The purpose of this newsletter is to talk about the best credit cards for traveling abroad. We recommend that if you are traveling abroad, you have a credit card that does not impose any foreign transaction fees. Most credit cards charge 3% on all charges that are made in another currency. This can really add up! We found out the hard way. If you are planning to travel outside the US, we recommend that you look into getting a travel credit card that does not impose any foreign transaction fees. Some of these cards do not have any annual fees; while other cards have fees, but also other benefits such as trip insurance, miles or percent back.

Here is an article that we found helpful. We also recommend that you check what cards are offered by your bank. Banks often provide higher cash back percentages for loyal customers.

You should also make sure that you have multiple credit cards when you travel. If your credit card becomes compromised while you are traveling abroad, you may not be able to easily get a replacement card. We were scouting one international tour and had two cards become compromised – one just before we left the States and the other while we were traveling abroad. It wasn’t a problem since we had other cards with us.

Another trick of the trade is that you may be able to take a cash advance using your credit card at an ATM and avoid the 3% currency conversion costs that many ATMs charge. What we do is take a cash advance and then immediately transfer money to cover the withdrawal. Sometimes we even make the transfer before we take the cash advance, having a negative credit card balance. This way we avoid any interest charges on the advance. Check with your credit card ahead of time to make sure that there are not any other cash advance charges associated with your card. This worked well for us in Europe but less so in Canada and Chile.

Happy travels and may the winds be only on your backs!