topic Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit in Credit Cards

No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 23:04:29 GMT

Hello Everyone,

I'm about to graduate from college in May 14' and will be travelling for about 2-3 months in the summer before starting my job. Thus I want to get a new credit card with no foreign transaction fees and hopefully some sort of rewards program. As of now I have 1 Discover card with a $2.5k limit which I opened 1 year 6 months ago. I've never had any late payments or other negatives on my report. However, due to my limited history, and limited income until I start work I feel like I'd only be approved for cards targeted for those with "average" or "good" credit, not "excellent". As much as I'd like the premium travel cards such as a Cap1 Venture I just think it would be a wasted hard pull to try for those now. Oh, also my CreditKarma/TransUnion score is 724 as of now.

What are some cards out there that you think will meet the following criteria which I could conceivably be approved for?

-No foreign transaction fee

-No annual fee (I will probably apply for a premium card to replace this within about a year, so I want to avoid fees or the need to close card)

-Decent, not fantastic, rewards (I'm spending probably >$10k during my travels so I want to earn some rewards on that spending)

*Also, a bonus such as being chip enabled would be cool, but not necessary as I will not be in Europe very much this summer.

The BoA Travel Rewards card seems like a decent card for this purpose, but I'm sure there are some more options you all might suggest.

Thank you very much!

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 23:06:36 GMT

All capitalone and discover cards have no FTF.

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 23:15:10 GMT

SDFCU chip & pin is great for foreign travel, and there are both secured and unsecured versions.

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 23:27:45 GMT

Capital One Quicksilver would be great

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

LearningMoreAboutCredit — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 23:31:04 GMT

All cards suggested are good options...

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 23:34:27 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
All capitalone and discover cards have no FTF.

I looked at the Cap1 cards and it seems all of the "average" credit ones require an annual fee except the Journey Student card and business cards. So there I could only consider the Journey Student which makes 1.25% rewards. BoA makes 1.5% towards travel + $100 signup bonus + chip enabled.

My concern with Discover is that they have limited acceptance compared to MasterCard and Visa which I'll be good to use just about anywhere.

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

LearningMoreAboutCredit — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 23:40:41 GMT

Have you tried cardmatch or other website for any offers?

http://www.creditcards.com/

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 23:43:27 GMT

Where are you traveling to?

You can also check out Barclays arrival. AF is waived first year.

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 00:21:27 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Where are you traveling to?

You can also check out Barclays arrival. AF is waived first year.

Barclays Arrival is a premium, "excellent" credit type of card I thought?

And so far I'll be going through parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Ukraine and Russia. A couple other countries are possible but these are the concrete ones.

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

rlx01 — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 00:30:54 GMT

Your score is good enough for all cards. The issue is income.

Best bet is Arrival, BoA Travel Rewards, and most CU cards.

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 00:36:17 GMT

For China, discover will work really well since it runs on the unionpay network.

For most of the countries you listed (not including Ukraine and RU), especially China, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, a lot of those places do not accept credit cards at all, unless you are shopping / dining at higher end establishments. Even for places that do accept credit cards, some will either impose a 3% fee or will offer you some sort of a discount if you are paying cash.

I think you should be alright for the arrival, though they will most likely approve you for a CL below 5k which means you will get the platinum MC as opposed to world MC. Others can chime in, I suppose.

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 00:43:34 GMT

@rlx01 wrote:
Your score is good enough for all cards. The issue is income.

Best bet is Arrival, BoA Travel Rewards, and most CU cards.

Yes, currently, my annual personal income from my internship/scholarships (people are justified using these I believe), is only ~$30k. If I could report $100k from my accepted job offer I think I would have zero problems!

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 00:46:33 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
For China, discover will work really well since it runs on the unionpay network.

For most of the countries you listed (not including Ukraine and RU), especially China, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, a lot of those places do not accept credit cards at all, unless you are shopping / dining at higher end establishments. Even for places that do accept credit cards, some will either impose a 3% fee or will offer you some sort of a discount if you are paying cash.

I think you should be alright for the arrival, though they will most likely approve you for a CL below 5k which means you will get the platinum MC as opposed to world MC. Others can chime in, I suppose.

Hypothetically, if I were approved for the Barclay Arrival with Platinum MC would I be able to upgrade to WorldMC and a higher CL down the road with increased income? (In fall after I start a job).

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

DaveSignal — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 00:53:05 GMT

Temporary_me wrote:

Hypothetically, if I were approved for the Barclay Arrival with Platinum MC would I be able to upgrade to WorldMC and a higher CL down the road with increased income? (In fall after I start a job).

With Barclays, no. You would need to close the account and reapply.

you could request the credit line increases, however.

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 00:53:48 GMT

@DaveSignal wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Hypothetically, if I were approved for the Barclay Arrival with Platinum MC would I be able to upgrade to WorldMC and a higher CL down the road with increased income? (In fall after I start a job).

With Barclays, no. You would need to close the account and reapply.

you could request the credit line increases, however.

Eek, that's unfortunate.

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 00:54:17 GMT

For Barclays, once you are approved for the plat MC, you pretty much stay that way even if your CL increases past 5k. They do review accounts from time to time, but don't count on it until it actually happens (to avoid the disappointment / anger).

Your CL can always go up via auto CLIs, or you can always ask for one, though it will cost a HP, which really isn't a big deal in my opinion.

Everything is same about the card, except for world MC vs platinum MC benefits. Most wouldn't even care or use those benefits at all.

I personally think its a good deal for you since its 40k points after 1k spend, which is essentially $400 in savings on your travel. Do u know what your fico scores are? What is your utilization? I think you have a decent shot at a lot more cards than you think.

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

DaveSignal — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 00:57:49 GMT

You might get the WMC from the start though. They will try to qualify you for that first. But either card offers the same benefits from Barclays and fits what you are looking for. I agree that you should apply for it.

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

dap1984va — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 01:03:41 GMT

1. You have picked some great cards, Barclays is picky with inquiries, before or after applying. They soft pull you, (i know) and you stand the chance of getting to a country and come to find out the card does not work because they closed the account, not sure I would suggest it or not

2. It should be more than the fee or cash back. I "assume" you will use the card for more than a pack of gum, One or two of the choices are known for low starting credit limits. eeny meany meeny mino mo..... Capital One tops the list. Using a "small card" could negatively effect that c score if the usage is high.

3. income plays a part in the equation, that is a no brainer...so...............you can only expect/assume/ the limit will not be but so high.

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 01:01:40 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
For Barclays, once you are approved for the plat MC, you pretty much stay that way even if your CL increases past 5k. They do review accounts from time to time, but don't count on it until it actually happens (to avoid the disappointment / anger).

Your CL can always go up via auto CLIs, or you can always ask for one, though it will cost a HP, which really isn't a big deal in my opinion.

Everything is same about the card, except for world MC vs platinum MC benefits. Most wouldn't even care or use those benefits at all.

I personally think its a good deal for you since its 40k points after 1k spend, which is essentially $400 in savings on your travel. Do u know what your fico scores are? What is your utilization? I think you have a decent shot at a lot more cards than you think.

I do not know my fico scores, though I was contemplating paying for those. It would be ironic to look at them, apply for the Barclay, and then have free access to them as a Barclay cardholder.

As far as utilization I typically use between 10-20%. I pay down balances before my statement date to keep it in that range.

Re: No foreign transaction fee card w/ average credit

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 01:09:21 GMT

@dap1984va wrote:
1. You have picked some great cards, Barclays is picky with inquiries, before or after applying. They soft pull you, (i know) and you stand the chance of getting to a country and come to find out the card does not work because they closed the account, not sure I would suggest it or not
2. It should be more than the fee or cash back. I "assume" you will use the card for more than a pack of gum, One or two of the choices are known for low starting credit limits. eeny meany meeny mino mo..... Capital One tops the list. Using a "small card" could negatively effect that c score with the usage is high.
3. income plays a part in the equation, that is a no brainer...so...............you can only expect/assume/ the limit will not be but so high.

1. As far as inqiuries, I have not made any hard inquiries since applying for my Discover card 1.5 years ago, and I will not make any more inquiries after getting my next card until after my travels are completed and I start working.

2. As far as a low credit limit I'd be fine with something around $1.5k. I always have the ability to pay off balances before a statement posts to prevent exceeding my limit in extreme cases. Also while out of country I am having my parents monitor balances on whatever card I get to ensure I stay below 20% utilization.

3. What is a "low" limit defined as in general, or just in respect to your income? Looking at my internship and my scholarships for the past year/rest of my school year my annual personal income is just a bit over $30k. What might be a reasonable initial CL to expect?