Credit Card Programs - Recommendation for no-forex-fee card?

Hi all,

I have the opportunity to charge approximately $50-$70K annually in business expenses from a single overseas supplier and would appreciate your suggestions for a few cards that would be most rewarding to use in this situation.

Conditions are:
1. No foreign exchange fee (Purchases are from outside USA)
2. Visa or M/C only (supplier does not accept Amex or Discover)
3. Any annual fee is fine as long as it is outweighed by benefits
4. If sign-up bonuses and/or spend requirements make it worthwhile, I would consider applying for multiple cards
5. My family and I fly regularly for non-work purposes so I have good use for travel rewards/points. We normally fly UA, AS, DL.

Thoughts? Please advise if I should include any additional information.

I assume you'll be charging a fair amount in hotel expenses. Marriott Premier has no forex fees and it nets you 5 Marriott pts / $ for Marriott stays. A good all-around card is the Sapphire preferred, because it has 2 pts / $ on any travel expenses.

Both cards have annual fees. The Marriott also gives you a free night / year. The Sapphire allows you to convert points to many different airlines or hotel programs.

penfed visa has no forex transaction fee, has no annual fee, and gives the equivalent of 1% cash back (up to a limit which i have never hit, and has higher returns for certain categories that don't appear to apply to you).

I assume you'll be charging a fair amount in hotel expenses. Marriott Premier has no forex fees and it nets you 5 Marriott pts / $ for Marriott stays. A good all-around card is the Sapphire preferred, because it has 2 pts / $ on any travel expenses.

Both cards have annual fees. The Marriott also gives you a free night / year. The Sapphire allows you to convert points to many different airlines or hotel programs.

Thanks for your suggestion eethan. This card will not be used much for travel expenses... I have now clarified that in my original post.

The Chase Ink cards are probably a good choice. Depending on the type of business expenses you could earn up to 5x Ultimate Rewards points with no fx in addition to the 50k sign up bonuses

penfed visa has no forex transaction fee, has no annual fee, and gives the equivalent of 1% cash back (up to a limit which i have never hit, and has higher returns for certain categories that don't appear to apply to you).

I believe the Penfed Visa (old version) has 0.25% cash back except for fuel which is 5% cash back. (I mainly use this card for my fuel purchases).

There is a new version that is on the points system instead of cash back but I haven't changed over since I mainly buy gas (5% cash back the next month) with this card.

...from a single overseas supplier...

1. If you explain the type of merchant it should reduce suggestions for cards which earn bonuses in unrelated categories.

2. Are you a principal of the business or an employee?

1. If you explain the type of merchant it should reduce suggestions for cards which earn bonuses in unrelated categories.

2. Are you a principal of the business or an employee?

1. The charges come up as "Other" so I don't think any spending category bonuses would apply.

2. Principal (it's a side business)

I would look at cards with an annual threshold bonus which you are otherwise unlikely to achieve.

Examples:

JP Morgan Select VISA earns one Ultimate Rewards point per dollar, with a 25,000 point bonus at $100,000. Discussion here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1256202-j-p-morgan-select-visa-signature.html

Chase British Airways VISA earns 1.25 points per dollar, with a companion award at $30,000. Make sure you understand the limitations of the companion award before deciding if this has value for you. Primary discussion in the BA forum.

I would look at cards with an annual threshold bonus which you are otherwise unlikely to achieve.

Examples:

JP Morgan Select VISA earns one Ultimate Rewards point per dollar, with a 25,000 point bonus at $100,000. Discussion here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1256202-j-p-morgan-select-visa-signature.html

Chase British Airways VISA earns 1.25 points per dollar, with a companion award at $30,000. Make sure you understand the limitations of the companion award before deciding if this has value for you. Primary discussion in the BA forum.

Thank you mia, these are excellent suggestions.

Unfortunately I don't think I will be able to hit the $100K spend for the 25K bonus with the JP Morgan card.

The Chase BA card is an intriguing suggestion due to the companion award. However, if I understand correctly this is only valid on BA operated flights and so they will stick us with their ridiculously high fuel surcharges not once but twice. If this was valid on partner awards I'd be very interested, but I don't believe this is the case.

Any other suggestions out there?

I see you are 1p with UA so perhaps you'd take a look at UA Club visa card. No forex fee, 1.5 miles per $ spend on all spend, the annul fee is $395 (with $95 credit for 1st year) but it comes with full membership of UA club lounges, no close-in award booking fee, 2 free checked bags etc.

