Trying to optimize our setup as a family that splits our time between the US and Europe. This is not a discussion about foreign transaction fees, eliminating those is obviously table stakes. It’s more about the “UX” that different banks offer for people who are outside the US for significant periods of time.
Our two data points are these:
- Chase: quite good.
– Very rarely had issues with transactions being incorrectly declined (or requiring additional verification)
– You can get a new card while abroad, then have a family member (in the US get your mail) and share the number, so you add it to Apple Pay an use it before you get the physical card.
- Capital One: used to be crummy but getting better
– Foreign transactions (in particular online) frequently trigger enhanced verification checks. This used to be a pain as it was only possible to verify via an OTP by SMS, but over the past couple of years the options have expanded and now you can verify in the app – which is pretty seamless
– The following in principle don’t work from abroad: activating a new card, getting a virtual number, or adding to Apple Pay. This is a pain if you get a new card while abroad and want to start using it. But a bit of VPN or eSIM song and dance can resolve this.
I’m curious to hear about people’s experience with other banks in this context. Particularly Citi, BofA, and Wells Fargo. They also have some interesting travel card offerings, but I’m not sure if using/managing these while spending a lot of time abroad is going to be painful. Especially as based on what others have said here, some of their apps aren’t exactly stellar.
Best banks/issuers if you’re spending time abroad
byu/svetlio inCreditCards
Posted by svetlio
7 Comments
BOA Atmos Summit is 3x on all foreign transactions uncapped.
Citi is terrible with abroad. I’d stay away
Revolut
[deleted]
Capital One used to be fine but seems to be blocking activating a new card while abroad now which is a bit of a headache.
The only time I spent more than a month out of America I got a local bank account and used that instead my American credit or debit.
Having money in a local bank account was needed for bills and my bus pass.
Plus the back of my debit card doubled as my state/official ID.
I live overseas and here’s my experience
Capital one is cool because you can just do the duo. This covers a lot of high spend categories, you get a 2x catch all, and the venture x has a lot of premium benefits which are good for traveling, like the rental car status and lounges. Their transfer partners aren’t the best, but if you send a lot of time in Europe they actually work better than domestically.
I have never had any verification checks at all with C1 that couldn’t be approved on the app. The only issue is activating a new card, which you can plan around assuming you travel back and forth. I’ve never had a transaction flagged.
RH gold is also pretty solid although it’s not a travel card explicitly.
I think chase and amex suck if you are doing anything longer than a vacation when it comes to overseas. Amex ks much harder to use and Chase has no High points drivers since their freedom cards have FTF, meankng you only get higher earning for dining and travel, while my VX and savor get 3% dining groceries entertainment plus the 2x.
Lots of the coupons from amex and Chase also aren’t usable outside the US, so it’s harder to mitigate the fee.
Frequent Miler just wrote an article about this a few days ago: [https://frequentmiler.com/best-us-credit-cards-expats-international-travelers/](https://frequentmiler.com/best-us-credit-cards-expats-international-travelers/) (summary: Atmos Summit and Citi Strata Premier for most categories)