topic Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards? in Credit Cards

No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

DaveSignal — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 02:01:22 GMT

So I have high limit rewards cards through USAA and NFCU. They only charge a 1% Foreign Transaction Fee, which is not alot, but is kind of like an added tax.

I am moving to UK in August and will already be paying UK tax so it just slightly bothers me that I have to also pay some extra amount just because I must live overseas for a few years.

I have a low limit ($750) Capital One card with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee. The only problem with this is that customer service tells me that there are no customer-initiated CLIs on this card and that the purchase APR is 22.90% (I don't even use this card at all, but assume that I would occasionally if I had a high limit.)

So I was looking at cards with no foreign transaction fee. The ultimate card of this nature is the PENFED Rewards card. I don't think I have the FICO to be approved for this yet. I might, though, if I wait a year and let the 10 inquires I have for the last year fall off.

Is there any other rewards card I could apply for with no foreign transaction fee? Or should I just use my NFCU and USAA cards for a year (while paying fees) and then try applying for the PENFED?

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 02:21:10 GMT

Nfcu visa sig flagship has no foreign trans fee, but it does have annual fee of $49.00. I wouldn't apply for Penfed unless I had 725 or above and no new credit or inqs. That's just me, I don't like getting told no lol. If your military, Chase has the aafes mastercard I don't pay FTF's or annual fee on it.

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

DaveSignal — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 02:27:07 GMT

Yeah, I don't currently have any cards with an annual fee. I don't want to start either. I want that PENFED. 725 is a stretch, but I think I might get close in a year and not apply for anything.... I am going to be in UK, so I don't think I will need to apply for any US credit. I think PENFED is a good goal.... it sets the bar much higher than the 700 FICO I was trying for in the short-term. </updates FICO goal>

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 02:31:15 GMT

Yea, I like the Penfed rewards. I don't like cards with annual fees either. I have the chase southwest that's the only card I have with a fee. I switched Amex delta gold for BCE after 4 months, I couldn't swallow that 95 af.

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

webhopper — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 03:10:36 GMT

The visa flagship rewards is a good candidate; no ftfs that I'm aware of. You should be able to call and request that your current nfcu card get product changed into a flagship visa. They do this with no hard pull to your credit.

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

clocktick — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 03:14:54 GMT

Discover has no forex fees as well as the CSP. I don't know if they accept Discover over there though or if you want to pay an annual fee (first year waived, however). Definitely take a look at this link.

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

DaveSignal — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 10:27:32 GMT

Discover is not global enough for my career. And I am trying to avoid paying an annual fee. And even though I realize that the annual fee on the NFCU flagship is going to cost me less than paying 1% on every transaction with my nRewards card, I am leaning away from a product switch on a card that I use every day. I will think about it some more though. I already have a high limit star card for the purpose of on-base christmas promotions and similar, its just not the chase star card. If I got the chase then I would have 2 star cards? Or can I just do a product switch of my current star card to a chase star card?

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

OhioCPA — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 12:47:11 GMT

Why not look for a UK based card? That way you will have chip and pin as well as no FX fees. Amex and BoA are two banks that offer UK based cards. I am not sure how easy it would be to get approval for a US expat in the UK but it probably would only take a few phone calls to find out.

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 13:36:31 GMT

You would have two, one to use at the px or bx or shoppettes, the other one you can use at the commissary and anywhere off base it's a mastercard through chase no annual fee, or FTF fees and it earns cash back rewards that you can redeem as statement credits or gift cards. The interest rate is the same as the STAR. That card will also have your star number on it, so you only have to carry one card with you.

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

DaveSignal — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 00:50:34 GMT

@OhioCPA wrote:
Why not look for a UK based card? That way you will have chip and pin as well as no FX fees. Amex and BoA are two banks that offer UK based cards. I am not sure how easy it would be to get approval for a US expat in the UK but it probably would only take a few phone calls to find out.

