Best Credit Cards for International Transactions

Though India is way beyond in the Credit card game and variants but we can notice a great community is being build revolving it and the growth is great in terms of new credit card consumers in past 5-6 years. From insanely popular cashback cards to the cards for nerds, the airmiles cards, we can see a lot of variation. There are specific set of users who are like me who do a big portion of their total spends on International transitions, this thread is specially for them.

The forex markup varies between 0 - 3.5%. But hey, as the Zero markup straightaway seems to save a lot of bucks, but sometimes it's not "the best" option, which I'll discuss. Please do note, that many Debit cards also do come with 0% markup, but you do miss the extra layer of security which comes along with credit cards.

So here are the 15 credit cards which will earn / save during on your international transactions:

* Please do keep your international transaction's permission turned off when not needed for your own safety

1. Axis Reserve:

Fee: ₹50,000

Markup: 1.5%

Reward Rate: 3% (on GV) & 12% (on Loyalty Program)

Effective Reward Rate: 1.23% (on GV) & 10.23% (on Loyalty Program)



2. Citi Prestige:

Fee: ₹20,000

Markup: 3.5%

Reward Rate: 2% (on GV) & 8% (on Loyalty Program)

Effective Reward Rate: -2.13 (on GV) & 3.87% (on Loyalty Program)



3. Axis Magnus:

Fee: ₹10,000

Markup: 2%

Reward Rate: 1.2% (on GV) & 4.8% (on Loyalty Program)

Effective Reward Rate: -1.16% (on GV) & 2.44% (on Loyalty Program)

⚠️ If only hitting ₹1L milestone, effective Reward Rate would be 3.84% (on GV) & 22.44% (on Loyalty Program)



4. HDFC Infinia:

Fee: NIL for first year. ₹10,000 from second year onwards

Markup: 2%

Reward Rate: 3.3% (With Global Value Program, extra 1% till ₹1L per billing cycle as Cashback)

Effective Reward Rate: 1.94% (⚠️Till ₹1L in a billing cycle)



5. HDFC DinersClub Black:

Fee: NIL for first year, ₹10,000 from second year onwards

Markup: 2%

Reward Rate: 3.3% (With Global Value Program, extra 1% till ₹1L per billing cycle as Cashback)

Effective Reward Rate: 1.94% (⚠️Till ₹1L in a billing cycle)



6. Axis One Card / Burgundy Private Credit Card:

Fee: NIL for Burgundy Private customers, if not maintained Burgundy Private, then ₹50,000

Markup: 0%

Reward Rate: 1.5% (on GV) & 6% (on Loyalty Programs)

Effective Reward Rate: 1.5% (on GV) & 6% (on Loyalty Programs)



7. AMEX Platinum Charge Card:

Fee: ₹60,000

Markup: 3.5%

Reward Rate: 7.5% (Considering 1MR = ₹1)

Effective Reward Rate: 3.37% (⚠️ Only for direct USD purchase, or else AMEX charge double markup fee by doing Native Currency > $ > Desired Currency)



8. Standard Chartered Ultimate:

Fee: ₹5,000

Markup: 3.5% (1.5% gets refunded back as Cashback)

Reward Rate: 3.3%

Effective Reward Rate: 0.67%



9. SBI Aurum:

Fee: ₹10,000

Markup: 2%

Reward Rate: 1-2.5% (⚠️Considering the monthly ₹1L milestone being achieved and getting ₹1.5K worth Tata Cliq Vouchers. If not spending ₹1L in a billing cycle, avoid using it)

Effective Reward Rate: 0.14%



10. IndusInd Pioneer Heritage Metal:

Fee: ₹1,90,000 joining fee, no annual fee (comes with various options of fee structure)

Markup: 1.8%

Reward Rate: 2.5%

Effective Reward Rate: 0.14%



11. IndusInd Bank Explorer:

Fee: Joining fee ₹40,000, Annual fee ₹10,000

Markup: 0%

Reward Rate: 1% (Pays in Club Vistara Points aka CV Points)

Effective Reward Rate: 1% (Can be maximised by completing ₹3L/₹6L/₹9L/₹12L/₹15L milestone for Business Class Voucher)



12. SBI Cashback Credit Card:

Fee: NIL for first year, ₹999 from second year onwards

Markup: 3.5%

Reward Rate: 5%

Effective Reward Rate: 0.87%



13. IDFC First Private:

Fee: ₹50,000

Markup: 0%

Reward Rate: 2.5% (⚠️Considering the spend is always above ₹30K every month, below that, avoid)

Effective Reward Rate: 2.5%




14. IDFC Wealth:

Fee: LTF

Markup: 1.5%

Reward Rate: 2.5% (⚠️Considering the spend is always above ₹30K every month, below that, avoid)

Effective Reward Rate: 0.14%



15. RBL World Safari:

Fee: ₹3,000

Markup: 0%

Reward Rate: 0% (World Safari has no RP gain on international transactions)

Effective Reward Rate: 0%




So that's all as of now. Feel free to give your input. This list will keep changing depending on the new card or changed features of the cards.

