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Beat Forex Fees: Best Credit Cards that offset mark-up fee with Rewards

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The first post in this thread is a WikiPost, and can be edited by anyone with the appropriate permissions.

helloworld

TF Legend
IMO, when it comes to credit cards, >0% rewards is always better than 0%, especially when dealing with mark-up fees (foreign transaction fee)! :light-bulb:

I wanted to share some tips for those of you who frequently travel or make purchases from international websites. You might already know that many credit cards charge a foreign transaction fee (usually 4.13%) whenever you buy something in a different currency. Unfortunately, these fees can eat into any rewards or cashback you’re hoping to earn. :crying-face:

There are credit cards that still provide positive rewards even after these fees, meaning you can earn more than what you pay in fees.

# How it works?
Sample:


# How to choose >0% Card Rewarding After Forex Fees?

  • High Reward Rates: Credit cards should provide higher reward rates than they charge as mark-up fee.
  • Forex Mark-up Waiver: Some cards reduce mark-up fee from 2% to 0%.

# Credit Cards Offering Positive Rewards After Forex Fees:
Note: Below reward rate is minimum value that you can obtain with that card, more definitely possible if transferred for Miles (2x more value) or depends on redemption.



Credit CardReward Rate on International PurchaseForex Mark-up Fee (incl. GST)Net Return
BOB Eterna3.75% (Cashback)2.36%1.39%
YES Reserv6% (Flights/Hotels) w/3x subscription
3% (Flights/Hotels) w/out subscription
2.07%3.93% // 0.93%
YES Marquee4.5% (Flights/Hotels)1.18%3.32%
AU Zenith+2% (Voucher/Flights/Hotels)1.18%0.82%
AU Zenith2.5% (Voucher/Flights/Hotels)2.36%0.14%
StanC Ultimate3.33% (Marriott/ITC Vouchers)2.36%0.97%
HDFC Infinia / DCB Metal3.33% (Flights/Hotels) w/out subscription
4.33% (Flights/Hotels) w/GVP subscription
2.36%0.97% // 1.97%
HDFC Swiggy (Online Only)5% (Cashback)4.13%0.87%
SBI Cashback (Online Only)5% (Cashback)4.13%0.87%
IDFC Wow0.67% (Vouchers)0%0.67%
IDFC Ashva1.25% (Vouchers) on 40k spends1.18%0.07%
IDFC Mayura1.25% (Vouchers) on 40k spends0%1.25%
AMEX Platinum Travel5.43% (Vouchers) on 4L spends4.13%1.3%
AXIS Atlas*5%+ (Flights/Hotels) on 5L spends4.13%0.87%+
HDFC Regalia Gold5%+ (Flights/Hotels) on 5L spends2.36%2.67%+

Special Mentions (due to complicated factors, unavailability listed them below - consider after thorough check):
  • AXIS Magnus for Burgundy: 4.8% (Miles) and 2.36% (Mark-up Fee) = 2.44%
  • AXIS Olympus: 8% (Miles) and 4.13% (Mark-up Fee) = 3.87%

* AXIS Atlas will have high value depends on miles/hotel transfer options, above is lowest value.

* Additional Info:
- YES Reserv vs Marquee reward rate: https://www.technofino.in/community/threads/yes-marquee-vs-yes-reserv-3x-vs-yes-reserv-5x.24652/
- AMEX cards reward rate: https://www.technofino.in/community/threads/amex-mrcc-vs-gold-vs-travel-vs-reserve.30606/
- Atlas vs Regalia Gold reward rate: https://www.technofino.in/community/threads/atlas-vs-regalia-gold-vs-horizon.26500/

More value can be obtained with some milestone cards: https://www.technofino.in/community/threads/credit-cards-with-quarterly-annual-milestones.2491/

^All cards work for both Online and Offline (except the one specifically mentioned as Online only).

These are just a few options, but I’d love to hear what cards you all use for international purchases! Are there any other great cards that help you come out ahead even with forex fees?

