Best Credit Cards With No Foreign Transaction Fees in 2023

Are you planning a trip abroad and looking for a credit card that won’t ding you for foreign transaction fees?

Some of the best rewards credit cards on the market let you use them outside the United States without charging you a percentage of the transaction for processing.

But picking the right one for your wallet could be complicated.

Are you looking for a travel credit card that will provide other useful benefits, or are you a better candidate for a cash back credit card that just happens to offer the perk? The former often includes a hefty annual fee, while the latter can be had with no annual fee.

In this article, I’ll identify a few of Team Clark’s favorite “no foreign transaction fee” credit cards that could fit either spending style.

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Best Credit Cards With No Foreign Transaction Fees

For this review, we divided the “best” into two separate categories: no annual fee cards and premium travel cards.

This should help both recreational travelers who are looking for a simple rewards card they can take abroad as well as serious travelers who are looking for a card they can use during their frequent trips out of the country.

Best “No Foreign Transaction Fees” Cards With No Annual Fee

OUR TOP CHOICE	RUNNER UP	HONORABLE MENTION
Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature Credit Card	Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi	Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card
Earn 2.5% cash back on purchases with no category restrictions.	Earn 4% back on gas or EV charging and 3% back on restaurants and eligible travel.	Amazon Prime members earn 5% back on purchases through Amazon or Whole Foods.

Best “No Foreign Transaction Fees” Cards for Serious Travelers

OUR TOP CHOICE	RUNNER UP	HONORABLE MENTION
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card	The Platinum Card® from American Express
With an annual fee of only $95, this card has a strong combination of perks and rewards multipliers on travel spending.	Welcome bonus and $300 annual travel credit make it easy to justify the annual fee.	Though the card carries a high annual fee, it offers premium travel perks worth over $1,400.

Team Clark spent hours reviewing the market for these cards, and we put them under the scrutiny of the guidelines for credit card usage set by money expert Clark Howard. Beyond the facts that these cards carry no foreign transaction fees, we also considered annual fees, card features and rewards programs when curating this list.

You can read more on our methodology for determining the best cards with no foreign transaction fees here.

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Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature Credit Card

What to Know About This Card

• Annual Fee: $0
• Rewards Program Highlights: You get 2.5% cash back on all purchases for up to $10,000 in spending per billing cycle.
• Introductory Offers: None
• Top Perks: You get an auto rental collision damage waiver, and you may qualify for a lower-than-average APR thanks to the credit union affiliation.
• Team Clark Card Review

Why We Like It: The 2.5% cash back on purchases regardless of spending category is really good. There are some hoops to jump through, though. They include signing up for a checking account and maintaining “Tier One” status to receive the 2.5% rewards. This card is on our list of best cash back credit cards.

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What to Know About This Card

• Annual Fee: None but Costco membership is required
• Rewards Program Highlights: 4% cash back on eligible gas and EV charging purchases for the first $7,000 per year (then 1%), 3% cash back on restaurants and travel and 2% cash back on anything purchased at Costco or on Costco.com
• Top Perks: Damage and theft purchase protection
• Team Clark Card Review

Why We Like It: Being the Costco fanatic that he is, Clark has this card in his wallet. It doesn’t offer much in the way of welcome offers or introductory APRs, but it does offer a strong list of spending categories to earn rewards. And while it may be disappointing that Costco purchases themselves are worth only 2% cash back, at least that rate holds consistent whether you’re shopping online or in the store. This card is on our list of best cards with no annual fee.

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Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card

What to Know About This Card

• Annual Fee: None
• Rewards Program Highlights: 5% cash back on purchases at Amazon.com (with Prime subscription) or Whole Foods; 2% at restaurants, gas stations and drug stores
• Introductory Offers: $100 Amazon gift card
• Top Perks: Up to 20% of some Amazon products with exclusive deals
• Team Clark Card Review

Why We Like It: If you need to buy something online, there’s a good chance that Amazon has it and will deliver it to your front door tomorrow-ish. So if you had to pick just one card for your online shopping, getting 5% off everything you buy from Amazon and Whole Foods seems like a sound strategy. This card is on our list of best credit cards with no annual fee.

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What to Know About This Card

• Annual Fee: $95
• Rewards Program Highlights: 3x points on dining and 2x on travel. Receive 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, car rentals, hotels or cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
• Introductory Offers: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months you have the card (worth up to $750 if redeemed on Chase Ultimate Rewards®)
• Top Perk: 25% bonus on points redemptions for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
• Team Clark Card Review

Why We Like It: This card lands just right with a strong welcome offer and an annual fee under $100. And you’re getting yourself into a pretty solid card once the sign-up bonus disappears. DoorDash users, especially, could see real value in the perks for this card. This card is on our list of best travel credit cards.

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What to Know About This Card

• Annual Fee: $395
• Rewards Program Highlights: 10x miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel, 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel, 2x miles per dollar on all other purchases
• Introductory Offers: Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
• Top Perks: Receive a $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year (starting on your first anniversary) and up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®.
• Team Clark Card Review

Why We Like It: The annual fee may seem steep at first glance, but it’s fairly easily recoverable with the $300 annual travel credit and 10,000-mile anniversary bonus you’ll receive each year. You’ll get a nice welcome offer and a free TSA PreCheck or Global Entry subscription as well as lounge access at select airports. This card is in Clark Howard’s wallet.

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What to Know About This Card

• Annual Fee: $695 (see rates and fees)
• Rewards Program Highlights: Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
• Introductory Offers: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new card in your first six months of Card Membership.
• Top Perks: Annual credits for using this card include up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings (requires a two-night minimum stay through American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum card), $240 Digital Entertainment Credit (enrollment required), $200 Airline Fee Credit, $200 Uber Cash, $300 Equinox Credit (compensated on an annual basis – enrollment required) and a $189 CLEAR® Plus Credit. Each of these has stipulations on spending and many of them require enrollment before purchasing or are subject to auto-renewal, but this is a good way to earn back that costly annual fee.
• Team Clark Card Review

Why We Like It: Even though Clark winces at this annual fee, if you’re a high-volume traveler who enjoys the finer things, it’s hard to go wrong with this elite card. Depending on your habits, you can recoup much of the $695 annual fee by earning the statement credit offers. You’ll also get access to premium travel programs like The Centurion® Network. Terms apply.

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Methodology for No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards

For the purposes of determining which cards are “best” in this category, we reviewed Clark Howard’s 7 Rules for Using Credit Cards and sought to find cards that best fit his strategy.

Team Clark spent many hours reviewing the available credit cards on the market, assessing them for:

• Foreign transaction fee policy
• Annual fee
• Rewards and perks
• Welcome offer
• Additional fees (transaction or otherwise)

We did not include offerings from local or regional banks and credit unions, because those cards aren’t always available nationwide. But local institutions often have desirable cards, so we do recommend that you compare your local bank or credit union’s credit cards to the ones that made this list.

We also did not factor in annual percentage rates (APRs), because interest rates are going to vary based on your individual financial circumstances. Since Clark strongly recommends not carrying a balance on credit cards, following his advice makes any concern over interest rates moot.

To see the rates and fees for the American Express card featured, please visit the following links: The Platinum Card® from American Express: See Rates and Fees.