On Getting More CC Is it Wise?
 

Good afternoon, :)

Happy I found this forum! by accident while googling credit cards, thanks for keeping this forum up and running.:-:

Can you please recommend a good credit card to use overseas?

I have good credit :)

If you know of current good deals, I am all ears ^:)

Thanks a bunch

Welcome to FT, search is your friend here, so look over the the forums on credit cards and do some reading and you will find the answers to your questions.

Thank you Mike, I did a search but found different type of benefits related to getting a CC that is good for traveling basically zero fees for using the card overseas and perhaps still earning rewards while shopping out of the country.

I found some info about AMEX but when I travel to Europe or South America AMEX is not accepted everywhere .. however, VISA and MasterCard are easily accepted worldwide

I am still confuse about which card should I get

On Getting More CC Is it Wise?
 

Capital One has a 1.5% cash back card with no foreign exchange fees.

There are a million cards out there with all kinds of benefits and costs but if that's your only criterion then you can't really go wrong with that one.

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Do you want a card that offers a good sign-up bonus after minimum spend is met? If so, do you prefer airline miles or hotel nights?

There are lots of cards with no Forex fees these days. Tell us if you want a particular type of sign-up bonus, or just cash back.

Yup, hard to offer help with so many types.

Really need to know what benefits you are after @:-)

Good question guv1976 !
Thank you

Since I am not loyal to any airline program just because I basically buy my tickets with the airline that meets my budget and time schedule, I would prefer a card thats strong on rewards so I can later use my rewards points to purchase a ticket.

My second priority is zero transaction fees, I have a an AMEX Everyday Preferred right now its great for rewards but really bad to use overseas for two reasons:

A. There are international transaction fees involved
B. Is not well accepted worldwide, many establishments overseas dont accept AMEX however VISA and MasterCard are welcome everywhere.

Now, that doesnt mean I want to get rid off my AMEX Everyday Preferred, i like it actually I bought an airplane ticket using my rewards last month but cant use it overseas as mentioned before.

EmailKid,

pirorities:

- A card that is accepted everywhere in the world
- Good Reward Program
-Zero Transaction Fees

Those are my main priorities

Thanks and sorry for the lack of info

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I suggest looking into the Chase Sapphire Preferred and/or the Barclay Arrival+ cards.

Welcome to OP.

There is nothing to recommend when you did not say much.

Virtually, all cards can be used overseas. However, a good card for you, at the minimum, must fit your need.

I got the Barclay Arrival plus because I can use the rewards to cancel out airfare costs. It gives you 2 points for every dollar you spend but comes with an annual fee (although it's waived for the first year) That being said, if you don't mind cash back instead of points you can get a few 1-1.5% cash back cards without an annual fee from a couple of different banks (boa and cap 1) that also don't have any foreign transaction fees.

When I didnt say much? I suggest you read my three previous posts where I said much about what I need. Virtually......

No FTF/good for overseas, good cash back, etc. I'd recommend the Quicksilver for 1.5% back on everything with no annual fee, or if you know you will always have travel expenses, the Bank of America Travel Rewards is the same 1.5 points per dollar but only redeemable for travel. I only suggest it because some people find Bank of America better to deal with in the long run vs Capital One.

You posted a lot of words but not much in the way of information to help you out. However, let's see what we can do with what you've provided so far...

"Strong" is going to depend on how well you can leverage the redemption options with different rewards programs. If you want a more generic card that isn't tied to a specific company or limited to a set of transfer partners then the rewards will probably be of less value since you'd be looking at cards like the Capital One Venture, Barclay Arrival, etc.

You don't get something for nothing so you need to decide where you're willing to compromise. Let's now consider cards with a limited set of transfer partners.

The EDP is an MR card. For programs like MR, UR, TY, etc best value is generally attained by transferring points to one of the travel partners though you have carefully consider who you're redeeming with and for what specific flights as that also has an impact on rewards value.

You really have to do your own due diligence and look into each program, consider transfer rates, if applicable, and consider redemptions with the airlines you're looking to redeem with. It's not a simple and straightforward process. Everyone wants a card that is "good", with "strong" rewards but those are highly subjective words. Everyone's situation, preferences and priorities are not the same so it's not just about the cards or rewards programs. It's about what specifically suits you best. If you don't have particular airlines that you redeem with then that rules out one method of narrowing down the options for you and you have to present us with other criteria to use to narrow them down.

It's also tricky because if you're already putting spend into MR then it might not make sense to spread out your spend amongst multiple programs unless you have a very large amount of spend that can support multiple programs -- just one usually requires significant spend on its own. Really, everything I mentioned above should have been part of your considerations prior to applying for the EDP since it is an MR card. If you want a no FTF Visa or MC then you're not going to find an MR card so maybe MR isn't worth considering. However, you may want to consolidate your spend into one program to make the most of your spend.

If you can't be bothered to do your due diligence then you might be better served with a cash back card like one of the ones suggested above or a card that can be used as basically a restricted cash back card like the Venture or Arrival. If you can give us more information to help narrow down the options we can certainly try to help but what you've provided so far is still quite vague.

If you're confused then you need to sort out your requirements and priorities. Once you have them sorted out you can use them to find cards that suit you.

+1

Remember this - unlike popular beliefs, selecting credit cards is personal.

A card that works for me does not always works for you as well.

using Amex points to purchase a ticket where you exchange points for the price of a ticket, typically is not a strong use of points. if this is what you are doing I would recommend the fee free bank of America travel card, it has no annual fee and earns a decent 1.5% CB towards travel which is better than the .01 cent per point from the amex card not withstanding the preferred bonus categories.