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no foreign transaction fee card for groceries ?

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anonymous4a
New Contributor

no foreign transaction fee card for groceries ?

I wanted to get the BCP amex card , 6% for groceries but realized it has foreign transaction fees, is there any other card that is just as good but has no foreign transaction fee ? 

Message 1 of 8
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Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: no foreign transaction fee card for groceries ?


@anonymous4a wrote:

I wanted to get the BCP amex card , 6% for groceries but realized it has foreign transaction fees, is there any other card that is just as good but has no foreign transaction fee ? 


You're not going to find another card that gives you 6% for groceries let alone one with no FTF.  If both are important to you, then I'd consider getting 2 separate cards.  There a lot of cards with no FTF but the vast majority are travel cards so I'd take a look at some of those to see which would fit your travel needs.

Message 2 of 8
Callandra
Valued Contributor

Re: no foreign transaction fee card for groceries ?

Here are Themanwhocan's charts: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Cash-Back-credit-card-charts/td-p/4004725

 

I think most of the good grocery cards have FTF. Your other option is to get something like QS which has no FTF and you can at least get 1.5% back. I'm not sure if overseas grocery stores will even code properly to be honest (anyone know?). Even with FTF, you'd still get 3.3% with BCP (assuming it would code properly). 

Quicksilver $10,000 | Better Balance Rewards $2000 | Sallie Mae $3500 | Freedom $3500

Last HP: 9/27/2015
Message 3 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: no foreign transaction fee card for groceries ?


@Callandra wrote:

Here are Themanwhocan's charts: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Cash-Back-credit-card-charts/td-p/4004725

 

I think most of the good grocery cards have FTF. Your other option is to get something like QS which has no FTF and you can at least get 1.5% back. I'm not sure if overseas grocery stores will even code properly to be honest (anyone know?). Even with FTF, you'd still get 3.3% with BCP (assuming it would code properly). 


I'm sure just like here it depends on the store itself in the other country. When I was in South Korea last year, everything coded pretty much as expected when I reviewed all the charges on my Quicksilver (granted it is just flat 1.5% but you can still see how each establishment is coded on the transaction page).

Message 4 of 8
CreditScholar
Valued Contributor

Re: no foreign transaction fee card for groceries ?

Although its no longer available to new applicants, the Diner's Club Elite card gave 3x points on groceries with no FTF.

 

Given that they were transferrable to a variety of airlines (including AS), it wouldn't be hard to value them at 2cpp. 

EX 798, EQ 789, TU 784
American Express Platinum (NPSL) || Bank of America Privileges with Travel Rewards Visa Signature - $23,200 CL
Barclays American Airlines Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard - $20,000 CL || Chase IHG Rewards World Mastercard - $25,000 CL
Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Signature - $12,700 CL || Chase United MileagePlus Club World Elite MasterCard - $26,500 CL
Citibank Hilton Reserve Visa Signature - $20,000 CL || J.P. Morgan Ritz Carlton Visa Signature - $23,500 CL
Message 5 of 8
Closingracer99
Valued Contributor

Re: no foreign transaction fee card for groceries ?


@Anonymous wrote:

@anonymous4a wrote:

I wanted to get the BCP amex card , 6% for groceries but realized it has foreign transaction fees, is there any other card that is just as good but has no foreign transaction fee ? 


You're not going to find another card that gives you 6% for groceries let alone one with no FTF.  If both are important to you, then I'd consider getting 2 separate cards.  There a lot of cards with no FTF but the vast majority are travel cards so I'd take a look at some of those to see which would fit your travel needs.


Even with the FTF I think the BCP is probably the best card for groceries outside of the states. The FTF is 2.7% which means he will still get 3.3% CB. Not bad imo and way better then any other card I have seen


My Cards: Amex BCE: $9,000, Amex Hilton HHonors: $2,000, Amex ED: $12,000, Barclays NFL extra points: $3,000, Bank of America MLB cash rewards: $17,000, BBVA compass NBA Amex triple double rewards: $17,000, Chase Amazon: $1,000, Chase Freedom: $9,000, Chase Sapphire: $5,000, Chase Slate: $5,000, Chase Disney: $4,000, Citi Double Cash: $5,400, Citi AA plat: $5,500, Citi Simplicity: $3,000, Citi Thank you preferred: $8,800, Capital one GM: $2,000, Capital one PlayStation: $3,000, Gamestop: $1,150, Amazon Store: $5,000, Ebay MasterCard: $5,000, American Eagle Storecard: $750, Macy's: $500
EX: 744, TU:750, EQ: 740
Message 6 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: no foreign transaction fee card for groceries ?

For your awareness, on all the AMEX products the grocery store and gas station benefits apply to US stores/stations only. So, you wouldn't get the benefit anyway. However, if you are military like myself/DoD civilian overseas and buying at a commissary/exchange, that's a US purchase and you would get the 6%/3% or whatever the benefit is. Those purchases are processed through the US system in USD. If you are USAA eligible, the AMEX Cash Rewards Plus gives 2% grocery stores (including overseas), and 5% on base if you are eligible, then there's also the Arrival Plus (Barclay) 2%, or the BofA Travel Rewards, Pen Fed cards, etc.
Message 7 of 8
UncleB
Credit Mentor

Re: no foreign transaction fee card for groceries ?


@Anonymous wrote:
For your awareness, on all the AMEX products the grocery store and gas station benefits apply to US stores/stations only. So, you wouldn't get the benefit anyway. However, if you are military like myself/DoD civilian overseas and buying at a commissary/exchange, that's a US purchase and you would get the 6%/3% or whatever the benefit is. Those purchases are processed through the US system in USD. If you are USAA eligible, the AMEX Cash Rewards Plus gives 2% grocery stores (including overseas), and 5% on base if you are eligible, then there's also the Arrival Plus (Barclay) 2%, or the BofA Travel Rewards, Pen Fed cards, etc.

+1

 

I was just about to add this...  Smiley Wink

 

 

bcpsupermarkets.jpg

 

I'll also add that if your on a U.S. base overseas, make a 'test purchase' to see how it will be processed before committing (rewards-wise).  One of my brothers was an AU on an Amex of mine years ago, and he used it when he was in Saudi Arabia on a base.  It was in U.S. dollars (no conversion was necessary) but the location still showed up as being 'Saudi Arabia' - I'm not sure how it would have been treated for rewards purposes.  This might be different with different locations (or might have changed since then - it's been a few years) but it was my experience.   Smiley Wink

 

In this case, there are better options, anyway... USAA has an Amex card that gives 5% cash rewards for up to $3000 of base purchases, no restrictions on location.

 

https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/banking_credit_cards_amex?akredirect=true

 

Message 8 of 8
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