Why Everyone needs a Capital One Credit Card for International Travel11/10/2010
For international travel, nothing beats a Capital One credit card.
The reason?
No foreign transaction fees!
Here is a breakdown:
Capital One 0%
Schwab Bank 0% (with brokerage account)
USAA (Military) 1%
American Express 2%
Discover Card 2%
Advanta 3%
Bank of America 3%
BB&T Bank 3%
Chase 3%
Citibank 3%
HSBC 3%
PNC 3%
SunTrust Bank 3%
TD Bank 3%
U.S. Bank 3%
Wells Fargo 3%
I personally used the Capital One Platinum Card for my 7 month trip and didn’t have any issues come up. However, if I were planning a trip today I would probably go with the Venture Card to rack up those invaluable travel miles.
In addition, Capital One will also refund any foreign ATM fees. I racked up about $3 per transaction (about every other day) pulling money from the ATM overseas.
Let’s do some quick math to see how much money I COULD of saved:
Stayed in Europe/Africa total of 7 months, about 210 days.
210 (Total days)/2 (ATM every other day) = 105
105 x 3 (ATM Fee) = $315
$315 is what I would have saved!
You are still on the hook, however, for the local ATM you pulled cash out of. As you can see these fees can really add up and cut into your travel time.
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