Still want 0% only 🙂

- RBL World Safari
- OneCard
- IndusInd Signature Exclusive (DC)
- AU Ixigo^

Edit : 05-12-2024.
In this case, the top tier metal card of IndusInd i.e. Pioneer Heritage Metal has got a bright spot.

With the recent changes in the card features, it offers ZERO Forex charges, and provides 2.5% rewards, which are fully redeemable in cash credit ratio of 1:1.

Edit: 28.12.2024
Transferred AU Ixigo to 0% Forex cards due to international rewards devaluation. Relevant Link

Edit 01.02.2025
Since GVP is back again, comment referring to its end has been removed.
 
Last edited by TheGuyTheGuy is verified member.:
One Card is a dark horse in the above mentioned list. Easy to get,no charges and almost everytime zero charges on foreign expenses

I prefer SBI Cashback or HDFC Swiggy/Millennia. Same, IMO easy to get and higher returns for all transactions cumulatively.

But, as checked Onecard has 1.18% mark-up fee for international purchases and provide only 1%, so net will be negative. Do share your experience especially that 0 charges on foreign expenses. TIA.
 
I prefer SBI Cashback or HDFC Swiggy/Millennia. Same, IMO easy to get and higher returns for all transactions cumulatively.

But, as checked Onecard has 1.18% mark-up fee for international purchases and provide only 1%, so net will be negative. Do share your experience especially that 0 charges on foreign expenses. TIA.
SBI cashback won't give 5% cb on educational spends. So not useful in paying fees of overseas educational institutions
 
Axis Olympus should be high up there with 8 partner miles for 100 Rs spend, if one has it or when it becomes available for gen pop.
Axis Magnus burgundy also cuts it with 4.8% partner miles and 2.36% forex markup.
 
Axis Olympus should be high up there with 8 partner miles for 100 Rs spend, if one has it or when it becomes available for gen pop.
Axis Magnus burgundy also cuts it with 4.8% partner miles and 2.36% forex markup.

Olympus not yet widely available, so kept on hold for now.
M4B is itself an investment like 10L MAB and 35K+ annual fee, not sure will include in list or not. Also, it has that complicated milestone structure. Above list of cards mostly compensated renewal fee with equal points and if any for fee payment returns after fee payment, in that scenario not sure m4b calculations. Anyway, will check and update this card.
 
Olympus not yet widely available, so kept on hold for now.
M4B is itself an investment like 10L MAB and 35K+ annual fee, not sure will include in list or not. Also, it has that complicated milestone structure. Above list of cards mostly compensated renewal fee with equal points and if any for fee payment returns after fee payment, in that scenario not sure m4b calculations. Anyway, will check and update this card.
m4b is just eyewash, keeping so much investment and maintaining that much balance is rubbish it's best to use another card. On one more hand, one card is better than most of the cards if you have unlocked 3 5 and 7x unlock spends with zero forex it's an overall win over other cards but yes there is capping which is an issue on 7x and 0 forex.
 
one card is better than most of the cards if you have unlocked 3 5 and 7x unlock spends with zero forex it's an overall win over other cards but yes there is capping which is an issue on 7x and 0 forex.

this is any limited time offer or permanent?

Based on web, I can see 1.18% forex fee for Onecard, so 0% is limited time?

Also, is it individual based or appliable all onecard holders?

any restrictions for 3x, 5x, and 7x spends? limited time or permanent and/or applicable all?
 
this is any limited time offer or permanent?

Based on web, I can see 1.18% forex fee for Onecard, so 0% is limited time?

Also, is it individual based or appliable all onecard holders?

any restrictions for 3x, 5x, and 7x spends? limited time or permanent and/or applicable all?
Every month one card under rewards section for enabling 0 forex which ideally is sometimes valid for 30 days or 60days but every month the 0 forex option comes. You have to enable it but it becomes habit no issues in this part.

3x and 5x is totally how you spend and it's not interlinked just with forex but anyspend no restrictions and it's always open how you spend, just spending on shoping and dinning once unlocks 3 and 5x one time and multiple spends keeps on using points.

