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Avoid Paying Annual Fees AND Foreign Transaction Fees With These 9 Cards!

  • Million Mile Secrets

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    The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Card Is Just One of the Many Choices You Have If You’re Looking for a Card With No Annual Fee AND No Foreign Transaction Fees!

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

    This page includes information about the Discover products that are not currently available on Million Mile Secrets and may be out of date. 

    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:

    Earn 5% Cash Back on Amazon Purchases With the No Annual Fee Chase Amazon Prime Card, Which Also Has NO Foreign Transaction Fees!

    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!

    Dining in London Like Emily and Her Mom? You Can Use the No Annual Fee Capital One Quicksilver Cash Card to Earn 1.5% Cash Back and Pay NO Foreign Transaction Fees!

    With this card, you also get perks like:

    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.

    Use Venture Miles to Offset the Cost of a Hotel Stay at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore! While There, Use Your CapitalOne VentureOne Card to Save on Foreign Transaction Fees!

    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.

    Discover Matches All the Cash Back or Miles You Earn After Your 12th Billing Cycle, Which Is a Terrific Perk!

    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.

    Earn Points With the BankAmericard Travel Rewards Card to Use for Car Rentals!

    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!

    The Chip-and-PIN Technology With the Barclaycard JetBlue Card Can Come in Handy When Traveling to Destinations in Europe, Like Iceland!

    When you sign-up for this card, you’ll get:

    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:

    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! :)