No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards

There is no Capital One Venture foreign transaction fee, and there isn’t likely to be one in the future. Capital One is one of only two issuers, the other being Discover, that don’t have foreign transaction fees on any of their cards. They probably wouldn’t change such a big part of their brand. Besides, Venture is a travel rewards credit card. Almost no travel credit cards charge foreign transaction fees because the issuers want to encourage people to spend money abroad. And if you had to pay an extra 3-5% on top of every purchase, you’d probably look for another card to use internationally.

So while Capital One does have the ability to change their cards’ terms in the future, it would be a really bad PR move. And if that did ever happen, they would be required by law to notify you in advance. For the foreseeable future, though, you won’t have to worry about paying a Capital One Venture foreign transaction fee when you make purchases abroad or through international merchants. The same also goes for Venture’s companion card, Capital One VentureOne. And fee or not, Venture is well worth keeping in your wallet because of its substantial miles earning rate on all purchases.

If you have more questions about Capital One’s policies, you can always call their customer service number at 1-800-227-4825.

The Chase Freedom foreign transaction fee is 3%. That means the real price of everything you charge to your Chase Freedom Card while traveling abroad will end up being 3% higher than listed. It’s not only then, either. Chase Freedom’s foreign fee will also apply if you’re in the U.S. and buy something from somewhere international.

Know what that sounds like? Like the Chase Freedom Card actually restricts the freedom of those with international tastes. Sure, it’s a fine option for domestic use – if you’re into rotating rewards categories, that is.

But you should never settle for foreign fees if you travel or shop internationally. There’s really no reason to when Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve are available. Neither charges a foreign transaction fee. And both have the same credit score requirement as Chase Freedom: Excellent. There are plenty of great options from other credit card companies too.

There is one Visa exchange rate for every type of currency, which can change once every 24 hours. And that rate is automatically applied to any international transaction made with a Visa credit card or debit card. You can easily check the latest Visa exchange rates online to get an idea of what to expect when traveling.

Here’s how to see your Visa exchange rate:

1. Go to Visa’s online Exchange Rate Calculator.

2. Select United States Dollar for your card’s currency.

3. Select the currency used by the merchant.

4. Enter your bank fee (foreign transaction fee), if applicable. Ideally, you should use a no foreign transaction fee credit card.

5. Put in today’s date (the tool can’t predict the future).

6. Click “Calculate Exchange Rates.”

Using a no foreign transaction fee Visa credit card when traveling abroad will save you up to 9% compared to converting hard currency, according to WalletHub’s Currency Exchange Study. But a Mastercard will do the trick, too. There’s actually not much difference between the exchange rates offered by these two worldwide card networks.

Lastly, you should always avoid Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC). This is when a foreign vendor converts the price of a purchase to U.S. dollars, supposedly for your convenience. But that gives the merchant a chance to use an unfavorable exchange rate in place of the low rate you’d automatically get from Visa.

The American Express foreign transaction fee is 2.7% for all the cards that charge it. But there are plenty of American Express cards with no foreign transaction fee. Those cards tend to be your best options for travel.

In case you’re unfamiliar with foreign transaction fees, they’re a surcharge you have to pay for using your credit card at a foreign merchant, usually 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%.
• Amex foreign transaction fees apply when you buy things abroad OR shop at foreign merchants online.
• Many American Express credit cards have no foreign transaction fees. They include Amex Platinum and Premier Rewards Gold, 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 is no Capital One foreign transaction fee. Or, in other words, the Capital One foreign transaction fee is 0%. That goes for every single Capital One credit card and debit card too from travel rewards cards like Venture to cash back cards like Quicksilver. Want proof? The Capital One website says: “Capital One does not charge a fee for using your credit card for foreign currency transactions.”

That means you won’t pay extra just for shopping at foreign merchants, whether you’re traveling abroad or buying things online from merchants based in other countries. Typically, a foreign transaction fee will cost you an extra 1%-3% of the purchase amount. Capital One, Discover, USAA and PenFed are the only major credit card companies that don’t charge foreign fees on any of their cards.

Even though there are no Capital One credit card foreign transaction fees, there’s still one thing you need to watch out for: Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC). Capital One doesn’t impose this on you, but they can’t protect you from it, either, unfortunately. Dynamic currency conversion is when a merchant charges you in U.S. dollars rather than the local currency and uses an unfair exchange rate to inflate the price. You should always tell merchants to charge you in the local currency. And if you see on your receipt that they didn’t, you should ask them to void the transaction and do it over.

The Bank of America foreign transaction fee is 3%, when it’s not waived. There are 9 Bank of America credit cards with no foreign transaction fees, including their Premium Rewards and Travel Rewards cards. Those no foreign fee BofA cards clearly are a better choice for international spending than the ones that add a 3% surcharge onto everything you buy abroad. That’s actually one of the highest foreign fees on the market. So international shoppers need to be careful when picking a Bank of America credit card and perhaps consider cards from other issuers too.

Here’s what you have to know about the Bank of America foreign transaction fee:

• Unless your card doesn’t charge a fee, it’ll be 3%.
• You don’t even have to travel to get charged a foreign transaction fee. It gets added onto online purchases from foreign merchants too.
• There are 9 Bank of America credit cards with no foreign transaction fees.

At 3%, the Bank of America foreign transaction fee is too steep for anyone planning to make international purchases. But the cards that charge it are meant more for everyday spending than travel. The good news is there are a handful of foreign fee-less alternatives.

These are the best Bank of America no foreign transaction fee credit cards:

• Biggest Bonus: Bank of America Premium Rewards
• No Annual Fee: Bank of America Travel Rewards
• Best Airline Rewards: Alaska Airlines Credit Card
• Best Student Card: Bank of America Travel Rewards for Students

Plus, more and more cards from other issuers are shedding their foreign fees. So you can shop around for the best deal.

The Discover Card foreign transaction fee is 0%, or $0, however you want to frame it. In other words, any Discover credit card that you apply for now will have no foreign transaction fee. That’s been the case since 2011, when Discover joined Capital One as the only major credit card issuers to remove foreign fees from all of their offers. So when you make purchases abroad or from foreign merchants online, you can rest assured that you won’t be paying any extra money.

The only Discover cards with foreign transaction fees are discontinued offers issued prior to 2011. You can’t get them anymore, but some people still have them.

Here are the Discover card foreign transaction fees:

• Discover it: $0
  
• Discover it Miles: $0
  
• Discover it Chrome: $0
  
• Discover it Secured
  
• Discover it for Students: $0
  
• All other available Discover cards: $0
  
• Discover More Card (Discontinued): 2%
  
• Discover More Card – $150 Cashback Bonus (Discontinued): 2% 

So if you’re in the market for a new credit card, any Discover card you get will have no foreign transaction fees. But keep in mind that Discover has far less international acceptance than Visa or Mastercard. So you could run into places abroad where you can’t use your Discover card anyway – France, for example.

Assuming Discover is accepted where you’re going, the only thing that might actually cost you more is Dynamic Currency Conversion. That’s when a merchant asks if you want to pay in the local currency rather than U.S. dollars. You should always say no to that. Most of the time, you’ll get ripped off with high exchange rates.