 

[SubhankarSubhankar is verified member.]

idfc first credit card with just 1.5% markup

That's Wealth only, with the reward rate it goes negative

 

[ChurningNoob]

That's Wealth only, with the reward rate it goes negative

What do you mean by it goes negative? Can you explain?

 

[SubhankarSubhankar is verified member.]

What do you mean by it goes negative? Can you explain?

Considering the spend is always going above 30k pm (at 10x), idfc wealth card will give 2.5% return.
Forex markup 1.5% + 18% GST = 1.77%
Return at 10x RP= 0.73 (not even 1% return at accelerated pts)

For online spends less than 30k pm 1.2% even if it's international
So 1.2-1.77 = -0.57% (negative return)

 

[adarsh00]

Though India is way beyond in the Credit card game and variants but we can notice a great community is being build revolving it and the growth is great in terms of new credit card consumers in past 5-6 years. From insanely popular cashback cards to the cards for nerds, the airmiles cards, we can see a lot of variation. There are specific set of users who are like me who do a big portion of their total spends on International transitions, this thread is specially for them.

The forex markup varies between 0 - 3.5%. But hey, as the Zero markup straightaway seems to save a lot of bucks, but sometimes it's not "the best" option, which I'll discuss. Please do note, that many Debit cards also do come with 0% markup, but you do miss the extra layer of security which comes along with credit cards.
I'll now list down My Top 5 cards for Forex Transactions, including their Value Offered, Eligibility Criteria, the Milestones.

1. Citi Ultima & Citi Prestige:
i) Fee: Citi Ultima- 50k - 3L , Citi Prestige- 20k
ii) Welcome Benefits: Ultima- 3 options are there: 30k ITC GV / 20k RP which translates to 100k airmiles / iPad Mini. Prestige- 2.5k RP equals to 10k airmiles & 10k Taj GV
iii) Reward Rate: Ultima: Upto 10% , Prestige: Upto 8%
iv) Markup: 3.5%
v) Value Back: For Ultima it's 1 RP = 5 airmiles/ 5 IHG points. For Prestige it's 1 RP = 4 airmiles/ 4 IHG points / 1 TIC. For International Transactions one get double the point. So every 100 Rs spent will give you 2 RP. So after shelling out 3.5% + 18% GST = 4.13% your value back for Ultima is 10% - 4.13% = 5.87% and for Prestige it's 8% - 4.13% = 3.87%

2. AMEX Platinum Charge Card:
i) Fee: 60k
ii) Welcome Benefits: 100k MR Points or 40k Taj Vouchers
iii) Reward Rate: Upto 7.5%
iv) Markup: 3.5%
v) Value Back: Though the basic reward rate varies from 1.25% - 2.5% but when doing international spends you get 3x RP, so every 40 Rs spend will give you 3MR points, which translates to 7.5 RP for every 100 Rs. After paying 3.5% + GST on markup the effective value-back is 7.5 % - 4.13 % = 3.37%

3. Axis The One / Axis Burgundy Private Credit Card:
i) Fee: N/A for Burgundy Private Clients. For discontinuation of Burgundy Private, 50k.
ii) Welcome Benefits: 30k Edge RP equals to 6k Rs, Accorplus' welcome benefits.
iii) Reward Rate: 1.5%
iv) Markup: 0%
v) Value Back: This is the only card I really do like with 0% markup as it's pretty straight forward. It comes with other perks as well, but due to being a Private banking only card, it's pretty hard get hold of, even if you are willing to pay that fee upfront. So the final value-back is 1.5%

4. Axis Reserve:
i) Fee: 50k
ii) Welcome Benefits: 50k Edge RP equals to 10k INR. Accorplus' welcome benefits.
iii) Reward Rate: Upto 3%
iv) Markup: 1.5%
v) Value Back: It shares a lot of similarity in terms of benefits with Axis One Card, but slightly different. Basic reward rate is 1.5% but for international transactions it's 3%. So after paying 1.5% + GST as markup fee the effective value-back is 3% - 1.77% = 1.23%

5. HDFC Infinia Metal Edition:
i) Fee: 12.5k
ii) Welcome Benefits: 12.5k points, Club Marriott membership
iii) Reward Rate: Upto 3.3%
iv) Markup: 2%
v) Value Back: Infinia has always been one of the most desirable card to everyone and it never fails to shine in this criteria as well. The effective reward rate after 2% + GST is 3.3 % - 2.36% = 0.94. Yes, it falls under 1%, but hey, HDFC is silently running an offer called Global Value Program which adds 1% extra value-back if your spend is 1 lakh per statement cycle as the value-back is capped at 1k Rs. So the sweet spot is to hit 1 lakh spend every month and the effective reward rate will be 1.94%