7x comes comes under reward categories like 0forex option to enable and it's not like everytime it comes but this is something we have to see before spending once unlocked or active with 3 and 5 all 3x comes separate 5x comes separate 7x comes separate as there respective rewards and 0 forex comes with it's reward points hence this is something that takes out the competition but yes 3x and 5x is also sufficient to take most of the cards out of competition and 7x takes out every card out of competition. And 7x has a cap upto 7lakhs spends

Ideally it's best to keep visa card than rupay as rupay is useless in international spends and visa is open to spend. underestimating onecard is big loss of users who dont have or not able to understand how it goes.
 
Every month one card under rewards section for enabling 0 forex which ideally is sometimes valid for 30 days or 60days but every month the 0 forex option comes. You have to enable it but it becomes habit no issues in this part.

3x and 5x is totally how you spend and it's not interlinked just with forex but anyspend no restrictions and it's always open how you spend, just spending on shoping and dinning once unlocks 3 and 5x one time and multiple spends keeps on using points.

7x comes comes under reward categories like 0forex option to enable and it's not like everytime it comes but this is something we have to see before spending once unlocked or active with 3 and 5 all 3x comes separate 5x comes separate 7x comes separate as there respective rewards and 0 forex comes with it's reward points hence this is something that takes out the competition but yes 3x and 5x is also sufficient to take most of the cards out of competition and 7x takes out every card out of competition. And 7x has a cap upto 7lakhs spends

Ideally it's best to keep visa card than rupay as rupay is useless in international spends and visa is open to spend. underestimating onecard is big loss of users who dont have or not able to understand how it goes.

T. One last,

3x = 3x0.2 = 0.6
5x = 5x0.2 = 1
7x = 7x0.2 = 1.4

Right? Any higher value?
 
7x comes comes under reward categories like 0forex option to enable and it's not like everytime it comes but this is something we have to see before spending once unlocked or active with 3 and 5 all 3x comes separate 5x comes separate 7x comes separate as there respective rewards and 0 forex comes with it's reward points hence this is something that takes out the competition but yes 3x and 5x is also sufficient to take most of the cards out of competition and 7x takes out every card out of competition. And 7x has a cap upto 7lakhs spends
Which card has 7x. I thought Yes Reserv has only 3x and 5x options.
 
IMO, when it comes to credit cards, >0% rewards is always better than 0%, especially when dealing with mark-up fees (foreign transaction fee)! :light-bulb:

I wanted to share some tips for those of you who frequently travel or make purchases from international websites. You might already know that many credit cards charge a foreign transaction fee (usually 4.13%) whenever you buy something in a different currency. Unfortunately, these fees can eat into any rewards or cashback you’re hoping to earn. :crying-face:

There are credit cards that still provide positive rewards even after these fees, meaning you can earn more than what you pay in fees.

# How it works?
Sample:


# How to choose >0% Card Rewarding After Forex Fees?

  • High Reward Rates: Credit cards should provide higher reward rates than they charge as mark-up fee.
  • Forex Mark-up Waiver: Some cards reduce mark-up fee from 2% to 0%.

# Credit Cards Offering Positive Rewards After Forex Fees:
Note: Below reward rate is minimum value that you can obtain with that card, more definitely possible if transferred for Miles (2x more value) or depends on redemption.

