Top 5 US credit cards with no foreign transaction fees to use in France
Are you staying in France? What a pleasure! To extend the good life to your purchases, it is in your best interest to pay with a credit card to continue to earn points and miles while traveling !
But if you’re not careful, the costs can quickly skyrocket, everything is not free in France. Here is a selection of five U.S. credit cards with no foreign fees and many benefits.
1. The World of Hyatt Credit Card: A Thousand and One Nights
As its name suggests, this is the card of the Hyatt hotel group, which owns 398 hotels, including more than 50 in France. Like all hotel cards, it is primarily intended for frequent travelers. It gives access to the loyalty program of the World of Hyatt group. You quickly earn free nights and bonuses to be used in the group’s establishments.
It is also interesting for everyone. It is a Visa card with which, even if you don’t travel around the world, you will accumulate bonus points that are very well valued in nights for each expenditure made. You can apply here !
2. The VENMO credit card: from your smartphone
VENMO is first and foremost a money exchange platform between individuals (family, friends, businesses) accessible from a smartphone application for all American users. Owned by PayPal (a reference), two million businesses accept it in the United States.
Venmo innovates by also offering a Visa credit card with no foreign fees. Any VENMO account holder with more than 30 days on their account can apply for it for free. Management and tracking is done on your personal page in the application. A great rewards program gives you 3% off your first type of spend (e.g. travel, utilities, food) and then 2% for the 2nd category, etc.
3. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Insurance Included
A great card for travel, it does have a fee ($95 per year), but it has built-in travel insurance. The more you travel, the more you’re rewarded with a points system for purchases at partner airlines and hotels. There are no transaction fees outside your home country. Another attractive advantage: thanks to collision damage coverage, you can be exempted from insurance fees at car rental companies. Beware of the 5/24 rules before applying !
4. The American Express® Gold Card: a golden card
This is the premium bank card par excellence. It is available directly from American Express or some most banks, provided you have a well-funded account and a good credit score. Very interesting if you are abroad: you will have no transaction fees. This card will also become your guardian angel in case of an emergency.
In addition to travel, purchase and baggage insurance, it is also known for its very efficient assistance service for travelers in difficulty
It covers the reimbursement of medical expenses, travel incidents and accidents, car rental guarantees and snow stays. There are many advantages, especially for trips abroad: loyalty points, enhanced insurance coverage and a very high withdrawal limit. Finally, you’ll receive a 90-day guarantee on all items purchased with the card (with limits on number and value).
5. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: no limits
With this card, loyalty is counted in miles, which can be accumulated without limits. Every dollar spent on travel with this card will earn you a bonus of 2 miles in travel distance. Of course, you can convert them into flights on any airline. You can also convert each mile into cents (1 mile equals 1 US cent) to pay for your hotel, car rental, etc. Travel and accident insurance is included in the price ($95 starting in the second year). In order to get the very advantageous sign-up bonus (50,000 miles worth 500 dollars), you must have spend dollars in the first three months. Apply here !
To sum up, the no-fee foreign reward program credit cards are very attractive when you travel. In addition to the bonuses you earn on your spending, there are also integrated warranty contracts that are essential in case something goes wrong. However, be sure to check the budget required to take advantage of the offers. Some require a fairly high level of spending to be truly advantageous.