This is not the end of the list in general, but these are just my favourites which I found to be giving maximum value back on this specific category of spending. Few other cards I'd like to mentioned with their markup charges and reward rate:
1. SCB Ultimate: Reward Rate is 3.3 % and markup is 2% (gets charged at 3.5% first then returns 1.5% as cashback)
2. IndusInd Explorer: Reward Rate is 1% and markup is 0%
3. HDFC DCB: Reward Rate is 3.3% and markup is 2% (Same rewarding as Infinia, but can cause an issue in terms of acceptability)
4. HSBC Premier: Reward Rate is 2% and markup is 1.99%
5. SBI Aurum: Reward Rate is 1% and markup is 2% (good only if you're hitting monthly milestone of 1L)
6. Axis Magnus: Reward Rate 1.2% and markup is 2% (good only if you're hitting monthly milestone of 1L)
7. IndusInd Pioneer Heritage Metal: Reward Rate 2.5% and markup 1.8%

Please do note, this list is according to me, not the absolute one. Feel free to share your inputs 🙂

What about BOB eterna? 2% mark up and 3.75% reward rate on international transactions + 1% additional if you cross the 5 L milestone

 

[SubhankarSubhankar is verified member.]

What about BOB eterna? 2% mark up and 3.75% reward rate on international transactions + 1% additional if you cross the 5 L milestone

Limited to 42k per month.

 

[adarsh00]

Limited to 42k per month.

I only have 20-30 k forex spends per month. Is there any other easy to get alternatives?

 

[SubhankarSubhankar is verified member.]

I only have 20-30 k forex spends per month. Is there any other easy to get alternatives?

For 20-30k Niyo Global is better

 

[ObliviousAlive]

with niyo debit card do we have any annual fee or maintenance fee if not used for extended period of time for abroad travel.

 

[alanabraham]

with niyo debit card do we have any annual fee or maintenance fee if not used for extended period of time for abroad travel.

No. It's a LTF card.

 

[thanix]

Global Value Program is very much there as my wife got enrolled her Regalia earlier this year around March. So Regalia also gets the same benefits of 1% as cash back out of 2% mark-up. Only reward rate is less but being LTF one can enjoy international transactions with less mark up as long as you have the card or GVP is around.

 

[SujeethP]

@Subhankar Can you update the reward rates for Reserve & include Magnus into the fold, after considering 5:4 transfer partners.

 

[repertoire]

Not a credit card, but IndusInd's Exclusive debit cards are pretty awesome and beat some of the premium CCs on this list if your monthly spending is sub-1L.

0% forex markup + 1.05% RR (6X reward structure, so it only applies if spends are >40k but <1L, but I think that range is very reasonable.)

If you want to optimize even further, sidegrade to the Mastercard version, the Exclusive World. I did that today by emailing their customer care.

Because Mastercard's FX rates can be anywhere between 0.1-0.7% better than Visa's on average.


Ex: VISA's USDINR rate for today is 79.92 and Mastercard's rate is 79.77, a 0.19% costlier conversion on Visa. I imagine something like Diners Club is significantly worse than both, and that will further eat into your RR.

 

[rjsudeep]

No. It's a LTF card.

You're talking about Niyo Global card right? Possibly has an initial funding requirement of 5k?

 

[ashwinkashwink is verified member.]

You're talking about Niyo Global card right? Possibly has an initial funding requirement of 5k?

Initial funding is required for getting physical card not for account opening..

 

[rjsudeep]

Initial funding is required for getting physical card not for account opening..

Oh okay. I usually prefer having physical cards, so might as well do that initial funding. Looks like a good card to keep in handy in case of sudden foreign travel.

 

[yz_007]

Wanted suggestion between Infinia and SC Ultimate for my case.
During official visits, I have my expenses and markup + GST reimbursed by the company. Considering this I am calculating the return as :
SC Ultimate: 3.5% markup. Benefits : 3.3% rewards + 1.5% cashback = 4.8%
Infinia : 2% markup. Benefits : 3.3% rewards + 1% cashback upto Rs.1000 per statement cycle = 4.3%
So, SC Ultimate is better for my transactions?
Is there a limit on SC Ultimate cashback?

 

[Mohur]

Wanted suggestion between Infinia and SC Ultimate for my case.
During official visits, I have my expenses and markup + GST reimbursed by the company. Considering this I am calculating the return as :
SC Ultimate: 3.5% markup. Benefits : 3.3% rewards + 1.5% cashback = 4.8%
Infinia : 2% markup. Benefits : 3.3% rewards + 1% cashback upto Rs.1000 per statement cycle = 4.3%
So, SC Ultimate is better for my transactions?
Is there a limit on SC Ultimate cashback?

Also check their reward catalog, what will you do with the earned rewards is important question.

Also check what is the actual value of 1 reward point in Rupees/paisa for your selected option when doing redemption

 

[Avijeet]

Any idea about Axis Bank Multi-Currency Forex Card?

 

[theglobalinvestor]

Which amex card other than PC for international transactions? Any benefit to having PR or PT over MRCC for example?

Will be using for spends where amex is a preferred merchant partner like Wimbledon.

 

[Wealth is my birth right!]

Good to feel that I'm having Magnus and SBI CB from this list.
zero markup i'm using Indus exclusive sign Visa variant debit card.