No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards

The foreign transaction fee for this card is 3% of all transactions processed outside of the U.S. If you plan to travel abroad or make purchases from international merchants, we recommend getting a no foreign transaction fee credit card: https://wallethub.com/credit-cards/no-foreign-transaction-fee/ . You can learn more about how foreign transaction fees work here: https://wallethub.com/edu/foreign-transaction-fees/19571/ .

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.