Credit cards with no foreign transaction fee
Most US cash-back cards add a 3% foreign transaction fee to every purchase made abroad or with a foreign merchant. These 10 cards don’t, three of them with no annual fee. Every entry was checked on the issuer’s own site.
Source: Issuer pages, linked in the table · verified
You’d save per year
$120.00
A 3% fee costs $60.00 on a $2,000.00 trip, so $120.00 over 2 trips a year. A no-annual-fee card below removes it.
- Spent per trip
- $2,000.00
- Foreign transaction fee at 3%
- − $60.00
- Total fees
- $60.00
Checked on each issuer’s site
The details
Best no-foreign-transaction-fee cards with no annual fee
If you travel a few times a year, start here: you lose the 3% without paying anything to hold the card.
| Card | Annual fee | Foreign transaction fee |
|---|---|---|
| Capital One Quicksilver | $0 | None |
| Bank of America Travel Rewards | $0 | None |
| Wells Fargo Autograph | $0 | None |
Mid-range cards ($95 a year)
Travel rewards cards whose points usually outweigh the fee once you spend a few thousand dollars a year on travel and dining.
| Card | Annual fee | Foreign transaction fee |
|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Preferred | $95 | None |
| Capital One Venture | $95 | None |
| Citi Strata Premier | $95 | None |
Premium travel cards
High annual fees offset by credits and lounge access; worth it only if you use those benefits. None of them charges a foreign transaction fee.
| Card | Annual fee | Foreign transaction fee |
|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | $795 | None |
| Capital One Venture X | $395 | None |
| American Express Platinum Card | $895 | None |
| American Express Gold Card | $325 | None |
How a foreign transaction fee works
The fee is a percentage the issuing bank adds to any purchase processed outside the US, including online purchases from foreign merchants while you are at home. On a 3% card, a $2,000 trip costs $60 extra. It appears as a separate line on your statement or folded into the converted amount.
- Always pay in the local currency. When a terminal or ATM offers to charge you in dollars (dynamic currency conversion), the merchant sets the exchange rate, and it is almost always worse than your card network’s. A no-fee card does not protect you from it.
- Amex is accepted in fewer places abroad than Visa or Mastercard; carry a second card on another network.
- Cash withdrawals on a credit card are cash advances with their own fee and interest. For cash, a debit card with no foreign fees (see Wise vs Revolut vs a credit card) is cheaper.
We are not paid by any card issuer for this list, and it isn’t personal financial advice: compare each card’s full terms on the issuer’s site before applying.
Questions
Which credit cards have no foreign transaction fee?
Among the cards we checked on the issuers’ sites: Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Capital One Venture X, Capital One Venture, Capital One Quicksilver, American Express Platinum Card, American Express Gold Card, Bank of America Travel Rewards, Wells Fargo Autograph, Citi Strata Premier.
Which credit card has no foreign transaction fee and no annual fee?
Capital One Quicksilver, Bank of America Travel Rewards, Wells Fargo Autograph all have a $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fee.
How much is a typical foreign transaction fee?
About 3% of each purchase on cards that charge one; Citi Double Cash, for example, charges 3% of the US dollar amount of each foreign purchase.
Do foreign transaction fees apply to online purchases?
Yes, when the merchant processes the payment outside the US, even if you are at home and the price is shown in dollars.
More: Foreign transaction fees by card · Wise vs Revolut vs a credit card abroad. Seller fee calculators: eBay fee calculator · Etsy fee calculator · Square fee calculator · Venmo fee calculator · Cash App fee calculator. Getting paid by clients abroad? Compare what you keep with Stripe, PayPal, Wise and more.