The 5 Best US Credit Cards for International Travel and Living Abroad
The USA has far better credit card rewards than almost any other country, with improved sign-on bonuses, point rewards, and annual fees. Therefore, if you’re planning to frequently travel abroad or live internationally, it’s worth getting all your American credit cards before you leave!
However, researching which credit card to get can be overwhelming, with hundreds of card options all claiming to be the best fit for you. Choosing the right card is even more important when traveling internationally, as added fees and removed benefits can completely change which cards make sense for you to hold.
Therefore, to help you narrow down the options, we have compiled a list of the five best US credit cards for living or traveling abroad! While the cards on this list aren’t the only options for American ex-pats, they represent five great options for a variety of different card setups.
However, before we jump into our recommendations, we need to highlight a few important points about what you need to be conscious of when choosing a credit card for being abroad:
What to Avoid?
First, any credit cards you use abroad need to have no foreign transaction fees (FTFs). As you’ll be putting a lot of your spending on these cards, being forced to pay an additional 3% fee on everything you buy will accumulate rapidly, leaving you paying thousands of dollars in fees. We want to avoid this at all costs, so every card in consideration must have no FTFs.
For instance, the Chase Freedom Unlimited is normally an excellent card, but with 3% FTFs, it is a must-avoid for this purpose.
Second, you need to consider the general international acceptance of any cards you’re considering. For instance, while Mastercard and Visa cards are accepted consistently all over the world, American Express and Discover cards can be hit or miss as to whether a merchant will accept your card internationally.
While this isn’t as big a deal in more tourist-heavy areas, knowing you might not be able to pay with your card slightly defeats the purpose of having it. We recommend sticking with Visa cards for international travel unless you know the merchants around you accept other cards.
Finally, you need to be mindful of the geographical limitations of any cards you consider. Annoyingly, many credit cards have great benefits that only work when used in the USA. For instance, the American Express Gold card is an excellent card with many useful benefits, such as a $120 Uber credit and 4x points back on grocery and food delivery spending.
However, none of these benefits are valid abroad—the Uber credit only works in USD and the grocery/delivery spending only returns 1x points internationally.
Despite the AmEx Gold being an excellent card in the US, several of the benefits that make the card worthwhile are not valid abroad
Now that we’ve gone over the important considerations, let’s dive into our recommendations!
The 5 best credit cards for American Expats living abroad
1. Chase Sapphire Preferred
If you’ve even started to look into travel credit cards, it’s likely that you’ve come across the Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP). There’s a big reason that every Youtuber, blogger, and credit card aficionado pushes this card to everyone who will listen: effective simplicity. Not only is this card excellent for earning valuable travel rewards, but it is also extremely simple to use effectively.
Let’s review some of the basics of the Chase Sapphire Preferred:
Annual Fee: $95
Welcome/Sign-Up Bonus: 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in 3 months of having the card
Spending Rewards: 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal, 3x points on dining and delivery/takeaway, 2x points on all forms of travel, and 1x points on everything else
Additional Benefits: $50 annual hotel credit
The CSP is an excellent card for both beginners and credit pros alike, with simple earning rewards, an excellent collection of transfer partners, and a relatively low annual fee. Frankly, you can almost guarantee that you’ll come away with net positive value from having the card, assuming you use the hotel credit.
Chase’s biggest selling point is its impressive list of transfer partners, including United, Southwest, and Hyatt. No matter how you want to use your hard-earned points, Chase likely has a helpful transfer partner for you!
Overall, the ease of use of the Chase Sapphire Preferred combined with its great options for redeeming points makes this card an amazing option for anyone traveling or living abroad.
2. Capital One Venture X
The Capital One Venture X is another excellent option for anyone looking for a US credit card to use internationally. The Venture X is Capital One’s most luxurious (and expensive) card, and allows its holders to have a range of convenient travel benefits from lounge access to an annual flight credit.
Let’s review the basics of the Capital One Venture X:
Annual Fee: $395
Welcome/Sign-Up Bonus: 75,000 after spending $4,000 in 3 months
Spending Rewards: 2x Capital One Miles on all purchases
Additional Benefits: $300 annual travel credit, $100 TSA Pre/Global Entry credit, 10,000 Miles anniversary gift
The Venture X is one of the best cards for those dreaming of a simple points set-up. Unlike many of the other cards on this list, the Venture X gives a flat 2x miles back on all spending. With this card, you don’t have to track spending categories or plan your card usage; with the Venture X, if you have the card, you can use it for everything!
If you use the $300 annual travel credit, the 10,000 annual miles bonus effectively reduces the annual fee of the card to $-5. Holding this card gives you net positive value, not even introducing any spending rewards or the sign-on bonus. This makes it a much better deal than the regular Capital One Venture Rewards card.
As well, Capital One has a variety of travel partners that specialize in international travel (e.g., Virgin, British Airways, Air Canada, FlyingBlue, etc.), which can return excellent value for anyone living abroad. No matter where you live in the world, Capital One likely has a travel partner that can help you get wherever you’re trying to go!
Overall, the Venture X is an excellent option for anyone looking to add an effective but simple card. With great travel benefits and rewards, a plethora of international partners, and of course, no foreign transaction fees, this card is one of our top recommendations for anyone living outside the USA or anyone who frequently travels internationally!
