You might want to look after the ways to save money and maximize rewards with these 5 credit cards.
Select reviewed popular travel credit cards to find the best options for people that travel internationally, so you can maximize rewards and save on unnecessary fees. Looking international travel can be costly, but with a little advanced planning, you can use a credit card to save money. One of the biggest drawbacks of the credit cardholders make abroad is that they use a card that charges foreign transaction fees, which average 3% per purchase.
If you want to spend $1,000 on purchases during your overseas vacation, you’ll need to pay $30 in fees that can easily be avoided by using a credit card with no foreign transaction fee. There are many financial steps to take before an international trip, and you can check off choosing the right credit card by considering one of the options mentioned below. Let’s jump into our methodology for more enlightenment on how we choose the best cards. Select reviewed popular rewards credit cards to find the best options for people who are traveling outside the U.S., so you can maximize rewards and save on unnecessary fees. All of the cards mentioned below have no foreign transaction fees.
Top of the line cards for international travel
- Winner: American Express® Gold Card
- Best for Dining: Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Best for Hotels: Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
- Best for Luxury Travel: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Best for Bad Credit: Discover it® Secured Credit Card
Winner
Why winner?
If you are a huge fan of food and exploring places, the American Express® Gold Card could be the ideal rewards card for you. Cardholders earn a competitive 4X points per dollar spent at restaurants, and 4X points at U.S. supermarkets up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X. Plus, there’s a chance for you to earn 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com. Terms apply.
Cardholders also receives an annual dining credit of up to $120 ($10 a month) at participating partners, including Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Boxed, and participating Shake Shack locations.
The card does have a $250 annual fee, but it can be reduced to effectively $130 if you take advantage of the $120 dining credit each year. Then, the rewards you earn help further “pay” for the card.
Cardholders can also benefit from Amex Offers, where you can earn statement credits or bonus Membership Rewards® points at select retailers. Travelers will appreciate that there are no foreign transaction fees* as well as the insurance for car rentals and damaged lost or stolen luggage.
Best for Dining
What’s the purpose of it?
Travelers who love to eat out can’t go wrong carrying a dining rewards card. The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card offers 4% cashback on dining purchases. This is one of the highest rewards rates on dining available, and Capital One classifies dining as restaurants, cafes, bars, lounges, fast-food chains, and bakeries. Plus, you can enjoy foodie-centric perks, such as exclusive access to premium reservations with OpenTable. And no worries if you’re dining overseas, this card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.
You can also earn 4% cashback on entertainment expenses, whether you are buying movie tickets, taking a family trip to the zoo, or spending the evening bowling with friends. Through January 2022, cardholders who buy tickets through Vivid Seats, a ticket resale site, can take advantage of 8% cashback. Cardholders benefit from exclusive access to dining, sports, and entertainment events, such as the iHeartRadio Music Festival and the Capital One JamFest. Beyond dining and entertainment perks, there’s also 3% cash back at grocery stores and 1% on all other purchases.
This card does come with a $95 annual fee, but it can be offset by the cashback you earn.
Who’s this for? Anyone looking to book hotel rooms should consider the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card with its impressive offer of 5X miles on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel℠. Cardmembers can earn unlimited 1.25X miles on all other purchases, making it a solid choice for everyday use. The card has no annual fee and charges no foreign transaction fees.
Another perk is the intro 0% APR period, which lasts for 12 months for new purchases (after a 15.49% to 25.49% variable APR). This can come in handy if you want to pay for a vacation over the course of a year and avoid interest charges.
The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card offers new users a strong welcome bonus: approximately 20,000 bonus miles after they spend $500 on purchases within the first three months. You can also redeem miles for past travel expenses, which is essentially a statement credit. Or you can book new travel reservations through the Capital One Rewards Center.
Additionally, with this card, it’s possible to transfer your miles to any of Capital One’s partner airlines, including JetBlue, Emirates Skywards, Air Canada, and Air France.
Check out Select’s Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card review for more detail and check out Select’s best hotel credit cards.
Best for Luxury Travel
Who’s this best suited to? The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is geared toward foodies and frequent travelers who are looking for luxurious perks, such as annual travel credits, airport lounge access, and complimentary hotel room upgrades. You can easily take advantage of an annual $300 travel credit, which can cover everything from airfare and hotels to parking and tolls.