Credit CardReward Rate on International PurchaseForex Mark-up Fee (incl. GST)Net Return
BOB Eterna3.75% (Cashback)2.36%1.39%
YES Reserv*6% (Flights/Hotels) w/3x subscription
3% (Flights/Hotels) w/out subscription
2.07%3.93% // 0.93%
YES Marquee*4.5% (Flights/Hotels)1.18%3.32%
AU Zenith+2% (Voucher/Flights/Hotels)1.18%0.82%
AU Zenith2.5% (Voucher/Flights/Hotels)2.36%0.14%
StanC Ultimate3.33% (Marriott/ITC Vouchers)2.36%0.97%
HDFC Infinia / DCB Metal3.33% (Flights/Hotels) w/out subscription
4.33% (Flights/Hotels) w/GVP subscription
2.36%0.97% // 1.97%
HDFC Millennia / Swiggy5% (Cashback)4.13%0.87%
SBI Cashback5% (Cashback)4.13%0.87%
IDFC Wow0.67% (Vouchers)0%0.67%
IDFC Ashva1.25% (Vouchers) on 40k spends1.18%0.07%
IDFC Mayura1.25% (Vouchers) on 40k spends0%1.25%
AMEX Platinum Travel*5.43% (Vouchers) on 4L spends4.13%1.3%
AXIS Atlas*~5% (Flights/Hotels) on 5L spends4.13%0.87%
HDFC Regalia Gold*~5% (Flights/Hotels) on 5L spends2.36%2.67%

* Additional Info:
- YES Reserv vs Marquee reward rate: https://www.technofino.in/community/threads/yes-marquee-vs-yes-reserv-3x-vs-yes-reserv-5x.24652/
- AMEX cards reward rate: https://www.technofino.in/community/threads/amex-mrcc-vs-gold-vs-travel-vs-reserve.30606/
- Atlas vs Regalia Gold reward rate: https://www.technofino.in/community/threads/atlas-vs-regalia-gold-vs-horizon.26500/

More value can be obtained with some milestone cards: https://www.technofino.in/community/threads/credit-cards-with-quarterly-annual-milestones.2491/

These are just a few options, but I’d love to hear what cards you all use for international purchases! Are there any other great cards that help you come out ahead even with forex fees?
Many cards from this list will give rewards when used online and not offline. I thing Millenia and Cashback is online only card right ?

Should segregate offline one’s under different head.
 
@hellloworld kindly note to check any surcharges etc like useless bank IDFC bank who charges rental surcharge or hidden charges for a forex transactions under the name of 0 forex. Such cards just put disclaimer on such things in the list
 
@hellloworld kindly note to check any surcharges etc like useless bank IDFC bank who charges rental surcharge or hidden charges for a forex transactions under the name of 0 forex. Such cards just put disclaimer on such things in the list
Never happened with me. Have used IDFC cards (wealth and wow) extensively on forex transactions

Only one time rental was charged, later I checked, it was because merchant had rental MCC

I don't think it is right to generalise it. If any merchant has rental MCC, all banks will charge 1% on it
 
Never happened with me. Have used IDFC cards (wealth and wow) extensively on forex transactions

Only one time rental was charged, later I checked, it was because merchant had rental MCC

I don't think it is right to generalise it. If any merchant has rental MCC, all banks will charge 1% on it
Rental mcc is one, here we don't do for Rental, we are paying for a sightseeing or any large organization that comes it's automatically goes to Rental i mean outside countries where vendor has his own categories and there i mean for a foreigner if he has credit card no such surcharge nonsense like india and they swipe they are good to go but we what can we do, now banks have introduced Rental for a person who actually pays rent or tries to rotate money that's the purpose of surcharge. This surcharge has not come like fuel like govt imposed it's imposed by banks. When a person has paid for a sightseeing if the vendor has in Rental mcc where it won't be shown usually that to in foreign transactions you won't have any idea about that. Later to your surprise Rental has been added. During forex transactions no bank adds Rental surcharge either they charge forex or just 0 forex how come Rental is posted for a forex transaction. It's bank classification, so in a case when a customer pays for sightseeing it's the duty of bank when necessary documents proof of tickets, email etc are submitted to bank so bank has to revert the charges and cannot claim Rental surcharge. Reward points i can agree but purpose of buying forex 0 is for this reason where your money is going out of country for the purpose of to avoid such charges they use 0 forex name and charge other nonsense if it was clear cut said or in simple way, i could have used cards which gives more rewards than this card to minimize the risk. What's the purpose when your intentions were genuine but banks classified it as rent (and mcc asking everytime is absolutely rubbish and no one says I have in this or that kindly think before paying)
 
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