I've noticed that when making purchases abroad, the U.S.-based merchant coding almost never applies. I've been living in Europe for a few months now. I went shopping at various grocery store chains. And they all showed up in a collective "other" category. So, ideally, you have your 5% cashback card on you and use it abroad, hoping that after paying 2 to 3% for the foreign transaction fee you would still have 2% cashback. No, no, my friend! That logic doesn't apply. Since the coding almost never shows up properly, you won't get your cashback AND you will have to pay the fee. I've come to love my Cap. One card abroad. It's always accepted (MC), charges no fees and gives me 1% cashback no matter what the category. It saved me a lot of money. And no worries about coding! Are your experiences with foreign transactions and rewards/cashback cards similar? Or am I missing something here?
