Avoid Paying Annual Fees AND Foreign Transaction Fees With These 9 Cards!
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No annual fee credit cards are great because they cost nothing to keep in your wallet. And they can help your credit score by increasing the average age of your open accounts.
Lots of no annual fee cards typically charge ~3% foreign transaction fees. This can make paying for meals or purchasing souvenirs more expensive while traveling overseas. But these are easy fees to avoid!
If you plan to travel abroad, you might consider a no annual fee card that also does NOT charge foreign transaction fees. This can save you money!
Keep in mind, many cards with annual fees also have no foreign transaction fees. And they usually have more valuable sign-up bonuses. That’s why even thrifty folks like me keep annual fee cards in my wallet.
That said, I understand lots of folks want to avoid fees, especially if you’re new to miles & points. So I’ve put together a list of the best cards with no annual fees or foreign transaction fees!
7 Cards with NO Annual Fees and NO Foreign Transaction Fees
Link: Best Card Strategy for Beginners
Before applying for these cards, I recommend checking out this post with the best card strategy for beginners. While the below cards are fantastic, they could impact your chances of getting more valuable cards in the future.
As a general rule, I recommend applying for Chase credit cards (like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card) before you sign-up for cards from other banks. That’s because Chase has some of the most top travel credit cards! And their strict application rules mean you won’t be approved for many of them if you apply for other cards first
Emily and I don’t earn a commission for all of these cards, but we’ll always tell you about ways to potentially save money while traveling!
1. Chase Amazon Prime Card
Link: Chase Amazon Prime Rewards Visa
Link: My Review of the Chase Amazon Prime Card
The Chase Amazon Prime Rewards comes with a $70 Amazon gift card upon approval (no minimum spending requirement!). This might be a popular option for folks who shop on Amazon!
This card also comes with:
- 5% back on all Amazon purchases if you have an Amazon Prime membership (otherwise 3% back)
- 2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores
- 1% back on all other purchases
- Travel and purchase protection benefits
This card is ideal for folks who don’t want to sign-up for valuable travel credit cards issued by Chase. Or if you already have all the Chase cards you want. And this card is NOT restricted by the Chase “5/24” rule.
2. Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards
Link: Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Quicksilver Card comes with a $150 sign-up bonus after spending $500 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
And you’ll earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases. So you’ll earn cash back while avoiding fees at the same time!
With this card, you also get perks like:
- Travel accident insurance – Insurance for death or dismemberment at no extra charge when you purchase airfare using your card
- Auto rental insurance – Secondary collision and theft insurance for you and all additional drivers on your agreement
- Extended warranty – Additional warranty protection when you purchase items your card
- Price protection – Get reimbursed the difference if the price drops on eligible items within 120 days of purchase
3. Capital One VentureOne
Link: Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One VentureOne comes with 20,000 Venture miles (worth $200 in travel) after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months.
You’ll also earn 1.25 Venture miles per $1 you spend on all purchases.
Venture miles are easy to redeem because you can use them to “erase” ANY travel purchase (not just airfare and hotels) with no minimum redemption amount. Just pay for travel with your card and log-in to your account within 90 days to use your miles to offset the charge.
Keep in mind, there’s also the Capital One Venture card. This version of the card has a $95 annual fee. But the sign-up bonus is worth $500 in travel.
4. Capital One Platinum Card
Link: Capital One® Platinum Credit Card
The Capital One® Platinum Credit Card is a great fit for folks new to the US, recent graduates, or if your credit score is ~650.
There’s no sign-up bonus or rewards for ongoing spending. But having no annual fee expense and no foreign transaction fees are nice perks if you’re just getting with a credit card.
With this card, you can also establish a relationship with Capital One and potentially qualify to upgrade to the bank’s other cards, like the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards card!
5. Discover It® Cash Back and Discover It® Miles
Link: Discover it® Cash Back
Link: Discover it® Miles
With the Discover it Cash Back card, you’ll earn $50 cash back when you sign-up and make a purchase within the first 3 months. And you’ll earn 5% cash back on rotating categories each quarter when you activate the bonus.
The Discover it Miles card is similar to the Discover it card. There’s no sign-up bonus, but with this card you’ll earn 1.5 miles per $1 (1.5% back) on all purchases. So it’s a good option for folks who don’t like tracking details of rotating bonus categories.
As a new cardmember with either of these cards, all the cash back or miles you earn will be matched after your 12th billing cycle.
Just keep in mind, Discover cards are not as widely accepted as other cards, especially outside the US. In Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean, you might have difficulty using the card!
6. BankAmericard Travel Rewards Card
Link: BankAmericard Travel Rewards
The BankAmericard Travel Rewards credit card has no annual fee or foreign transaction fees and earns 1.5 points per $1 on every purchase.
You can use the points for flights, hotels, or car rentals, but the minimum redemption amount if $25. And you’ll get a 10% point bonus with an active Bank of America checking or savings account.
7. Barclaycard JetBlue
Link: Barclaycard JetBlue Card
Link: My Review of the Barclaycard JetBlue Card
The Barclaycard JetBlue card has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. Plus, it has chip-and-PIN technology which is handy when you’re traveling in Europe!
When you sign-up for this card, you’ll get:
- 15,000 JetBlue points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days of opening your account
- 3 JetBlue points per $1 you spend on JetBlue purchases
- 2 JetBlue points per $1 you spend at restaurants and grocery stores
- 1 JetBlue point per $1 you spend everywhere else
- 50% discount on eligible in-flight purchases like cocktails, food, and movies
JetBlue points are extremely useful because there are no blackout dates on award flights!
Bottom Line
Cards with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees are a sweet deal for folks looking to save money while traveling abroad.
Most no annual fee cards add a 3% charge to the purchase price while shopping abroad. But you’ll pay absolutely nothing extra with these no annual fee cards:
- Chase Amazon Prime Rewards Visa
- Capital One® Quicksilver® Card
- Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One® Platinum Credit Card
- Discover it Cash Back
- Discover it Miles
- BankAmericard Travel Rewards
- Barclaycard JetBlue Card
Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)
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