Best Credit Cards For Traveling & Living Abroad
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- Опубліковано 20 вер 2024
- 💳 RJ's Picks: www.cardonomic... Click "Show More" to see Ad Disclosure.
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Thanks for tuning in! Need a book to read on those long flights? Checkout the best way to use the Platinum cards entertainment credit - ua-cam.com/video/YKaCnRI98nU/v-deo.html
Audible isn’t covered by the platinum card anymore. I switched to Libby. It’s free!
I lived abroad for 3 years (Aus / NZ) I ran mainly a capital one setup. SavorOne and VentureOne. Transferred all the cash back from my SavorOne to miles on my VentureOne. Racked up a lot of points in 3 years! Both cards no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees
Also side note: you can call up your bank and request a PIN number for your credit card for chip and pin! It’s kind of fun watching the people working at shops scrambling around looking for a pen. Cause no one does signatures abroad 🤷♂️
Ah that is interesting, I didn't know about the PIN. Great tip to keep us from being that "typical American". I've also learned that contactless payments is a good option for this traveling as well. Appreciate the tip sir
Yup most banks don’t disclose that information! But if you call and ask they’ll issue you a pin. Super easy.
Contactless is great, but not all my credit cards are contactless still. We are still stuck in the past. But I just hate the signatures 😂
Were you worried or was there ever a point your US credit card / bank account might close?
@@jamessaykhamphone9282 nope? Why would they close my account?
@@dancsaldana thought i heard in a video that if you're out of country for 6 consecutive months or more then US banks will close credit cards or accounts?
I live in Portugal and you NEED a visa (like the sapphire preferred) because many places don’t take Amex still. Also there are many places where you can’t tap the amex cards but you CAN chip and pin so don’t just assume it doesn’t work- insert it first. Grocery stores like Continente have this quirk.
I live abroad and I think the best card is the alliant signature visa. 2.5% on everything with no foreign transaction fees.
That's a good call. Was looking at that one myself recently
Thanks. I’ve been looking for something that will work on groceries in Portugal!
@@AshleyOliviaDaCosta It's a good card and a good credit union.
Hello R J, just enjoy watching your videos...keep up the great work! I've been living and working in the middle east for nearly eight years my top two cards I use here are the Bank of America Premium Rewards card (Platinum Honors member), and the Chase Sapphire Reserve. I just entered my second year of having Premium Rewards card, prior to having this card the Sapphire Reserve was my primary use card however with the Premium Rewards I receive 3.5x on nearly all of my purchases including my number one spend supermarkets.
Shout out! Thanks for watching my friend. Appreciate the insights, I feel BofA is often over looked. Partly because they do a poor job of explaining preferred rewards. Platinum honors is the way to go, this is a great travel card. 3.5x beats most multipliers anywhere for simply daily purchases.
I traveled 9 months traveling to 15 countries. If had the opportunity to do it again, I’d take 1st the Charles Schwab Debit card, US bank Altitude Reserve, CapitalOne SavorOne or US bank Altitude Go, PayPal MasterCard. Those are my workhorses. Get as many Hotel CCs as possible. Hilton Aspire as the high AF card and Unlimited Priority pass CC. Get Chase Marriott, Hyatt and IHG. Take a year or two to hit bonus.
Paypal MC has started to charge 3% FTF
@@mabdullahalshohel7091 wow that is terrible. Thanks for letting me know. I need another 2% visa/MasterCard CC without an AF and foreign Transaction fee…
All good options, as pointed out below, PayPal got greedy and brought back the fee. I like the US Bank options, those would work good and the reserve is an underrated card that can almost pay for itself. Aspire is also on my list to pick up at some point. Thanks for sharing and hope you had an awesome trip
I like your picks. Citi Premier, Savor One, and SoFi mastercard.
Its funny, the cash back was an add on that I thought of after the recent Cap One student card vid from late last week. Sometimes even I can't see all the plays lol. Thanks for watching sir
Thank you for this video! Very educational! I know it's bit older but I like! 👍
Only thing I'd add to it is the Venture X card. Wasn't out at the time. Aside from that, it holds up. Safe travels
@RJ Financial Yes sir! And I forgot to mention but "Happy 5/24 Day! (May 24)
@@caribdude8151 Haha. I've honestly never heard that one before. Chase should run a promo where everyone over 5/24 gets a one card pass
@@RJFinancialLol!
