We are an independent publisher. Our reporters create honest, accurate, and objective content to help you make decisions. To support our work, we are paid for providing advertising services. Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Next” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. The compensation we receive and other factors, such as your location, may impact what ads and links appear on our site, and how, where, and in what order ads and links appear. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, our site does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We strive to keep our information accurate and up-to-date, but some information may not be current. So, your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms on this site. And the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.

This page may include: credit card ads that we may be paid for (“advertiser listing”); and general information about credit card products (“editorial content”). Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Apply Now” button or “Learn More” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. When you click on that hyperlink or button, you may be directed to the credit card issuer’s website where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer. Each advertiser is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its ad offer details, but we attempt to verify those offer details. We have partnerships with advertisers such as Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo and Discover. We also include editorial content to educate consumers about financial products and services. Some of that content may also contain ads, including links to advertisers’ sites, and we may be paid on those ads or links.

For more information, please see How we make money.

Starwood AMEX Cards – No Foreign Transaction Fees!

  • Million Mile Secrets

    • Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.

    Update:   One or more card offers in this post are no longer available.  Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers. 

    Considering the fantastic limited-time offer on the AMEX Starwood personal and small business cards?  Good news!

    Not only is the sign-up bonus worth LOTS of Big Travel with Small Money, but both the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express and Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express don’t charge any international fees!

    Making them great cards to use overseas, because they can save you a lot of money.

    You’ll Save Money Using Your New AMEX Starwood Card Overseas, Because It Doesn’t Charge Foreign Transaction Fees!

    Let’s take a look at how much you can save by using cards, like the AMEX Starwood cards, that do NOT charge foreign transactions fees.

    Starwood American Express Foreign Transaction Fees

    Link:   Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express

    Link:   Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express

    Through April 5, 2017, you can earn up to 35,000 Starwood points with the AMEX Starwood personal and small business cards after meeting tiered minimum spending requirements.

    With the AMEX Starwood personal card, you’ll earn 20,000 Starwood points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening your account.  And 15,000 points after spending an additional $2,000 on purchases within 6 months account opening.

    And with the AMEX Starwood small business card, you’ll earn 25,000 Starwood points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.  And 10,000 more Starwood points for spending another $3,000 on purchases within the first 6 months.

    You’ll also get:

    The $95 annual fee is waived the first year on both cards.  And neither card charges foreign transaction fees.

    Remember, AMEX will only give you the sign-up bonus for each card ONCE per lifetime.

    Save When You Shop Abroad

    Saving on international fees might not seem like a big deal, but it can really add up!

    Foreign Transaction Fees Can Cost You Hundreds of Dollars!

    For example, say you’re traveling in Paris with your family of 4 and you spend $300 per day on food.  Paris is an expensive city, so if you’re eating out every meal you could certainly spend this much.

    If you use a card that charges a ~2.7% foreign transaction fee (like many do!), you’ll spend an extra ~$8 on food each day ($300 X ~2.7%).  On a 2-week vacation, that’s an extra $112 ($8 X 14 days) that could have been spent on a neat souvenir. 😉

    And if you use a card that charges international fees for bigger expenses, like car rentals, hotel rooms, and tourist attractions, you could end up paying hundreds of dollars in fees!

    So using your AMEX Starwood cards would be a great option.  Other cards that don’t charge international fees include:

    You can read more about cards that don’t charge foreign transaction fees here.  And check out our Hot Deals page for the best card offers.

    And here are cards that don’t charge foreign transactions fees OR an annual fee.

    Bottom Line

    The limited-time 35,000 Starwood point sign-up bonus on the AMEX Starwood personal and small business cards is a fantastic deal.  Plus, they’re great to use overseas, because they do NOT add foreign transaction fees!

    Do you plan on applying for the increased offer for the AMEX Starwood cards?

    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! :)