Best cards for international travel
| Best for | Credit card | Estimated rewards earned after 5 years |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | American Express® Gold Card | $2,969 |
| Dining | Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card | $1,741 |
| Hotels | Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card | $1,699 |
| Luxury Travel | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | $3,346 |
Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards
Visa and Mastercard are by far the most widely accepted cards, with Discover slightly behind those brands and American Express in a distant fourth place. Any retailer that accepts card payments likely takes Visa and Mastercard.
The truth is both types of cards are widely accepted abroad, and are therefore better choices for international travel than Amex or Discover. As noted above, Mastercard may offer a slightly better exchange rate than Visa, but if you don't travel frequently, it probably won't make a huge difference.
Barring that, there are several steps you can take to avoid these costs.
Charles Schwab Bank
Not so for Schwab Bank customers who use the High Yield Investor Checking Account. The account earns interest and has no minimum balance and no monthly fee. Best of all, the bank reimburses all ATM fees you incur worldwide. There are no foreign transaction fees, either.
While VISA has a slightly higher market share and greater amount of transactions worldwide, both VISA and MasterCard are equally well-accepted by merchants. Although MasterCard's upper tiers provide a better set of benefits, there are a lot more perks offered by the issuing banks themselves.
Which countries do not allow credit card payments?
Visa is the clear winner here. You're very unlikely to find merchants that accept an American Express card, but not a Visa credit card. The odds are higher of finding merchants that accept Visa credit cards, but not American Express cards, especially outside of the United States.
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