topic Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees? in Credit Cards

Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 00:03:32 GMT

I'm an Englishman who recently moved to the US for work.

I have two secured cards, Capital One Platinum Mastercard ($200 limit) and Discover It ($200 limit). The Capital One card seems to report as unsecured, perhaps because the deposit was only $49.

I have a German unsecured Visa credit card with a 4k EUR limit.

I have no regular loans (car, mortgage, personal...). I have student loans in England.

My income is around $80k and I have some savings in a Chase account.

In two weeks I will have 6 months of history and a FICO score. CreditKarma indicates Vantage scores in the 680s.

I want a US credit card I can use to pay some GBP-denominated bills in England. It would also be useful in general because I will visit Europe and Japan a lot for business and personal reasons. The card must be a Visa because my student loans lender only accepts Visa. What is the eaisest Visa card to get that offers no foreign transaction fee? Am I likely to get it with my profile when my FICO score posts?

Thanks in advance for any help, and apologies if this belongs in a different forum.

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

expatCanuck — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 00:12:32 GMT

Shooting from the hip -- have you tried the CreditKarma site? My recollection is that they offer 'odds' on what the likelihood is of a successful application.

Shot in the dark: BoA Travel Rewards?

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 00:17:20 GMT

Capital One's cards have no FTF. Their Quicksilver card is a Visa card and also has no annual fee, but maybe you want to wait until you receive a FICO score and then apply for it.

Also Uber Visa (by Barclays) has no annual fee and no FTF, I would think this card requires longer credit history, though. Also BoA Travel Rewards mentioned above.

Some other premium cards have no FTF but usually come with annual fee, and most of the time higher requirement for credit history.

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 00:19:09 GMT

Yes - but I cannot interpret CK's rating scheme. As far as I can tell, "fair" approval chances could mean 10% or 70%. It also does odd things like giving me "very good" on the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Thanks for the BoA card recommendation.

edit: This is in response to expatCanuck.

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 00:18:53 GMT

wrote:
Yes - but I cannot interpret CK's rating scheme. As far as I can tell, "fair" approval chances could mean 10% or 70%. It also does odd things like giving me "very good" on the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Thanks for the BoA card recommendation.

The #1 purpose for CreditKarma approval odds is entertainment.

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 00:22:05 GMT

I heard all new Capital One cards would be on the Mastercard network, which unfortunately is no good for me. If this is not the case, could you tell me where I can confirm that Quicksilver is a Visa? Generally when I look at their site, their cards are depicted without a network logo at all.

I was also looking at the Uber Visa. Would you expect this to be easier or harder to get than the BoA card?

Thanks for the info.

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

expatCanuck — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 00:24:01 GMT

Just googled 'BoA prequal' -- came up with this link.

Note the 'Continue without signing in' option.

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 00:25:41 GMT

Capital One Quicksilver (not QuicksilverOne): https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/quicksilver/

If you are approved for a credit line less than $5,000, you will receive a Visa Platinum Card. Some terms and benefits are not available with the Visa Platinum Card. See Rates and Disclosures for term information and our Complete Guide to Credit Card Benefits for Visa Platinum Card (119KB PDF) for card benefit information. Certain terms, conditions and exclusions apply. In order for coverage to apply, you must use your covered Visa card to secure transactions. Please refer to your Guide to Benefits for further details.

Capital One Venture cards - advertising Visa Signature benefits, but note that these cards will generally have higher requirements for credit.
https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/ventureone/
https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/venture/

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

expatCanuck — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 00:29:18 GMT

dc-m wrote:
...
I was also looking at the Uber Visa. Would you expect this to be easier or harder to get than the BoA card?

Not a clue -- but given that it's a Barclay card, perhaps, if you have history in England, it could be leveraged? [Yeah, I'm spitballin'.]

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 00:32:10 GMT

Unfortunately I haven't had a relationship with Barclay's in the UK for many years.

Since it seems to be a Visa, so far the Capital One Quicksilver looks like the best bet at the moment, considering Capital One is viewed as a "looser" lender than most.