Hey RJ, really appreciate this insightful, well-thought out and articulate video! This will age well for sure! I'm sure you can update this if things change year-by-year = steady supply of content.
Really way better than I expected though.
You surprised me with a lot of other choices namely Navy Federal, BofA, SoFi, and Capital One-I use to bank with them but closed it down because of the sloppy service. The Savor One looks pretty good though. I'm still on my American Express Green though for the LoungeBuddy credit and the dining, travel, and transit multipliers (Uber and Bolt work perfectly) and I think I'll still be using it when I go back although if that Gold card had worldwide supermarkets, I'd hop on that. I guess another reason I got the Amex is to start off the credit relationship so it could perhaps lead to the Platinum. Can't deny the great service and don't wanna let it go. The only drawback is the acceptance.
My International setup so far:
American Express® Green Card
Apple Card
I know it's not much, but I tried getting the Sapphire preferred, but I guess I have to wait a bit longer to get it. I was trying to keep one card (or max 2) from each card network. Do you think it's worth waiting to get into Chase's network or bite the bullet and go for BofA (Visa) ...?
About airlines, I find that British Airways, Air France/KLM, and Virgin Atlantic cover a lot of ground (even as far as Asia) but I think they have some of the highest fees/taxes after redeeming your miles. MR/UR as far as I know.
P.S. Hope your video and channel blows up! 🤜
Hey, I kept you waiting long enough so the least I could do. Glad it lived up to the expectations my guy.
As for the CSP... the new version is much better and could be worth it on its own if you do a lot of car rentals for the primary CDW and other travel insurances. CSP is still best in the trifecta but not an option at the moment. I'd say its a fine option for the Visa, considering the 100k bonus right now. Plus you can go travel portal for 5x on whatever airline you'd like. I'd go BofA if you have preferred rewards or plan on working towards it.
Thanks for support my friend be sure to report back on which you chooses and safe travels
Hey @RJFinacial Great video! Could you consider doing an update to this video? I'm heavily considering moving abroad (South America)! Also, could you explore doing other videos about what to do with your domestic accounts/cards while living abroad, and financial steps to take before and after moving abroad like International HYSA, Roth IRAs, etc., or their equivalents, Thank you very much!
Only card I'd add since this is a Venture x or maybe the Wells Fargo Journey card.
You can keep all the bank accounts open. The issue is if you ever need anything from them. I've seen many a reddit post where the bank requires you to come in branch simply to protect themselves. Also issues with phone numbers no longer matching when you switch to a new mobile service
It would be best to get a bank wherever you're moving or at least look into the international versions of who you bank with here.
Can we get a 2023 version?
I can put it on the list. I think the only thing I'd add would be the Venture X to combine with the Savor rewards.
@@RJFinancial noted thank you! Heard a lot about it, moving over seas soon thanks again for the insight.
@@RJFinancial is foreign transaction fees, the same as currency conversion fees? Meaning if Amex does not charge FTF then they won’t charge currency conversion fees?
@@makemoney6411 The conversion fee is usually part of the FTF. I don't believe they'll tack it on separately
For me, the CSP is best because of primary CDW and streaming multiplier. Streaming services such as Netflix and Disney are used by people everywhere. Even when they are blocked by the government, people use VPN's to get around this policy.
CSP primary CDW is one of those perks that is super underrated. Even before the overhaul, one could argue $95 was worth if for that and the insurances alone. I may like it better than the CSR now
@@RJFinancialis CDW collision damage waiver? Because yes. This is why we have the preferred vs the reserve. We literally just rented a car for the first 6 months instead of buying one because of this and getting points! Beware- the rental period has to be less than 31 days each time. You will have to go to the rental place and renew it each time. So worth it. We fly for free because of how we drive. Look for deals around $3/day. This will likely be a manual car.
