topic Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping in Credit Cards

Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

Casper476 — Thu, 26 Dec 2024 23:22:26 GMT

Title. I'm looking for an updated list of no foreign transaction fee, preferably no annual fee cards - not so much for travel as for online shopping. While I think the Capital One Quicksilver sounds like the best fit on paper, I'm nervous about the planned merger with Discover. One of the major retailers I shop at doesn't accept Discover and who knows what will happen with the Quicksilver after the merger. My current Experian FICO is 824 with no baddies on any bureau. I have no military connections for any CU recommendations.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

Varsity_Lu — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 00:07:42 GMT

Fidelity Rewards Visa is a 2% card with no AF or FTF.

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

FicoMike0 — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 01:01:12 GMT

I believe all of the penfed cards are no ftf. Anyone can join.

Amex is a mixed bag, my bce is 2.7%, Hilton white no ftf.

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

Kforce — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 01:59:37 GMT

A few to take a look at if you want cash back.

Each has a hoop or two but nothing to bad.

If your spend is less than $1,500 a month, the State Dept Federal CU card.

2%, No FTF, No Balance transfer fees, No AF, $200 for 3k in first 3 months.

As @Varsity_Lu posted the Fidelity Rewards Visa is not bad,

if you have accounts or want accounts with Fidelity.

If your spend is more than $ 1,500 a month might look at the Alliant or FIG

I have the Alliant and like it, but have good spend where 2.5% is worth the two hoops.

With small spend I would have went with the SDFCU 2%.

Alliant, requires a checking and savings with $1000 average daily balance in checking and one deposit a month.

Alliant Visa® Signature Credit Card with Cashback

A "ACH" push from any external Bank or CU will work as deposit and transfer out can be same day if wanted.

Loss of interest on 1k each month ~ (3-4) dollars a month value.

Need $50 in rewards to transfer to savings, checking or statement credit.

Has $10,000 a month as spend cap.

Better than a flat 2% if monthly spend is > $1000 and <= $10,000

Not a good card for < $1000 a month spend.

FIG has $100 sign up, 3% first year on rewards & AF waived 1st year.

FIGFCU Crystal Visa® Credit Card | 3% Cash Back On Purchases

Then 2.5% and 99/yr AF also a $10,000/m cap for rewards.

50$ to receive rewards

Cost of $8.25 a month 2nd year+.

Better than a flat 2% with spend > $2000 and <= $10,000

If one has high spend the 3% for a year and signup can pull

this cards return better than the Alliant for first 4 to 5 years.

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

FicoMike0 — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 02:21:12 GMT

Here's another with a regional

https://www.commercebank.com/personal/cards/credit-cards/commerce-miles

Generally, travel cards are no ftf, but many have fees. Here's another,

https://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/altitude-connect-visa-signature-credit-card.html

Also,

https://creditcards.chase.com/travel-credit-cards/ihg-rewards-club/traveler?CELL=6303

A surprise for me,

https://creditcards.chase.com/cash-back-credit-cards/amazon-prime-rewards?CELL=6303

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 04:13:08 GMT

@FicoMike0 wrote:
Here's another with a regional
https://www.commercebank.com/personal/cards/credit-cards/commerce-miles
Generally, travel cards are no ftf, but many have fees. Here's another,
https://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/altitude-connect-visa-signature-credit-card.html
Also,
https://creditcards.chase.com/travel-credit-cards/ihg-rewards-club/traveler?CELL=6303
A surprise for me,
https://creditcards.chase.com/cash-back-credit-cards/amazon-prime-rewards?CELL=6303

But for online shopping at least some of these cards are only going to get 1% (Amazon and altitude connect at least)

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

FicoMike0 — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 04:32:46 GMT

That's true.

Hard to find good cb, no ftf and no af.

Id probably go with fidelity or

https://www.penfed.org/credit-cards/power-cash-rewards-visa

The penfed also requires a free checking. Fidelity requires another free account too. I have accounts with both. Fidelity for stocks, penfed gives good ssl. 3% savings too.

Of the two, I can tell you penfed is picky about # of recent accounts. I haven't tried elan, but since they're part of usb id expect them to be picky in general.

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

ElvisCaprice — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:19:29 GMT

If you want the best I've seen with no FTF. Warning, hoop jumping involved.

Get Bank of America Premium Rewards or Travel Rewards 2.62% no FTF with Platinum Honors. PC one of these cards to a BofA CCR and choose online for category, 5.25% no FTF with Platinum Honors.

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

Varsity_Lu — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:54:29 GMT

@ElvisCaprice wrote:
If you want the best I've seen with no FTF. Warning, hoop jumping involved.
Get Bank of America Premium Rewards or Travel Rewards 2.62% no FTF with Platinum Honors. PC one of these cards to a BofA CCR and choose online for category, 5.25% no FTF with Platinum Honors.

But don't you have to have $100,000 or more deposited with BoA to get that rate?

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

Varsity_Lu — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:58:28 GMT

@FicoMike0 wrote:
That's true.
Hard to find good cb, no ftf and no af.
Id probably go with fidelity or
https://www.penfed.org/credit-cards/power-cash-rewards-visa
The penfed also requires a free checking. Fidelity requires another free account too. I have accounts with both. Fidelity for stocks, penfed gives good ssl. 3% savings too.
Of the two, I can tell you penfed is picky about # of recent accounts. I haven't tried elan, but since they're part of usb id expect them to be picky in general.

To get the PenFed 2% rate you have to have their Honors Checking, right? That means you have to be in the military? Or did I read that wrong.

