The Ultimate Guide to The Best Credit Cards for International Travel

Credit card for traveling abroad is the best way to earn rewards on your travels. Banks have contracts with specific airlines, shopping malls, and hotels to benefit customers when they use a credit card as a means of payment. It will help you to win points that lead to a free ticket on the airline or a free meal at your favorite hotels.

Here is the list of the best credit cards for traveling abroad that will facilitate you to save a lot of money and earn valuable points for getting necessary rewards during travel.

1. Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

You can apply for Chase Sapphire Preferred Card on the Chase website. They will charge 95$ USD annual fee. This card will help you to earn rewards and several travels benefits up to 60,000 bonus points with varying reward rates from 1x-5x. That means you will get 1% to 5% of your money back or 1 to 5 points on 1-dollar spending. With the use of this card, you will never need to pay any international transaction fee.

The credit card also has insurance coverage when you cancel your trip for some covered reasons that range from 10,000$ per covered trip.

2. Capital One Venture Reward Credit Card

You can apply for the Capital One Venture Card on their official site Capital One. Just give your basic information and get the travel card for $95 USD as an annual fee. The best thing about the Venture Credit Card is it will never restrict you to certain airlines or hotels. You can use it anywhere and enjoy the perks given by the providers.

When you use the venture card for purchasing up to $4000 USD within three months you will be able to enjoy 75000 bonus miles which is equivalent to $1350 USD.

3. Capital One Venture X

Capital One Venture X is also provided by Capital One officials. The annual fee of the card is pretty high that is around $395 USD. They offered 10x miles on hotels and rental car booking, 5x on flights, and 2x on other purchases.

On purchasing up to $4000 USD within three months, you will get 75,000 bonus miles. You can use this best credit card for traveling abroad and also on international transactions without any fee on APR.

4. Bank of America Credit Card

If you are looking for a travel credit card with no fee, the Bank of American Travel Reward Credit Card is for you. They do not charge you any annual fee for the credit card. It provides you with 1.5 points per dollar during purchasing.

When you use the card continuously for 3 months to buy up to $1000 USD worth of things or services, you will secure 25,000 online bonus points. You can use these points only for online purchases.

5. Wells Fargo Autograph Card

Wells Fargo Autograph Card is the best credit card for international travel especially if you are a student because you don’t need to pay a higher annual fee to get this card. You simply visit the Wells Fargo site and apply for the credit card online.

This card offers around 20,000 bonus points when you spend 1,000 dollars within 3 months which is equivalent to 200 cash. You can use the card on restaurants, travel, gas, subways, popular streaming services, and phone planes for a reward of 1x point.

Read Also: 7 Reasons Why You Should Get Travel Insurance

6. Chase Freedom Unlimited

Chase Freedom Unlimited Card can be used during your Europe tour for international transactions. You can apply for the card on the official site of Chase. Chase Freedom is the best travel card with no annual fee.

When you use Chase on purchasing, you will get 5% cash back on travel booking, 3% cash back on restaurant and drugstores, and 1.5% cash back on all other purchases. On completion of the first year or 20,000 purchases, you will get 5% cash back on Chase travel purchases on your best credit card for traveling abroad.

7. American Express Gold Card

You can apply for American Express Gold Card on the American Express site for $250 as an annual fee. They provide you a chance to earn 4x points worldwide by using a credit card in restaurants and purchasing groceries. In the case of flights, it reduces to one point and becomes 3x points on booking flights by using Gold Card.

On other eligible purchases, you will be able to get 1x points. American Express will reward you 60,000 bonus points on using the Gold Card for purchasing 4,000 $ worth of things or services within 6 months.

8. Citi Premier Card

Citi Premier Card is provided by Citi Groups that doesn’t charge you any foreign transaction fee. The annual fee of the Citi Card is $95 USD. By using this card, you can transfer your points easily on your favorite airline like TrueBlue, Singapore Airlines, etc.

Citi Premier Card gives you the opportunity to earn 3x points on spending per dollar on restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel, and hotels.  It converts to 1x on all other purchases. Citi Card also helps you to secure 60,000 bonus points on spending $4000 USD within three months.

9. The Platinum Card from America Express

The Platinum Card from American Express is for luxury travel. It has an annual fee of $695 USD. The reward rate varies from 1x to 5x.

American Express will offer you 5x points on booking flights and prepaid hotels. On all the other purchases, the points will be 1x. You earn 80,000 bonus points on spending $6000 USD within 6 months of card membership.

10. Chase Sapphire Reserve

Chase Sapphire Reserve is also designed for luxury travel. It has an annual fee of $550 USD. The reward rate varies from 1x to 10x. You will get 10x points or cash back per dollar spending for dining, hotel stay, and car rentals.

For air travel, the points are 5x. You can have access to 1,300 plus airport lounges when you use Chase Sapphire Reserve as paying method. Meanwhile, Chase also provides you 60,000 bonus points on $4000 USD spending within 3 months period.

11. Ink Business Preferred Credit Card

Ink Business Preferred Credit Card is provided by Chase at the annual fee of $95 USD. They offered you a 100,000-bonus point when your spending reaches $15,000 on the purchase within the first three months of getting this card.

The detail of the reward varies from 1x to 3x on each dollar such as 3x points in the categories of shipping, travel, search engine advertising, and phone services.  Each point is worth around $0.008, which means 100 points will be equal to 0.08$ regain.

12. The U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card

The Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card is offered by US Bank with zero annual pay for the first year but you need to pay $95 USD for years thereafter.

You can earn around 50,000 bonus points on the card by spending 2,000 USD within four months. The redeeming value of the bonus points will be 500 dollars.

In the case of earning the reward, the value changes from 1x-5x on different purchase categories such as 5x points on prepaid hotel and car rentals booking, 4x on travel, gas station, & EV charging stations, and 2x on grocery stores, etc.

Read Also: Top 10 Best Credit Cards for Travel in the USA

FAQ.s About Best International Credit Cards

What is the Meaning of 1x, 2x, etc. in Bonus Points?

When you pay 1 dollar with your credit card, you will earn some points in return for each spending. 1x means on 1 dollar the point will be 1, and 2x means on 1 dollar the points will be 2. Here x is a variable that actually represents your spending in dollars.

What Do You Mean by Redemption Value? 

Redemption value means how much the bank will pay you back for the bonus points. In other words, it’s the regained value out of your points.

What is the Worth of One Bonus Point?

The redemption value also varies. If you spend the bonus points at checkouts the worth of each point will be $0.008, during travel booking the worth of points gets a bit higher at $0.01.

Note that these pricing values are only applicable to Ink Business Preferred Card. Other cards will have their customized values for each category that you need to verify from your card providers.

Is There Any Difference between Points and Miles?

No, they are the same things with different names. Few banks use point and other miles.

Is the Bonus Point Expired after Earning?

It depends on the Card provider’s policy, such as Ink Business Preferred Credit Card points do not expire as long your account is present in the Bank.

What Types of Credit Cards are Available?

There are typically two types of credit cards available.

Co-Branded Travel Cards: The reward on these cards will work only the specific brand and hotel chains. It will limit your flexibility during travel.

General-Purpose Travel Cards: The points that you earned are provided by the credit card company on using the card in a specific category. There will be no limitation on particular hotels or airlines to use during your best credit card for traveling abroad.

Decision-Making Chart Choosing the Best Credit Card For Traveling Abroad