Most cards no longer seem to have the international fee. My Amex Cards, Discover and USAA visa have no fee. Not sure about the Costco Visa.
None of my cards have annual fees. Well, the Delta platinum AmEx did, but they waived it last year. Not sure if they will again this year.
^^the chase sapphire card we have has a $100 annual fee. It came with 50K for travel and it earns points for travel. Thing is, if you book travel through this card using those points, travel is 20% less than buying tickets through any other site. I’ve looked and looked - and it’s really 20% off. We had an out of town funeral, and lots of college flights paid for by using this card for very little from our pocket.
ive had a target redcard for years. My goal is to not to there too much, but i really do like target. all purchases are 5% off always.
we also have an Amex and like their customer service and options. My son just got his first credit card in college. Discover - with a max limit of $500. he likes it!!!
I am annoyed with AmEx at the moment. I wanted a small credit increase to make a very large purchase (turns out the purchase will go through without the credit limit but that’s another story). Well, even though the Costco AmEx is gone and I long ago closed an old blue square card (I now have just the delta platinum and a business AmEx card) they show too much available credit, and claim the cannot remove (or move) that “available credit” from the non existent cards, so want me to give them access to our tax returns. Um, NO. DH hit the roof when he heard they wanted that info.
We saved over $2000.00 on tickets to China with Chase Saphire Reserve points. The customer service was great and the whole process was easy. It usually takes me hours of frustration and multiple stops on flights to use my points. I probably could have saved more by transferring points with Amex but this was worth it just for saving my sanity.
Our D transfers my UR points to an Avios account and buys AA flights so she can travel between LAX & HNL with the points we earn on Sapphire. We haven’t bought her a ticket with cash in a long time. 
@jym626 - I think you are unusual that most of your cards don’t charge a foreign transaction fee. Costco Visa while a great card does charge a foreign transaction fee.
My children all have cards issued by Wells Fargo that started out as student cards. No annual fee but it does charge foreign transaction fees and don’t really give much in cash back. My D has a Chase Freedom card and she loves the cash back. No annual fee but it does charge foreign transaction fees.
H and I both have a few older cards that don’t charge an annual fee but don’t provide much or anything in rewards. We have kept them open but we don’t carry them. Our two go to cards are our Chase Sapphire Preferred and out Costco Visa. I just booked several hotel rooms in Europe using my points on the Chase. I put everything on a card but pay in full each month.
My S is going to apply for the Chase Sapphire. He never uses a credit card preferring to use his debit but I’m encouraging him to get the Chase before we travel this summer. He also is getting married in 2018 so those 50,000 bonus points will be useful. He can always decide to cancel the card the 2nd year.
My D opened a American Airlines card before a big trip. She was able to use the bonus reward points to get a air ticket to a cross country wedding. She cancelled the card when they wouldn’t waive the fee the 2nd year.
My youngest has a Gap Visa. She isn’t a big charger but does most of her shopping at Old Navy and Gap and likes the perks of the card. No annual fee.
Another thing I love about the Chase Sapphire is that since it is considered a premium card the customer service reps are all in the US making conversation easier.
Yes, I admit, having CS agents that can understand you well is priceless.
We have the Barclay Arrival + as our main card. It does have an annual fee ($89??). two points for every dollar spent redeemable dollar for dollar against any travel purchases. Plus each redemption comes with a 5%point credit. It has no foreign transactions fee. In all these areas it is an exact equal to the Capital One Venture card. We run a very large monthly tab since I put any and all possible expense - including business related - on the card.
The reason we switched is the Barclay card is a TRUE chip and pin - not just chip and signature - card. This has been invaluable in train stations in Europe and Australia as well as at some small international restaurants which will not take a signature. Our son spent a year in Berlin and the chip and pin feature was needed to purchase train tickets online as well as many other online purchases related to his University. Chip and pin has a much higher level of security than any other technology.
We are also high value customers so are easily routed to a US based CS agent.
I have a good friend who manages to get 2-4 business class tickets for international travel every couple of years. She opens cards with point bonuses, makes the needed purchases, has family members open the same type of card etc. For her it’s a fun game. I’m envious when she’s sleeping in business and I’m in premium economy but to date I’m not willing to put in her level of time and effort.
The USAA Unlimited card is a true chip & pin (one of the few in the US), no annual fee and no foreign exchange fee. I get 2.5% back on all purchases, cash. The people I’ve spoken with so far are all US based. I am planning to use this as our primary card. It also provides some modest travel insurance on anything charged on it, as well as the Visa extended warranty at no charge. We qualified because my dad spent some time in the military.
@HImom, you wrote: Our D transfers my UR points to an Avios account and buys AA flights so she can travel between LAX & HNL with the points we earn on Sapphire.
