Originally Posted by
percysmith
Run down foreign bank balances
For most of us, that would cost way more (3% forex fee) than transferring the money to a US bank account.
Originally Posted by
mdbe
actually it is the straight opposite. My non us cards are billed directly in usd. I.e. spend 20 usd, pay 20 usd. Amex rewards are about the same. And it is really hard to get a credit histort here for the first couple of years.
If you have an Amex overseas, you should be able to get a transfer to Amex in the USA. Most Amex rewards I'm aware of are somewhat worse outside the USA and have been deteriorating. (e.g. the reductions in MR->Marriott transfer rates for Canadian and Australian Amex cards recently)