Possibly moving to Germany. Best CC to get?
 

Hey all, as the title says I might be moving to Germany sometime this year. Does anybody have any advice on a good German Credit Card to get? I was going to go with the Germany version of the Hilton HHonors CC, but after Hilton's massive devaluation I thought I'd look for some other options.

Opinions?

Edit: I'll be living in the Frankfurt area so I'll have easy access to Lufthansa and the Deutsche Bahn network.

Can you keep an American card with 0% foreign transaction fee?

If the OP is not being paid in $USD, it may not be so easy to keep a USA credit card.

I work overseas also now, but my pay is deposited into my USA account. I wouldn't even think of using anything but USA CC's with no forex fee.

Yes, I probably could as I will be paid in USD. The exchange on the from Euro to USD will be nice for points :).

Redtop, you haven't run into any problems using your US CC for an extended period of time overseas? I've also heard that you don't get any category point bonuses from foreign transactions (i.e. no double points for restaurants etc).

Barclays and Deutsche Bank should have some good offerings for you, but I would think it would be extremely hard to get approved for a German credit card.

I didn't have a problem with my Chase Sapphire Preferred card while in England two years ago, however, I've heard it's best to have a card with "chip and pin".

Possibly moving to Germany. Best CC to get?
 

I live on Germany. Chip and pin card is essential. You can get a credit or debit card (suggest at least the debit card) at whatever bank your German account will be setup. Mine is deutsche bank because they have an alliance with Bank of America so no fees when using each other's ATM. On a side note look into a sling box if you want to watch live US tv. Invaluable. Take advantage of the travel. Good luck.

I currently live in Vienna for an extended period of time but still have a permanent address in the US and am paid in the US. I've had no problems using Chase cards with 0% forex fees (Sapphire Preferred, Marriott Rewards, Priority Club, Hyatt) overseas for extended period of time (multiple years).

You do get category bonuses (including restaurants) as long as the charges are correctly coded.

My personal recommendation (and my default card) is the Chase Sapphire Preferred.