You can also look up no forex cards in the sticky in this forum to evaluate which ones suit your needs best.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1250450-usa-cards-no-foreign-transaction-fees.html

just pick any of those sweet chase no forex card and you are set.
I will go for chase ink bold and or plus :)

I see you are 1p with UA so perhaps you'd take a look at UA Club visa card. No forex fee, 1.5 miles per $ spend on all spend, the annul fee is $395 (with $95 credit for 1st year) but it comes with full membership of UA club lounges, no close-in award booking fee, 2 free checked bags etc.

This seems like a very good option... my UA *Gold card doesn't let me into lounges on domestic flights so this would be a nice perk. Also 1.5 miles per $ is very attractive. Further, when logged into my UA account I see an offer for a full waiver of the first year's annual fee.

Does anyone know if there are any differences between the personal and business versions of the club Visa card?

just pick any of those sweet chase no forex card and you are set.
I will go for chase ink bold and or plus :)

The sign up bonuses for the Ink cards are friendly with 50K points each and I can easily meet the minimum spend of $10K in 3 months. Makes me want to sign up for both. Besides one being a charge card and the other a credit card, are there any differences between the Bold and the Plus?

When comparing these two options, it leads me to ask -- what is worth more? 1.5 United miles or 1 Chase UR point? My feeling is the 1.5 UA miles but I'm curious what you all think.

Hilton Reserve gets you Diamond at $40K, w/no Forex. You'd earn a bonus weekend night along the way (@10K). 3 pts per $ for your spend. I'd probably value 60K UA (from the same 40K of spend on the club card) more than 120K + Diamond + 1 weekend night from Hilton, but its competitive, and its not a chase card.

Hyatt is no Forex, but its 1 pt per $. I'd rather have 1.5 UA, or a flexible 1 UR point from or CSP/Ink bold than a hyatt point.

When comparing these two options, it leads me to ask -- what is worth more? 1.5 United miles or 1 Chase UR point? My feeling is the 1.5 UA miles but I'm curious what you all think.

Couldn't hurt to diversify, but United and Hyatt are UR's higher value redemptions, and in that instance 1.5>1.

But your best deal would be to use it to harvest a few bonuses. Is it invoiced once a year or several times a year? If so, on a rolling basis you could grab Ink Bold, spend 10K get the 50K bonus, then Ink Plus (rinse/repeat), etc.

The Chase BA card is an intriguing suggestion due to the companion award. However, if I understand correctly this is only valid on BA operated flights and so they will stick us with their ridiculously high fuel surcharges not once but twice. If this was valid on partner awards I'd be very interested, but I don't believe this is the case.

Any other suggestions out there?

The companion ticket can only be used on BA flights, but avios work wonders on AA or LAN. The BA card also has a Chip & Signature feature, so it works much better than magnetic strip cards in Europe and Asia. You missed out on a huge sign up bonus, but it is currently 50,000 avios after $1000 spent in 3 months (still not too shabby).

The companion ticket can only be used on BA flights, but avios work wonders on AA or LAN. The BA card also has a Chip & Signature feature, so it works much better than magnetic strip cards in Europe and Asia. You missed out on a huge sign up bonus, but it is currently 50,000 avios after $1000 spent in 3 months (still not too shabby).

Is there a general consensus that the large sign-up bonus is gone for good, or might it be back one day?

You will find a large list of travel cards with no Forex on my website below. Click on Credit Cards in the left menu, then on Foreign Exchange Fees, and how to avoid them.

I think the 1.5x miles on all purchases for the Chase United Club Visa is one of the best rewards for general spending.

With your high spends though, you could apply for and meet the spend requirements for several CCs, then put the rest on the United Club Visa.

Is there a general consensus that the large sign-up bonus is gone for good, or might it be back one day?

It pops up every year or so, but I don't expect to see the 100,000 avios offer until 2013 (and probably with a different spend requirement -- this year's offer was 100,000 avios after $20,000 spent).

It pops up every year or so, but I don't expect to see the 100,000 avios offer until 2013 (and probably with a different spend requirement -- this year's offer was 100,000 avios after $20,000 spent).

If a similar offer comes up again I will strongly consider the BA card. Being based out of BOS we can benefit from the BOS-DUB deal for 25K Avios RT.