discover or American Express.
You can earn rewards and/or cash back with quite a few credit cards that don’t charge foreign transaction fees. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the American Express® Gold Card (terms apply, see rates and fees) and the Citi Premier® Card are just a few of the no-foreign-transaction-fee credit cards that have rewards-earning potential.
Credit cards with no foreign transaction fees can be good even if you rarely travel outside the US. For example, if you wind up traveling internationally and spend $3,000, using a card with a foreign transaction fee of 3% will tack on another $90 to your trip.
You do not necessarily need multiple credit cards with no foreign transaction fees. However, it may make sense to have credit cards from multiple payment networks — one from Visa and another from American Express, for example — to increase the odds that every merchant will accept one of your forms of payment.
To view rates and fees for American Express® Gold Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards for Good Credit please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for The Platinum Card® from American Express please visit this page.
*The information for the following card(s) has been collected independently by CNN Underscored Money: Instacart Mastercard®, American Express® Gold Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card, Citi Premier® Card, United Gateway℠ Card, Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card, and The Platinum Card® from American Express. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.