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 00:40:46 GMT

Considering your current banking relationship with Chase, I would suggest the Chase Amazon Prime Rewards Signature card. Underwriting is fairly easy though a year of history is normally needed for Chase. There are data points to suggest they make exceptions. If needed, a reconsideration with your income and current savings with Chase may overturn any denial. Also, it does not have FTFs.

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 01:01:04 GMT

Amazon chase Prime Visa has no foreign fees. And is fairly easy to get. Might be an option for a year until until your history is long enough for a card to take advantage of flying.

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

Shooting-For-800 — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 01:02:24 GMT

wrote:
I heard all new Capital One cards would be on the Mastercard network, which unfortunately is no good for me. If this is not the case, could you tell me where I can confirm that Quicksilver is a Visa? Generally when I look at their site, their cards are depicted without a network logo at all.

I was also looking at the Uber Visa. Would you expect this to be easier or harder to get than the BoA card?

Thanks for the info.

Generally, Cap One cards start out as the following (right now):

Platinum = MC

QuickSilver One = MC

QuickSilver = Visa

Venture One = Visa but not much reason to get it

Venture = Signature Visa

If you want a Visa with No FTF, your best bet is to go for QuickSilver NOT QuickSilver One.

Also, Cap One does change sometimes and the also allow "upgrades" but the MC or Visa will not change.

I have a Venture World MasterCard and a Venture Visa Signature.

The WMC was originally a QS1 MC that became a QS MC then became a Venture WMC.

The Visa Sig was born as a Visa Sig.

Check the prequalification page...

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

arkane — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 01:31:31 GMT

wrote:
Considering your current banking relationship with Chase, I would suggest the Chase Amazon Prime Rewards Signature card. Underwriting is fairly easy though a year of history is normally needed for Chase. There are data points to suggest they make exceptions. If needed, a reconsideration with your income and current savings with Chase may overturn any denial. Also, it does not have FTFs.

Another +1 for the Chase Amazon Prime. Best part is it's actually not bad as a daily driver and really makes sense if you shop on Amazon a lot. Metal card too if you care about that at all. Plus it helps build relationship with Chase, who has arguably the most sought after travel cards if you think you'd be interested at some point in the future.

CapOne might have looser underwriting standards but I'd stay away if only because they hard pull all 3 bureaus, and IMO none of their unsecured cards offer anything unique that's worth keeping around for the long term.

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 04:14:16 GMT

Thanks for the advice. Do you believe that the Chase Amazon card would be easier to get than the Capital One card?

I would very much like the CSP but I have always read that Chase is very conservative. The Chase Amazon card is also Visa Signature only I believe, whereas Quicksilver can be approved with a credit limit below $5k as a Platinum.

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 04:19:54 GMT

Cap One is probably easier to get. I think your limit may be more useable on the Chase card. I say this because of your current secured card with them. Use the preapproval tool for Cap One to see if there’s an offer.

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 04:18:51 GMT

The Chase Amazon Prime Signature card is Signature in features and benefit only. It’s been approved for as low as $500 and I’ve seen as high as $9K.

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 04:19:53 GMT

That's good to know.

If there is not an offer on the Cap One pre-approval page, does this indicate that I probably won't be given the card? Or is it just a bonus if it shows there?

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 04:23:57 GMT

I’d say it’s a bonus. Their preapprovals are generally solid. I got a Venture without any
preapproval offers so certainly not required.

I’d say if there’s no preapproval, save yourself the triple pull and go for the double pull with Chase. Build that relationship so at the 1 year mark Chase knows your spending and payment habits and you can go for the Sapphire card.

Re: Easiest Visa card with no foreign transaction fees?

arkane — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 05:24:35 GMT

wrote:
Thanks for the advice. Do you believe that the Chase Amazon card would be easier to get than the Capital One card?

I would very much like the CSP but I have always read that Chase is very conservative. The Chase Amazon card is also Visa Signature only I believe, whereas Quicksilver can be approved with a credit limit below $5k as a Platinum.

Chase in general is conservative yes, but they're more lenient on co-branded cards. Supposedly, the Chase Amazon Prime Visa is the easiest of the Chase cards to get approved for.

As mentioned, it's Visa Signature in name and benefits only. There are definitely approvals for less than $5K, and the highest I've seen is $11K.