One of the nastiest surprises an international traveler can receive is something that happens up to weeks after he or she’s returned home. What’s that? A credit card bill that’s been inflated by international transaction fees.
Nearly every credit card, every time you buy something internationally, tacks on a 1 to 3% “foreign transaction fee.” With Chase, Bank of America, and Citibank, it’s 3%; with American Express, 2.7%
Spend a couple thousand dollars, and you’re looking at up to $60 in extra fees just for the privilege of using a credit card. And that’s not all: the fees aren’t restricted to purchases you make while actually abroad: charge a purchase with an international vendor (airline, website, etc.) and you’ll be hit with these same fees.
There are a couple of cards, however, which do NOT charge their customers for such transactions.
1. The first, and perhaps best, is the Charles Schwab Invest First Signature Visa:
Not only does this card not charge any international transaction fees, it offers a 2% credit to your Schwab brokerage account each month. If you don’t have such an account, you can open one as part of the application process. (There are no fees to open or maintain the account.) Also, you can easily link a bank account to the Schwab brokerage account, and after the rebate is paid, transfer the rebate money to your linked bank account.
No cash back limits. No minimum purchase amount. And more.
- No annual fee
- No foreign exchange transaction fees
- Get a competitive variable Annual Percentage Rate (APR) on purchases, currently 13.24%
- Enjoy complimentary premium Visa Signature benefits and no preset spending limit if you qualify for a credit line of $5,000 or more
Click on the link above the card image to go to the application page.
2. The second card which won’t hit you with international transaction fees is the Capital One Venture One Rewards Card
Unlike the Schwab card, the Capital One Venture card offers reward points:
- Earn 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day
- Get 10,000 bonus miles when you spend $1,000 in the first three months
- No limit to the miles you can earn and your miles won’t expire
- Fly free on any airline, any time, with no blackout dates
- Annual fee: $59 (waived the first year)
- No foreign transaction fees
You don’t transfer reward miles to airline or hotel programs, but instead use them for purchases of any type. Points are valued at $0.01 – if you want to buy something with points and it costs $100, it will require 10,000 points.
Learn more about the Capital One Venture Rewards card by clicking the link in the line above the Venture image above. NOTE: Capital One’s similar “Venture One” card offers most of the benefits above (except for 1.25 miles per dollar on purchases) and has no annual fee.
Both of the cards featured here offer other advantages which I’m not going to cover here – things like travel accident insurance, concierge services, and the like. See the companies’ websites for more information.
Also, keep in mind that with any card, you’ll incur fees for ATM cash withdrawals; check with your credit card company for details.
How about you? Have a “go to” credit card? If yes, please share by commenting.
Reader J writes:
Hi Kevin,
I searched the forum and your posts, but couldn’t find anything on this. I just got a Red Oxx Sky Train. I know that you really like the Air Boss, but I’m wondering if you’ve ever had water resistance issues. Have you treated it (or any of your other bags) with a waterproofing spray? I’m concerned mostly about the seams and stitching.
Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Please feel free to post my question on your site if you think others would be interested in your answer. Cheers.
I’ve treated golf apparel (rain jackets and the like) with silicone sprays in the past, although I’ve never treated any of my bags. I know Nikwax is highly regarded by many, but frankly I’ve not used it. A quick search lead to their “Tent and Gear Solarproof,” but I’m not certain that’s the best choice for synthetic fabric bags.
I know some of our readers have used Nikwax (and perhaps other waterproofing treatments). Can you chime in with some recommendations by commenting? I’m sure J would appreciate it. Thanks!
Refurb TomTom ONE GPS is $69.95 minus $20 rebate at Beach Camera, while supplies last. Search the Beach site for “Tom Tom rebate” and the rebate will be the first link to appear. CLICK HERE for this deal. Rebate is in effect thru 4/17/2010.
See reviews of the TomTom ONE @ CNET and GPS Reviews.net
Also posted to the Practical Hacks Forum under Deals & Great Buys/Other Deals.
I have no connection to TomTom or Beach Camera.
Here are 5 more apps that are worth checking out – 4 of the 5 are free, to boot!
1. Battery Magic – FREE
Ever wish there was a quick way to check how much battery you have left? Battery Magic does just that, and also indicates what that is equivalent to in terms of web surfing, game play, watching video, and other activities – as well as indicate how long it will take to recharge your battery.
Get it here: Battery Magic
2. CardStar – FREE
Rather than lug around all your frequent flyer, rental car, hotel and other membership cards, consider CardStar. Entering your card numbers takes a few seconds for each, and you’re set. Many cards can be directly scanned by merchants, as a UPC will display once you enter your number.
Get it here: CardStar
3. Shazam – FREE
Sometimes I assume everyone is aware of a certain app, only to discover that a close friend has never heard of it. Perhaps this is the case for a few of you with regard to Shazam. In brief: hear a song on the radio that you really like, but can’t place the song title or artist? Fire up Shazam and it’ll listen (via your device’s mic) for a few seconds and instantly identify and save the album, label, genre, song and artist. Shazam also offers up song lyrics, artist discography, the ability to share your tagged songs with other via email, and much more.
