13 Best Credit Cards With No Foreign Transaction Fees of October 2026

Frequently asked questions

• When do I pay a foreign transaction fee?

  These fees are charged by some card issuers every time you swipe your card outside of the U.S.

• How do foreign transaction fees work?

  When you buy something abroad or on a non-U.S. website, the cost of the purchase will likely need to be converted into U.S. dollars. A foreign transaction fee is generally charged to mitigate the financial risks of the ever-changing foreign exchange market. Once the purchase is converted into U.S. dollars, then a foreign transaction fee is charged.

  Foreign transaction fees vary for each issuer but are generally anywhere between 2% and 5%. Given that most bonus rewards categories fall into the same earning percentage, a foreign transaction fee on purchases can easily completely offset any value you’d be getting from your credit card’s rewards structure. 

• Do foreign transaction fees apply online?

  You don’t have to be in another country to rack up a foreign transaction fee. If you make a payment online with a brand that isn’t based in the U.S., you might still be charged a foreign transaction fee, even if you were in the U.S. when you made the purchase. 

  This can happen when you are buying from a company that is not based in the U.S., but it also happens when booking hotels abroad. Most properties within major hotel brand portfolios like Hilton or Marriott are individually owned and managed, but reservations are facilitated through a brandwide website. 

  This means that while your reservation may be made on a U.S. website and you may pay in U.S. dollars, the room charges may be processed by the hotel itself through a non-U.S. bank. It’s generally hard to tell in these cases whether you’ll be charged a foreign transaction fee until after the payment is already processed. So it’s a best practice to use a card with no foreign transaction fees just in case.

• Are foreign transaction fees tax deductible?

  If foreign transaction fees are charged on purchases made for business purposes then the fees are tax deductible, but all foreign transaction fees for personal expenses are not tax deductible. 

• Are foreign transaction fees refundable?

  Foreign transaction fees are not refundable. The best way to avoid incurring these fees is to use a card that doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee to begin with (or to use cash while abroad, but then you’ll miss out on the potential to earn rewards). 

  However, there are some cards that will refund you for foreign ATM fees when traveling abroad. ATM fees are not the same thing as foreign transaction fees — ATM fees are charged by a bank when using an ATM that is not affiliated with your bank — but are an example of fees you may be charged while traveling abroad. A Schwab Bank Investor Checking account from Charles Schwab comes with a debit card that will refund any fees incurred from using ATMs while abroad. 

• How do you check if a credit card has foreign transaction fees?

  When applying for a new card or evaluating an existing card, look at your cardholder agreement and rates and fees page, which will highlight if the card charges foreign transaction fees or not.

• What banks don’t charge foreign transaction fees?

  There are U.S. credit card issuers that never charge foreign transaction fees, regardless of which credit card you have — most notably Capital One and Discover. 

  However, even the credit card issuers who do charge foreign transaction fees across some of their cards almost always offer at least a few credit cards within their lineup that don’t charge these fees — many of which are included in this list. These cards are usually geared toward travelers and include bonus categories and benefits that are suited for those who want to make the most of their travels.