This sounds like a good idea as long as UK reports to the same CRAs as US, but I am not sure that they do and so it is possible that my credit is invalid there.

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

trumpet-205 — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 01:20:08 GMT

@DaveSignal wrote:
@OhioCPA wrote:
Why not look for a UK based card? That way you will have chip and pin as well as no FX fees. Amex and BoA are two banks that offer UK based cards. I am not sure how easy it would be to get approval for a US expat in the UK but it probably would only take a few phone calls to find out.
This sounds like a good idea as long as UK reports to the same CRAs as US, but I am not sure that they do and so it is possible that my credit is invalid there.

No. Credit history is country dependent. What you have in US is irrevelant to other countries. Meaning other countries don't use EQ/EX/TU. They use their own credit report agency.

So when you open a UK based CC, they will pull your report from UK credit agency, which is blank for you.

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

DaveSignal — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 02:59:45 GMT

I figured. So it looks like it comes down to either getting the Chase star card or waiting a year to let all inqs fall off and new accounts age before trying for the PenFed. I have many new accounts and inquiries at this time and so I think I should wait at least 6 months before applying for even the Chase card.... I will have to re-evaluate at that time. Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions.

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

OhioCPA — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 10:09:20 GMT

If the desire is to have a card that reports to US credit agencies, then a UK based credit card wouldn't be the answer. But if the purpose is to have chip and pin and no FX then a UK based card is an option. I know Amex has a process to transfer a US account to a UK account and back. BoA might have the same simple procedure.

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

DaveSignal — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 10:56:35 GMT

I will look into that, but I currently don't have, nor did I previously think that I needed, an Amex or BoA card. So, in order to get a UK based credit card, I would have to apply for a new card while in UK. Since I would have 0 credit in UK, I would not be approved for any cards.

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

haiti222 — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 00:09:11 GMT

I think you should convert to the Flagship as your main card and then apply for the Andrews AFB Credit Union Chip and Pin Visa. It is the only chip and pin with no annual fee that is available in the US to all (through an open membership credit union). It has a 1% FE Fee as well. Chip and Pin is occasionally needed in Europe, especially for automated transactions (gas, tolls, bike rentals, train tickets).......

http://www.andrewsfcu.org/destinationanywhere.html

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

DaveSignal — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 00:44:09 GMT

@haiti222 wrote:

I think you should convert to the Flagship as your main card and then apply for the Andrews AFB Credit Union Chip and Pin Visa.

I almost enrolled in the credit union until I hesitated when looking at the fee schedule and it appears as though I will get billed monthly if I simply leave only $5 in my share savings (which is what I currently do with NFCU and PenFed without monthly fee). Am I reading it incorrectly, or are they really planning on billing me for opening an account and not using their deposit services past the initial $5 deposit?

Otherwise, that chip and pin card looks awesome. Thats like a military CAC on a visa. I want one.

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

haiti222 — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 03:19:00 GMT

The way I read it, the fee kicks in after one year of inactivity and less than $50 in the account. Do an ACH in of a dollar, and you are set.

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

webhopper — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 03:34:13 GMT

Ive never been charged a fee; however I transfer money to sharesavings from my normal checking account and pay the credit card and car loan using a.transfer.from the.shares account. The flagship card does look pretty sweet and it has one of the lowest AFs you can find for a travel rewards card with no forex fees. All of nfcus cards can be issued with chip and pin because active duty military people usually.end up in foreign countries during.their.service.

If you tootle the.flagship card and look at images you can see pics of the chip and pin version.

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

DaveSignal — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 03:34:11 GMT

Wow. So, I that case, I could just switch my nRewards to a Flagship with chip and pin. That saves me 2 new inquiries from opening a new CU account + credit card + one new revolving account for sole purpose of having chip and pin.

I am calling NFCU right now.

Re: No Foreign Transaction Fee on PENFED or other cards?

webhopper — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 03:36:10 GMT

Google images flagship card and you can see pics of the chip and pin version