What is the best credit card to use to abroad?
by Author on Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 | 4 Comments
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Hi @May! Smart thinking! I just returned from Canada to a credit card bill with a 3% fee on all the purchases I made there. With the passage of the new CARD Act in February, credit card companies can’t resort to many of the traditional ways they’ve earned money in the past (e.g. unfair interest rate increases, high late fees, etc.). As a result, these companies are coming up with new ways to charge consumers and are increasing some fees – like the foreign transaction fee.
Here’s a current list of the foreign transaction fees for each major credit card. If you plan to get a card you can use while traveling, you’ll want to get one without this fee or with a very low fee.
Bank of America Mastercard – 3%
JP Morgan Chase – 3%
Citi – 3%
HSBC – 3%
Wells Fargo – 3%
American Express – 2.7%
Bank of America American Express – 2%
Discover – 2%
Washington Mutual – 1%
Capital One – 0%
When evaluating different credit card options, make sure you look at ALL the terms, not just this particular foreign transaction fee. Some cards might give you a deal comparatively on purchases you make abroad, only to charge you a high interest rate on all your purchases. To research card options, check out sites like Bankrate. Good luck and happy travels!
There is one card that I highly recommend.
Capital One – cant remember if its all or just a special one.
Look around for the one that charges NO FOREIGHN transaction fees.
I would just call Capital One and ask them.
Go to the site – and get the 800 number.
Hope you are not under 21.
New laws will make it virtually impossible for you to get a credit card if this is the case.
Forget 0% APR – this will only ruin your credit – since you will be more likely to carry balances.
Carrying balances can easily destroy credit and devaste your life.
A card must be paid in full each month to establish top credit worthiness.
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Without question American Express in the best international card. Everywhere I have been accpts them and the travelers checks are the standard around the world.
The best credit card to use while traveling abroad are the credit cards that have no foreign transaction fee. Most issuers charge a foreign transaction fee usually between 2-3 percent of all of your purchases, so getting one without this fee will make a considerable difference. Capital One is the issuer that has the most credit cards with no foreign transaction fee by far.
Since you are fairly new to credit, you will need to apply for a card that is designed specifically for limited credit. Capital One offers a No Hassle Cash Rewards card that is meant to approve people with limited credit history, so that would be my recommendation (be careful that you apply for the one for limited credit, and not excellent or good credit).