What are UR points? We had a British Air visa for awhile (due to the great sign up bonus) and are still using those Avios points several years later. Even though they decreased their benefit, they’re still a great way to fly within the country. I’m curious to know what transfers to Avios.
I don’t tend to churn cards often but I did it when the British Air promotion was going on maybe 5 years ago and DH and I recently did it with the Chase Sapphire visa that others have described. The $450 fee is steep but they immediately credit you $300 as soon as you charge any travel related expense and I immediately got our lounge passes. We already have global entry so that perk isn’t usable but, if not, you’re already up to $400+ in benefits. D is studying in Europe and DH and I just used our sign up bonus points to book and our flights were FREE (from the west coast) and we have a few points remaining. Definitely worth it year one. We’ll see if we keep this card long term.
Otherwise, while I love a good deal, I’m not motivated to follow each of my cards’ special deals of the day/week. There’s just not enough of a differential to make it worth my while.
We have a Capital One which was the first card we had w/o foreign transaction fees and it now has the benefit of keeping track of different authorized users’ activity. My kids each have one (on my account) for emergencies and, which the bill comes, each person’s charges are listed separately. So much easier than trying to figure out who did what.
After Costco terminated AmEx, I got a plain, no fee one specifically so I could keep my free shoprunner. I don’t get promotional emails from them so, if there’s a way to know if I’m ever entitled to purchase tickets to something early, I’d love to know.
This reminds me that tomorrow is the last day to get the Chase Sapphire Reserve with the 100,000 points, in a Chase office. I have been deliberating that one for far too long. Now I have to work, so will miss out. Global entry could be handy. After seeing the above posts, I am thinking I should have gotten the card. Global Entry could come in handy.
As i am such a fan of early boarding and the free bag with United and Delta, I keep those cards and usually take enough trips to equal the card fee. I have been to Europe and Asia on free tickets, one with each, so charging on those cards was worthwhile. I am tempted to drop the Delta however, as so few places take the Amex in my day to day life.
We use the UR points we get from the Chase Sapphire as well as from other Chase accounts that award them. I don’t know exactly what our kids do but somehow they transfer the UR points and make them Avios points so that D can fly with points between LAX and HNL, since that’s a common routing for her and she can decide at the last minute without paying tons of cash. That’s what we’ve done most with the Chase UR points. We still have over 150,000 of them.
I don’t stick to just one card. I have a Capital One card that has 1.5% cash back on everything and has no foreign transaction fee. Haven’t gotten around to getting the Citibank card that has 2%. I have Costco Visa that gives 4% back on gas and 3% at restaurants. I have a Disccover card that gives 5% in rotating categories. I have a bunch of store cards like Gap Visa, Amazon, Expedia, basically anything that will give me better than 2% back on some category of expenditure. Currently am using the Chase Sapphire but will stop once I get my bonus and book travel. That’s the only one that has an annual fee. It’s a bit of a hassle, but I prefer cash to miles unless the miles are clearly a better deal.
We recently both got a Chase Sapphire Reserve. $450 annual fee, but $300 in travel credits already refunded to us. If came with a 100,000 point bonus. So for those who think they don’t use the perks, can’t use the $1,000 cash back from the points?
When we get the points and cash back, we’ll cancel the card, I think. Don’t want to pay another year’s annual fee.
If we aren’t making about $700 on a card, we don’t get it.
We missed the chase sapphire deal, but if anyone is near an actual Chase branch, supposedly you can get the deal through today.
Don’t ask how many cards we each have - it’s a lot! A couple of years ago, DH and I got into the credit card/points/miles hobby with a goal of one international trip per year in business class. We have done that and much more, including two trips booked for 2017.
I also love my cash back cards and doing my on-line shopping through a shopping portal to get more $ or points. It is a bit of work to manage our portfolio of cards and points, but the benefits have been so worth it for us. Our credit scores are still excellent, so that isn’t an issue.
My H refuses to fly so I have never bothered with cards that give mileage and I refuse to pay annual fees. I went to Vegas last year with my D but that last two times I flew before that were 2007 and 2001 (pre-9/11). I have the Costco Visa on an executive membership and earn enough between the 2% back on each to more than cover the extra fee - and, bTW, Costco fees are supposedly going up this year. Once I retire, I plan to travel more and will probably get a mileage affinity card then. I will pay medical bills, etc. on it for the points and then apply for reimbursement.
I have a Chase slate that’s 0% until June. I transferred over another bill and am paying it off and will be done by June. Then, I plan to find another 0% card and transfer more over and pay that off, too.
Other than that, I have a Macy’s card which gives me Plentipoints and I get more from a chain drug store. I pay any Macy’s charges on line the day before they are due and never pay interest.