3. United MileagePlus Explorer
Our third recommendation for cards to use internationally is the United MileagePlus Explorer. The Explorer card is United’s answer to the Chase Sapphire Preferred, giving many similar benefits and rewards, with a United Airlines focus.
Some basics of the United MileagePlus Explorer Visa:
Annual Fee: $0 for first year, $95 after that
Welcome/Sign-Up Bonus: 60,000 United Miles after spending $3,000 in 3 months
Spending Rewards: 2x Miles on United purchases, dining, and hotel stays, 1x points on everything else
Additional Benefits: Free first checked bags on all flights, $100 TSA Precheck/Global Entry credit, priority boarding
The United Explorer card is an excellent option for anyone who either frequently flies United (or any of the other Star Alliance members) or has United status. This card gives you bonus miles on your United flights, dining, and hotels, allowing you to use it for almost all of your travel purchases!
One major benefit of the Explorer card is the minimal required commitment to accumulate a ton of United miles. Between the spending rewards, the substantial sign-on bonus, and the free first year of holding the card, you can easily accumulate 75,000+ United Miles essentially for free. With the free checked bag, you only have to fly ~2 times a year with a checked bag to make the annual fee effectively $0 even after your first year.
While it has more niche redemption options than other cards on this list, the United MileagePlus Explorer card is an excellent option for earning airline miles abroad with almost no commitment required. If you’re determined to fly United exclusively, we recommend upgrading to one of the fancier United cards, such as the Quest or the Infinite.
4. World of Hyatt Visa
If you’re interested in using your credit card for hotel stays, there is no better option than the World of Hyatt Visa card. Hyatt is by far the best hotel chain for using points, with easy-to-book hotels frequently worth 2+ cents per point! And with the ability to transfer any Chase Ultimate Reward points to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio, accumulating Hyatt points can be far easier than earning other hotels’ rewards.
However, the absolute best way to earn Hyatt points is through the World of Hyatt Visa card. Not only does this card give you a sign-on bonus of Hyatt points, but it also gives you automatic status and huge spending rewards at Hyatt properties.
Let’s look at the basics of the World of Hyatt Visa :
Annual Fee: $95
Welcome/Sign-Up Bonus: 30,000 points after spending $3,000 in 3 months, then an additional 2x points on all purchases up to an additional 30,000 points (60,000 total maximum)
Spending Rewards: 9x points on Hyatt spending, 2x points on restaurants, airlines, local communiting, and gym memberships, and 1x points on everything else
Additional Benefits: Free category 1-4 hotel stay annually, automatic Hyatt Discoverist status
For anyone interested in staying at Hyatt properties abroad, the World of Hyatt card is a no-brainer. While the sign-on bonus is mediocre (requiring a minimum of $15,000 on the card to get the full bonus), the automatic Discoverist status and free night annual can make the effective annual fee of this card $0.
Hyatt has hundreds of properties in different areas across the globe. While Hyatt may have fewer locations than larger chains like Marriott or Hilton, the value of each hotel is almost guaranteed to be better at Hyatt.
Locations of all the Hyatt properties in Europe
Plus, with the WoH card giving bonus points on dining, airlines, local transport, and gym memberships, you can easily accumulate thousands of Hyatt points without putting much effort into planning your spending!
Overall, this card is an obvious choice for anyone who wants to stay at Hyatt properties, and is an excellent option for anyone looking to stay at hotels using points!
5. Capital One Quicksilver
If you’re living abroad or traveling internationally and more interested in cash-back than point-earning, the Capital One Quicksilver is an excellent option. Not only does this card have no annual fee, but it also has some nice benefits on top of its flat cash-back.
Let’s go over the details of the Capital One Quicksilver card:
Annual Fee: $0
Welcome/Sign-Up Bonus: $200 bonus after spending $500 in 3 months
Spending Rewards: 1.5% back on all purchases
Additional Benefits: 6 months of free Uber One, low intro APR
Cash-back cards are always going to be slightly less glamorous than their point-based counterparts, but they make up for any excitement shortcomings with simplicity. You’ll never need to worry about getting a certain level of value from any rewards with a cash-back card!
Even for a cash-back card, the Quicksilver thrives in its simplicity—use it for every purchase you make and get a flat 1.5% discount. With the addition of 6 free months of Uber One (Uber’s premium membership), this card is an excellent choice for anyone living abroad who does not enjoy putting significant effort into their credit cards and rewards.
Summary
No matter where you’re living, having the right credit card can help you elevate your experience abroad!
If you’re an American living abroad, it is important to use your US credit cards whenever possible, as they can earn you thousands in additional benefits compared to any international card.
We’ve suggested five of our favorite US credit cards for use abroad, with all five having no foreign transaction fees. Regardless of whether you’re interested in hotel stays, airline rewards, general credit card points, or cash-back, we’ve included a card for you.
We hope this article was helpful to you! If you’re interested in other credit cards, make sure to check out our recommendations for cards to earn airline miles and cards to earn free nights at hotels. Make sure to leave a comment below if you have any questions!
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