Cardholders earn 5X points on air travel and 10X total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards; 3X points on travel worldwide immediately after earning your $300 annual travel credit and on dining at restaurants worldwide and 1X point per $1 on all other purchases.
Scores are worth 50% more when redeemed for travel via Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 50,000 points are worth $750 redeemed toward airfare, hotels, car rentals, and cruises when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. This perk is a great way to get the most value for your rewards.
Chase recently added new Lyft perks including 10X points on Lyft rides through in the year 2022 having a complimentary year of Lyft Pink membership (worth $19.99 per month). Lyft Pink includes 15% off car rides, relaxed cancellations, priority airport pickups, up to three free 30-minute bike and scooter rides per month, and more. While this card has a robust rewards program, it also comes with a steep $550 annual fee. All the card’s added credits and benefits provided by Chase can help offset the cost.
The $300 annual travel credit effectively reduces the annual fee to a more manageable $250. Cardholders can take advantage of a Priority Pass™ Select membership that has a value of about $429, as well as a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit of up to $100 every four years.
Best for Bad Credit
Is it the best of it?
If you have absolutely no plans to have a credit history or bad credit (scores below 580), a secured card maybe your best option. The Discover it® Secured Credit Card is a well-rounded secured card that offers many benefits that are typically found with unsecured cards. Cardholders can earn cashback, receive a generous welcome bonus, use the card overseas without incurring added fees, and more — all for no annual fee.
Cardholders earn a competitive 2% cashback at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, then 1%. Plus, you can earn unlimited 1% cashback on all other purchases automatically. The welcome bonus is also unique: For new cardmembers in the first year only, Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year. So, if you earn $50 cashback at the end of the first year, Discover will give you an additional $50. This card has a requirement of a $200 security deposit, which is fairly standard for secured credit cards. It stands out from the crowd because it gives users a clear path to upgrading to an unsecured card (and getting their deposit back). Starting at seven months from account opening, Discover will automatically review your credit card account to see if they can transition you to an unsecured line of credit and return your deposit. This takes the guesswork out of wondering when you’ll qualify for an unsecured credit card.
Best for Hotels
Who’s this for? Anyone looking to book hotel rooms should consider the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card with its impressive offer of 5X miles on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel℠. Cardmembers can earn unlimited 1.25X miles on all other purchases, making it a solid choice for everyday use. The card has no annual fee and charges no foreign transaction fees.
Another perk is the intro 0% APR period, which lasts for 12 months for new purchases (after a 15.49% to 25.49% variable APR). This can come in handy if you want to pay for a vacation over the course of a year and avoid interest charges.
The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card offers new users a strong welcome bonus: 20,000 bonus miles after they spend $500 on purchases within the first three months.
Is it the best of it?
You can redeem miles for past travel expenses, which is essentially a statement credit. Or you can book new travel reservations through the Capital One Rewards Center.
Additionally, with this card, it’s possible to transfer your miles to any of Capital One’s partner airlines, including JetBlue, Emirates Skywards, Air Canada, and Air France.
The methods to be used
To decide which type of cards will put the most money back in your pocket, Select evaluated 127 popular rewards credit cards offered by major banks, financial companies, and credit unions that allow anyone to join. We compared each card on a range of features, including travel rewards (points and miles), annual fee, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR, one-time perks, annual perks, redemption rates, as well as factors such as required credit and customer reviews when available. Select teamed up with location intelligence firm Esri. The company’s data development team provided the most up-to-date and comprehensive consumer spending data based on the 2019 Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can read more about their methodology here.
Esri’s data team created a sample annual budget of approximately $22,126 in retail spending. The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). General purchases also add items such as housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care products, prescription drugs and vitamins, and other vehicle expenses.
When it was estimated how much the average consumer would redeem over the course of a year, two years, and five years, assuming they would attempt to maximize their rewards potential by earning all welcome bonuses offered and using the card for all applicable purchases. All rewards total estimations are net the annual fee. It’s important to note the value of a point or mile varies from card to card and based on how you redeem them. When we calculated the estimated returns, we assumed that cardholders are redeeming points/miles for a typical maximum value of 1 cent per point or mile. (Extreme optimizers might be able to achieve more value.) Our final picks are weighted heavily toward the highest five-year returns since it’s generally wise to hold onto a credit card for years. This method also avoids giving an unfair advantage to cards with large welcome bonuses.
While the five-year estimates we’ve included are derived from a budget similar to the average American’s spending, you may earn a higher or lower return depending on your travel habits.
