American Express Credit Cards

The American Express foreign transaction fee is 2.7% of all international transactions or $0, depending on the Amex card. There are plenty of American Express cards with no foreign transaction fee. Those cards tend to be the best options for travel.

If you’re unfamiliar with foreign transaction fees, they’re a surcharge for using a credit card with a foreign merchant. Credit cards with foreign fees usually charge 1%-3% of the purchase price. That can really add up, especially since Amex’s 2.7% foreign fee is on the higher end of the spectrum.

Here are the American Express foreign transaction fees:

• American Express cards with a foreign transaction fee charge 2.7%.
• Many American Express credit cards have no foreign transaction fees.
• Amex foreign transaction fees apply when you buy things abroad OR shop at foreign merchants online.
• Some of the best American Express cards with no foreign fees include Amex Platinum and Premier Rewards Gold as well as the PenFed Premium Travel Rewards card and the Amex cards affiliated with Starwood, Hilton and Delta.

If you’re looking for an international credit card, it’s best to get one with no foreign transaction fee, and American Express does have a good selection. But American Express cards aren’t accepted by nearly as many foreign merchants as Visa and Mastercard. So you may find yourself somewhere your Amex won’t work. And that’s why it’s probably better to have a Visa or Mastercard for travel.

There are a lot of good American Express business cards that are co-branded with various travel providers and businesses. The Starwood Preferred Guest and Platinum Delta SkyMiles business cards offer the best deals on hotels and airlines, respectively.

The Amazon Business Amex is another good one. It gives the choice of either 3% cash back on Amazon purchases OR 60 days to pay off all Amazon purchases without interest. Regardless of what you pick, you also get 2% cash back at gas stations, restaurants and wireless phone providers with no annual fee.

The only American Express secured credit card is the USAA Secured American Express card, which has a $35 annual fee and requires a deposit of at least $250. The card also has a special lowered interest rate of just 4% for deployed military personnel. This card is issued by USAA, but it is on the American Express card network. There is no American Express secured credit card issued by Amex. All American Express-issued credit cards require at least good credit for approval.

To get the USAA American Express secured credit card, you must be a USAA member. You can join USAA if you are active or former military. You’re also eligible to join if your spouse or a parent is a USAA member with a USAA auto/property insurance policy.

Here’s what the American Express secured credit card from USAA offers:

• Eligibility: The USAA Secured American Express card is available to USAA members with bad credit or better.
• Annual Fee: $35.
• Deposit & Limit: The USAA Secured Amex card requires a deposit of at least $250. You can deposit up to $5,000. Your spending limit equals the amount of the deposit.
• APR: 11.9% - 21.9% (V); 4% if you’re deployed or have Permanent Change of Station (PCS).
• Foreign Transaction Fee: $0.

If you’re not eligible for (or don’t like) the American Express secured credit card from USAA, you may want to look into Visa, Mastercard and Discover secured cards. The Discover it Secured Card and the Capital One Secured Card are two of the best offers on the market.

The American Express Global Lounge Collection is a network of 7 airport lounges with more than 1,000 locations in over 120 countries. Amex Platinum, Amex Business Platinum and Amex Centurion cardholders can access them for free. The airport lounge brands that belong to the Amex Global Lounge Collection are Centurion, International American Express, Delta Sky Club, Priority Pass, Plaza Premium, Airspace and Escape.

Different lounges offer different amenities. But in general, you can expect to receive free Wi-Fi, free snacks and beverages, charging stations and comfortable seating. Depending on the lounge network and location, you might also find things like business meeting rooms, printing, newspapers, showers and more. To enter, you will need to present your credit card and ID. In some cases, you will also need a same-day boarding pass. Each lounge has their own rules about how many guests you can bring in for free and how much it costs to bring in additional guests.

The Global Lounge Collection is a valuable perk, as buying a membership for even one of these individual lounges can cost hundreds of dollars. As long as you have one of the eligible Amex cards, you get unlimited free access to each lounge.

The best American Express cash back credit card is the Blue Cash Preferred card. It offers $200 cash back for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. Cardholders also earn 6% cash back on the first $6,000 spent per year at U.S. supermarkets. And there’s unlimited 3% back at U.S. gas stations and 1% on all other purchases. Blue Cash Preferred has a $95 annual fee. But it also gives introductory APRs of 0% for 12 months on purchases and 0% for 12 months on balance transfers.

If you don’t want to pay an annual fee, the Amex Cash Magnet card is a better choice. It gives 1.5% cash back on all purchases. Its bonus is a $150 statement credit for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. And Amex Cash Magnet helps keep interest costs low, too. It offers 0% for 15 months on purchases and 0% for 15 months on balance transfers.