U.S. Credit Cards Without Foreign Transaction Fees - Survey

[OnMyWay]

Browsing through a lot of offers, it appears that the higher cashbacks only apply to certain purchases, and then a much lower % applies to everything else.

E.g., "Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel"  and "Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day".

Currently, my travel rewards are 1.25 points earned for every dollar spent, and those points are the same as cash when applied against your travel purchases.  The 1.5% cashback in the above offer would be a better deal, and if you have excellent credit, there is a $200 signup bonus.

Seems that every bank has a travel service that you must use to get a higher cashback.  Has anybody used these card travel services?  E.g., 

"Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel".

I'm using CapOne for all my examples here but the others are similar.

Also, many have higher cashbacks on things like groceries, gas and dining.  Most look like they apply only to U.S. purchases.  Any experiences in that area?

[Possum]

4 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

What exactly is this?

No checked bag fee for domestic flights if tickets are bought with the card.

[JJReyes]

9 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

"Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel".

Typical commission paid by hotels is 30%, so a 5% cash back is easy to offer.  Most booking services will give a 10% or 15% discount from the published rate, which is okay since their commission is 30%.  I am not sure what the commission is with car rental companies.

[OnMyWay]

11 hours ago, intrepid said:

As stated before there are different cards with different benefits issued by the same company so it does take some time to read the details.  For example Capital One offers four cards.

VentureOne Rewards for Good Credit

VentureOne Rewards

Venture Rewards...this is the one I have

Venture X Rewards

https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/travel-and-miles/?external_id=WWW_XXXXX_ZZZ_ONL-SE_ZZZZZ_T_SEM2_ZZZZ_c_Zg_2f8704d8-365d-41e3-a6e6-31895b869d7f_687052894956_779472&target_id=kwd-27156242747&oC=CO5ed2SUs1&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwbitBhDIARIsABfFYILXaqfeCtV6xvaxNqQkcTqAhJvoMV7BJczdlN_vuseBEB1bQzy6c2caAqg0EALw_wcB

I think this one might be the one!  It appears to be mainly travel rewards card, with better rewards that the cashbacks I was looking at.  I don't mind using the rewards only against travel purchases, as I have a lot of those.

Mr. Intrepid, some questions for you, based on these 2 screenshots.  The second one is roughly aligned with the headers on the first.

1.  I assume the "miles" earned are credited the same way as my current CapOne card, like this.  This is 1.25.  The 2 plans on the right above are 2.0.

2.  I never thought I would consider a card with a $395 annual fee, but does it make sense?  With the plan on the right there is a $300 annual travel credit, which puts the annual fee back at $95.  And, an annual 10,000 mile credit.  And a few other perks.  I would guess the 300 k is a way to keep you on the plan.  Probably the $395 is charged up front and the $300 credit after 12 months.  Ok with me.

3.  On both cards on the right, there is a 75,000 mile signup bonus.  That basically works out to $750 travel credit, correct?

4.  Have you or anyone else listening ever used CapOne travel to book flights or hotels?

5.  Do you think my wife could be on the card too?

Thanks for your inputs!

 

 

Edited January 23 by OnMyWay

[intrepid]

4 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

I think this one might be the one!  It appears to be mainly travel rewards card, with better rewards that the cashbacks I was looking at.  I don't mind using the rewards only against travel purchases, as I have a lot of those.

Mr. Intrepid, some questions for you, based on these 2 screenshots.  The second one is roughly aligned with the headers on the first.

1.  I assume the "miles" earned are credited the same way as my current CapOne card, like this.  This is 1.25.  The 2 plans on the right above are 2.0.

2.  I never thought I would consider a card with a $395 annual fee, but does it make sense?  With the plan on the right there is a $300 annual travel credit, which puts the annual fee back at $95.  And, an annual 10,000 mile credit.  And a few other perks.  I would guess the 300 k is a way to keep you on the plan.  Probably the $395 is charged up front and the $300 credit after 12 months.  Ok with me.

3.  On both cards on the right, there is a 75,000 mile signup bonus.  That basically works out to $750 travel credit, correct?

4.  Have you or anyone else listening ever used CapOne travel to book flights or hotels?

5.  Do you think my wife could be on the card too?

Thanks for your inputs?

