Best Credit Cards for Foreign Purchases (updated March 3, 2018)
It was not long ago that I wrote this post, but already it is due for an update. I am happy to see that the Canadian credit card market has become more competitive on the foreign purchases front. More and more credit cards are either waiving the foreign transaction fee or offering a higher earning ratio on foreign purchases, which are the cards that I will be focusing on today.
Below is a list of credit cards to choose from.
No Annual Fee Cards
- No annual fee
- Earn 1% cash back on all purchases
- Receive a Roadside Assistance membership
- No foreign transaction fees
Unfortunately, this is currently not available to Quebec residents.
- No annual fee
- Earn $50 cash back sign up bonus (earn $25 after your first purchase and earn $25 when you register your Fido bill for pre-authorized payments both within the first 3 months)
- Earn 4% cash back on foreign exchange purchases
- Earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases
This card would only make sense if you can take advantage of their specific reward options.
Brim MasterCard (coming soon to select provinces only)
- No annual fee
- Earn 1 points for every $1 spent
- Receive a Boingo membership
- No foreign transaction fees
Annual Fee Cards
Rogers Bank Platinum MasterCard
- $29 annual fee (waived the first year or waived so long as you have pre-authorized Rogers payments set up)
- Earn $25 cash back sign up bonus
- Earn 4% cash back on foreign exchange purchases
- Earn 1.75% cash back on all purchases
This card would only make sense if you can take advantage of their specific reward options.
Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards Card (Ontario residents only)
- $99 annual fee (first year fee waived for a limited time)
- $30 annual fee for a supplementary cardholder
- Earn 3 points for every $1 of net purchases in foreign currencies
- Earn 1.5 points for every $1 of net purchases
Brim World MasterCard (coming soon to select provinces only)
- $99 annual fee
- $20 annual fee for a supplementary cardholder
- Earn 1.5 points for every $1 on all purchases
- Receive a Boingo membership
- Receive a LoungeKey MasterCard Airport Experiences for unlimited lounge access
- No foreign transaction fees
Premium Cards
Brim World Elite MasterCard (coming soon to select provinces only)
- $120 annual fee
- $25 annual fee for a supplementary cardholder
- Earn 2 points for every $1 on all purchases
- Receive a Boingo membership
- Receive a LoungeKey MasterCard Airport Experiences for unlimited lounge access
- No foreign transaction fees
HSBC Premier World Elite MasterCard (exclusive to HSBC Premier clients)
- $149 annual fee
- No annual fee for supplementary cardholders
- Receive $100 annual travel credit
- Earn 6 HSBC points for every $1 spent on travel purchases
- Earn 3 HSBC points for every $1 spent on all other purchases
- Receive a Boingo membership
- No foreign transaction fees
- Requires $100,000 in HSBC deposits/investments or $500,000 HSBC mortgage
HSBC Jade World Elite MasterCard (by invite only)
- $299 annual fee (fee waived for Jade HSBC Premier member)
- No annual fee for supplementary cardholders
- Receive $200 annual travel credit
- Earn 6 HSBC points for every $1 spent on travel purchases
- Earn 3 HSBC points for every $1 spent on all other purchases
- Receive a LoungeKey MasterCard Airport Experiences for unlimited lounge access
- Receive a Boingo membership
- Receive 10% discount on select hotel bookings (book directly through the HSBC Expedia and Agoda websites)
- No foreign transaction fees
- Requires $1,000,000 in deposits/investments
Please let us know, in the comment section below, if we missed any credit cards!
- Posted by Matt
- in Brim Financial, Home Trust, HSBC, Meridian, Rogers Bank
- 19 comments
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