Find it here: Shazam
4. Pandora – FREE
Many of you are no doubt with Pandora from the web; the good news is that a Pandora app is available and is free. As with Pandora on the web, using it couldn’t be much simpler: just search for a favorite artist and Pandora will create a customized “station” for you, letting you customize it by giving suggested tracks a thumbs up or thumbs down. Tired of the music you’ve downloaded to your iPhone? Switch things up with Pandora!
Get it here: Pandora
5. Doodle Jump – $0.99
This game is diabolically addictive. Guide the “Doodler” through a magical world populated by nasty monsters, flying saucers, and other bad guys. The game is updated periodically with new creatures and worlds. Warning: time sponge!
Get it here: Doodle Jump
Enjoy! If you have favorite apps, please share them by commenting!
This deal’s been covered extensively on Flyer Talk and a few travel blogs, so the best deals may in fact be behind us, but you can still score a trip to the Bahamas for a very reasonable price, courtesy of a special code at Expedia Vacations. Gary Leff does a great job of running this deal down at his View From the Wing blog: read the full details here – 4 Nights in the Bahamas, Hotel and Air, From $0. I tried a couple of dates, using O’Hare as my departure airport, and ended up with the trip costing $269. Check it out.
That done, on to a few interesting articles I’ve stumbled across recently…
Eric Weiner, writing at World Hum, confronts the issue of travel snobbery in his excellent piece, Why Tourism is Not a Four-Letter Word. Whether you’re a flashpacker or your dream vacation is a cruise to Jamaica, it’s worth a read. This subject has been on my mind, frankly, as I compile a list of sites to visit in Rome; I’m well aware that one of the things I’m most excited about our trip to Italy is that we’ll be spending one day driving about the countryside, visiting small towns about which we know nothing. That doesn’t mean that it’s inherently better than visiting “tourist sites,” it’s just a different type of adventure. As nearly everyone’s fond of saying, “It’s all good.”
Further testimony that the comments after blog posts are often as good as, if not more valuable than, the post itself: this piece at Fodor’s – Exchanging Your Money Abroad – 10 Simple Tips. Check out the comments – they’re excellent!
Got some old guidebooks and haven’t a clue what to do with them? Check out this post at Budget Travel: 5 things to do with your old guidebooks
Rolf Potts did a guest post at Tim Ferriss’s blog last week, and it’s a great one: 5 Travel Lessons You Use at Home. Always thought provoking, Rolf’s advice is great for travelers and as Ferriss suggests, all of us, every day.
And now for something completely different, a video from Rick Steves on Travel Skills: Eating with the locals…
Finally, if you haven’t seen Chris Jones’s Esquire profile and interview with Roger Ebert, I’d urge you to take ten or fifteen minutes to read it. In case you’re unaware, Ebert is valiantly battling cancer, and his unflappable spirit and grit are truly inspiring. You can read it here: Roger Ebert – The Essential Man
Have a great day – and never lose sight of how lucky you are.
The Highs: Small size belies impressive capacity; handy netbook pocket; Pacsafe security features
The Lows: Grab handle appropriate for that & nothing more; shoulder strap adjustment a bit finicky
The Verdict: A tough little daypack that performs well, day in and day out
Perhaps it’s the result of my reading approximately 487 comments on VirtualTourist about pickpockets and scam artists in Rome, or maybe I’m just getting paranoid as I age, but VT comments like this one have me thinking about security as we plan for our Italy trip:
We spent the weekend with no problems in Rome and just as we were about to leave, on Saturday night, all our photographic memories where stolen. There are many police at every station but nonetheless our camera was lifted from my wife’s bag while walking from the metro plaftform to the station exit at Termini station.
I had a trolley suitcase and my wife had a handbag slung infront of her and under her arm.
The metro was extremely crowded and we flowed with the crowd around the plaftform and towards the exit (which was via the platform in the opposite directions), as we “flowed” with the crowd a train arrived and all the people that were waiting against the wall stepped forward, the crowd made its way to the wall.
I lost track of my wife, two seconds later she appeared and then it was over, camera gone, bag left open by the thief. Fortunately, passports and money were not kept in the bag, but it leaves a bitter taste.
In truth, I probably won’t use a daypack in Rome as I feel it’s a sure way of branding oneself as a tourist, but I’ve been looking for a replacement “on board” bag for magazines, a book, perhaps my netbook, music player, and the like, and something that offers an extra measure of security seems like an excellent idea. It was natural, then, that my thoughts turned to Pacsafe.
The Pacsafe story
I imagine many of you are familiar with Pacsafe: founded in 1997, the company is dedicated to providing travelers with innovative, high quality travel security solutions. The firm offers a broad line of backpacks, daypacks, duffels, hip packs, and laptop bags. All boast the security features that make Pacsafe products much more secure and less prone to theft than conventional bags; from the Pacsafe website:
