No matter if you travel on business or for pleasure, you need money to take to foreign countries. Most travelers use plastics because they are widely accepted, help to carry large amounts, provide enough safety and convenience. Offers for good credit also provide rewards, while bad credit cards are simply a payment tool in trips. Received in the US, a credit card can be used to pay for purchases and services all around the world. But this convenience is not for free: for every transaction made abroad the bank charges a fee. Foreign exchange fees are different and come on various terms, as not all credit cards can be used abroad. This is why people, who are going to use a credit card in trips, should pay a special attention to foreign transaction fees and find best credit card.

International transaction fees are applicable with all purchases made abroad. It is a percentage of the amount you spend with the card. It is always in dollars; if the purchase was in foreign currency, currency exchange takes place, the bank adds a fee and the result is what you get on your balance.

Foreign exchange fees, if applicable, are introduced in the terms and conditions of the card. In 2006 the largest credit card companies such as Visa, Diners Club and MasterCard were sued for not revealing their foreign transaction fees. After that case, these fees are open for applicants and cardholders and are set in the credit card agreement. However, you can still pay more for international transaction than your agreement implies. The matter is that your credit card is a co-branded product by the bank and the payment system. A payment system (like Visa or MasterCard) usually charges 1% of the transaction, while your lender can charge 1-2% or more. Thus, you can face 2 - 3% charge for the purchase. Different banks provide different schemes for international transactions.

American Express bank issues their own cards and cooperates with Citibank and Bank of America. The initial AmEx foreign fee is 2% and it stays the same for AmEx-Bank of America co-branded plastics. Unfortunately, Citibank adds its own 2% and AmEx - Citi credit cards have a fee of 4%. This way of charging the fee is typical for most lenders.

However, Capital One bank is remarkable for charging no international fee, and the customer also pays no1% MasterCard or Visa fee! People who regularly travel to foreign countries should pay attention to this indubitable advantage and apply for credit card by this company. Another bank that takes no fee for spending abroad is Discover company. Since Discover maintains its own payment system, there is no need for the bank to charge those fees. But only a limited number of consumers can use Discover abroad, because their payment system is rather small and accepted in few countries. In future Discover is going to establish a worldwide payment processing system.

On returning home, you should take your credit card statement and check all your foreign purchases. The statement should contain all the merchants, the amount of purchase in both currencies and the international transaction fee.

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