Originally Posted by Dovster

As an American living in Israel, I would strongly urge you to get the Bank of America Signature Travel Rewards Visa.

The big advantage with it is that there are no Forex charges. If your major money is in the States, that makes it a lot less expensive than bringing it to a bank here. Moreover, you get 1.5% of the dollar amount you spend in credits (1.6% if you have a BoA account) that you can use for any travel-related charges (air fare, hotels, and car rentals being the biggies). You get these points for any purchase you make anywhere in the world.

What this Visa card is not particularly helpful for is ATM use. If you have a Schwab account, get their debit card. Again, there are no Forex charges and Schwab reimburses you for any ATM charges both in the States and overseas.

By having both of these cards you will save much more money than you would with an Israeli (or even an American) card linked to an airline or a hotel and you will never have to look for "availability" with an airline to make your reservations.