 

 

Wow Don,  Thanks for doing this research.  I never looked any further into the Venture X Rewards once I saw the price.  I really like my Venture Card.  But, you have me thinking the now.  Maybe I will upgrade.  I makes since with the travel we do.  I just earlier today book a room for two nights that will cost me $0 using some of my reward points.  BTW, you can book through their site and earn and use points or if what you are looking for is not available on their site and you locate it elseware, like a hotel, if you paid with the card you can later use those earned reward points to pay off the hotel bill on you charge, or almost any other travel expense.  ie seat choice, luggage, even most concerts and sporting events.

To answer you questions;   #1;  Yes, I think so.    #2; As stated above, I agree and will most likely upgrade as well.  #3;  Yes, when I got mine maybe 7 years ago it was either 125,000 or 150,000.  It was added after a couple paid billing cycles.  #4;  Yes, both flights and hotels.  #5.  Yes, after a year I got my wife a card which has her name and a different account# but they are linked to one bill.  When I get my monthly bill, paperless, emailed, it shows each charge with a column with my or her name.  Like most all cards they are very pro active with fraud and security.  Sometimes I get calls, texts through the phone app asking to verify a charge.                                                                                                                                                                        

[OnMyWay]

40 minutes ago, intrepid said:

Wow Don,  Thanks for doing this research.  I never looked any further into the Venture X Rewards once I saw the price.  I really like my Venture Card.  But, you have me thinking the now.  Maybe I will upgrade.  I makes since with the travel we do.  I just earlier today book a room for two nights that will cost me $0 using some of my reward points.  BTW, you can book through their site and earn and use points or if what you are looking for is not available on their site and you locate it elseware, like a hotel, if you paid with the card you can later use those earned reward points to pay off the hotel bill on you charge, or almost any other travel expense.  ie seat choice, luggage, even most concerts and sporting events.

To answer you questions;   #1;  Yes, I think so.    #2; As stated above, I agree and will most likely upgrade as well.  #3;  Yes, when I got mine maybe 7 years ago it was either 125,000 or 150,000.  It was added after a couple paid billing cycles.  #4;  Yes, both flights and hotels.  #5.  Yes, after a year I got my wife a card which has her name and a different account# but they are linked to one bill.  When I get my monthly bill, paperless, emailed, it shows each charge with a column with my or her name.  Like most all cards they are very pro active with fraud and security.  Sometimes I get calls, texts through the phone app asking to verify a charge.        

The only the only problem you and I both may have is getting the bonus.  If you already have a CapOne card, they probably have some rules.

[intrepid]

Just now, OnMyWay said:

The only the only problem you and I both may have is getting the bonus.  If you already have a CapOne card, they probably have some rules.

A simple phone call will answer that.   I'm hoping they consider it a new account/card

[OnMyWay]

I started an application and it rejects my Travelling Mailbox for physical address, but under FAQ it has:

Can I use my private mailbox to apply (P.O. Box/CMRA - Commercial Mail Receiving Agency)?

Unfortunately, under federal law a physical address is required to process your application. You can always change your address to a private mailbox such as a P.O.Box or Commercial Mail Receiving Agency once your account is opened. We'll also keep your physical address on file.

[OnMyWay]

1 minute ago, OnMyWay said:

I started an application and it rejects my Travelling Mailbox for physical address, but under FAQ it has:

Can I use my private mailbox to apply (P.O. Box/CMRA - Commercial Mail Receiving Agency)?

Unfortunately, under federal law a physical address is required to process your application. You can always change your address to a private mailbox such as a P.O.Box or Commercial Mail Receiving Agency once your account is opened. We'll also keep your physical address on file.

My old card has the Travelling Mailbox address for both Residential and Mailing.

[Gator]

8 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

there is a 75,000 mile signup bonus.  That basically works out to $750 travel credit, correct?

Last time I checked I think it’s a penny a point, so yes it’s a $750 value.

4 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Unfortunately, under federal law a physical address is required to process your application

I used a friends address. We made a rental agreement indicating I was renting a room from him. A simple boiler plate one downloaded from the internet. Used it recently to open a new bank account without any problems and added my mail forwarding address as the mailing address.