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

coldfusion — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:07 GMT

@Varsity_Lu wrote:
@FicoMike0 wrote:
That's true.
Hard to find good cb, no ftf and no af.
Id probably go with fidelity or
https://www.penfed.org/credit-cards/power-cash-rewards-visa
The penfed also requires a free checking. Fidelity requires another free account too. I have accounts with both. Fidelity for stocks, penfed gives good ssl. 3% savings too.
Of the two, I can tell you penfed is picky about # of recent accounts. I haven't tried elan, but since they're part of usb id expect them to be picky in general.
To get the PenFed 2% rate you have to have their Honors Checking, right? That means you have to be in the military? Or did I read that wrong.

You need Honors Advantage status, active military/veteron status qualifies but you can also qualify if you have a checking account. I remember discussion about whether or not the Access America $500 balance or $500/month DD requirement to get 2% back was also true if you had Free Checking but not what the resolution was, hopefully someone with personal experience can chime in.

Should also mention the AOD Visa Signature since they reopened it to applications several months ago. No AF or FTF, 3% cashback on the 1st $1500/month spend, after that 1% I believe that NEABA membership (neaba.net) is still a membership qualifier for the CU. At least in the past you could join the club and then after becoming a member of the CU cancel the monthly installment and then membership.

Also, if you qualify for NFCU membership the Cash Rewards has no AF or FTF and is a 2% card when the CL is at least $5K, if under $5K its a 1.5% card.

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

unsungivy — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:41:55 GMT

Same as above. AOD. Yes, it's capped, but are you really doing more than $1500 in online shopping a month? No FTF is one of the reasons to keep it around. Robinhood Gold is also no FTF, uncapped 3%, but still has a wait-list (and you have to have a Gold subscription)

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

mgood — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:46:13 GMT

@coldfusion wrote:
@Varsity_Lu wrote:
@FicoMike0 wrote:
That's true.
Hard to find good cb, no ftf and no af.
Id probably go with fidelity or
https://www.penfed.org/credit-cards/power-cash-rewards-visa
The penfed also requires a free checking. Fidelity requires another free account too. I have accounts with both. Fidelity for stocks, penfed gives good ssl. 3% savings too.
Of the two, I can tell you penfed is picky about # of recent accounts. I haven't tried elan, but since they're part of usb id expect them to be picky in general.
To get the PenFed 2% rate you have to have their Honors Checking, right? That means you have to be in the military? Or did I read that wrong.
You need Honors Advantage status, active military/veteron status qualifies but you can also qualify if you have a checking account. I remember discussion about whether or not the Access America $500 balance or $500/month DD requirement to get 2% back was also true if you had Free Checking but not what the resolution was, hopefully someone with personal experience can chime in.

PenFed Power Cash Reward Visa (Visa Signature if CL is $5k+) pays 1.5% to 2% back on everything.

Yes, you need a PenFed savings account and just put $5 in there and forget about it.

PCR is normally 1.5%, but Honors Advantage members get 2%.
Military are automatically Honors Advantage members. Active duty for sure, but I think honorably discharged also get it.
If non-military, a checking account will get you the same Honors Advantage benefits.
I have the Access America checking account. It makes my PCR a 2% back card all the time. To avoid the fee, I have to have $500 minimum direct-deposited every month. I have $500 out of each paycheck put in there (every other week). You can transfer it out the day it hits the account if you want.
I believe the Free Checking account will also gain Honors Advantage benefits, but only in months where you have at least $500 deposited.

So Access America always gets Honors advantage and is free in months with $500 DD. Free Checking is always free, and gets HH membership in months with $500 DD. Same result either way if you do the $500 every month.
I hope that made sense. It's really simple, but looks like gobbledygook the way I typed it.

Honors advantage also make the Pathfinder a no-annual-fee card. It's $95/year without Honors Advantage.

PenFed seems to be always HP for CLI requests. They used to be generous with CLIs, but have gotten tighter lately. (My first two 5-digit CLs were from PenFed. The PCR was by far my highest CL for a long time.) One HP can get multiple credit card apps and/or CLI requests from PenFed though. So if you app for one card, app for every card you want with them and ask for CLIs on any other cards you have with them all within 30 days and it should be only 1 HP.

PenFed doesn't do Product Changes. I call about once a year to see if I can PC my Gold card into a Pathfinder. (To me it's not worth opening a new account, but I would change my otherwise useless Gold Visa to Pathfinder if I could.) They have no way to change one product to another, seem baffled by the concept and surprised that I would even ask such a crazy thing.

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:36:33 GMT

Sofi is another no AF, no FTF 2% uncapped. I had a bad experience with it but others haven't!

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

Casper476 — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 19:45:57 GMT

Thanks for all of your advice!

I decided to go with the Fidelity Rewards Visa and was approved for $15,600. I'm based in DE and they pulled Trans Union.

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

Varsity_Lu — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:36:06 GMT

@Casper476 wrote:
Thanks for all of your advice!

I decided to go with the Fidelity Rewards Visa and was approved for $15,600. I'm based in DE and they pulled Trans Union.

Awesome! Could you share any data about your current status? How many recent cards, inq, etc?

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

Kforce — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:59:50 GMT

@Casper476 wrote:
Thanks for all of your advice!
I decided to go with the Fidelity Rewards Visa and was approved for $15,600. I'm based in DE and they pulled Trans Union.

Congrats

Re: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Cards for Online Shopping

Casper476 — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:40:21 GMT

@Varsity_Lu wrote:
@Casper476 wrote:
Thanks for all of your advice!

I decided to go with the Fidelity Rewards Visa and was approved for $15,600. I'm based in DE and they pulled Trans Union.
Awesome! Could you share any data about your current status? How many recent cards, inq, etc?

I just applied for a US Bank card that's not yet reporting - that inquiry was on my Trans Union report from 12/23. Other than that there are two inquiries within the last 24 months. My most recent account reporting is a retail card at 18 months old. I don't know my Trans Union FICO score yet.