Man, this video needed more research. Folks, when living abroad, you need to take into consideration local BANKING culture! Take the Czechia, for instance, recurring card payments are virtually unheard of! The sole one I have is my MS Office suite. My only other payment, I have to pay on repeating basis, that I can't use the more predominant method around here, is my quarterly prepaid public transport ticket. Direct bank transfers are the name of the game around here, when it comes to bills, and from what I know, the rest of the EU is the same. You're never paying your rent by card, for instance. You either wire it or pay cash. Not to mention, that if you'll have localised income, companies won't like to send you anything abroad... Just get a local bank account, people.
I wouldn't disagree with those points. I'd say it's a different question. Every place has businesses that won't deal in cards or will pass on the processing fee to the customer. Local bank might be easier. Some of the bigger banks have international presence. It may make sense to get a different account with them. As fraud departments can by hyper sensitive to international banking.
The cards you'd want to use still remain the same. No FTFs, common points currency if possible, support earning points abroad (not amex) and some level of travel protections/benefits.
RJ,
Great video Sir. I love it and appreciate the content. Navy federal is ok but I had a bad experience with them. So I wouldn't get there cards if they paid me. Horrible stuff they did to me and they didn't care. Oh well it's in the past. Yeah seems like US is always behind on some type of technology or whatever. SMH.
NF has always treated me right.
Interesting, I haven't heard anything bad about them personally but I get it. Too many options to go with if one does wrong by you. US coulda done chip + pin in 2015 with the overhaul. I believe it was because nobody wanted to spend the money or the time, let alone slow down lines even more.
Just a reminder for American travelers to put the cards on the phone, so you're not forced to sign tiny slips of paper holding up lines!
Good tip sir, didn't think about that one! It's funny my work cafeteria still uses the swipe over the chip insert in order to speed up the line.
There are country specific visa and Mastercards that only work in their issuing country.
Ah the danger in saying a definitive statement lol. Fair point, I get so use to only talking about the major card issuers. Appreciate the added clarification sir
Thanks for the information, but I still need some HELP!! IF I live in Germany, don't make a lot, or spend huge amounts money on shopping and entertainment (a few hundred tops per month), do travel on DB trains, various international airlines mostly (some US airlines), is on of the Capital One Venture cards better or the Savor One? Also, will I have problems getting either or both if I have not been working in the US or building credit for the past four years? Had very good to excellent credit before I left four years ago.
You'd want the venture X. it has no foreign transaction fees. Most of the travel multipliers are via their portal, but a flat 2x back on all purchases. As for approval, I've heard that capital one is being difficult with this one. Going to need to be maybe 720+, but that's a guess. Your score likely won't have dropped much so long as you didn't close any of your original card accounts.
Could also look at the Sapphire Reserve or Preferred as comps.
A few other credit union cards to consider:
Andrews FCU
Open membership
Titanium VS card
3x unlimited groceries & gas
1.5x all else
No AF or FTF
Some travel insurance
NIH FCU
Open membership
Travel VS card
2x unlimited dining & travel
No AF or FTF
Travel insurance
Always appreciate the insights. I know you've mentioned Titanium card before, and it would get the job done for sure. I like these cause they fit the model, no annual fee and solid multipliers. Thanks for the additions my man
@@RJFinancial - thank you sir. i still love the premier & will be adding on the new CSP.
That NIH one for the Travel has 3x now. Plus on the Signature Cash Rewards is utilities, other than U.S. Bank (and Elon Financial) is the only ones that have that that this one knows of. And NIH says streaming counts towards utilities too.
@@mitchell.9632 - yes my NIH travel card now does 3x on travel, dining, & gas!
i also want their cash reward card for th e 4x in 1st year!
@@docsaysholy guacamole. 3x on all those categories? Travel, dining, and groceries are almost all I spend on!
Is NFCU the best option for military personnel? Thoughts on USAA or PenFed?
Military gets annual fees waived so really you have your choice of cards. As long as it doesn't have a foreign transaction fee you should be good. From an ease of use I've heard good things about USAA. None of these will be the most competitive cards. They're more so trying to be decent for a specific demographic.
USAA: ua-cam.com/video/komgo1go9zM/v-deo.html
Pen Fed: ua-cam.com/video/zezI2aTt-Wk/v-deo.html
Navy Fed: ua-cam.com/video/Ef74TCGX0-Y/v-deo.html
Been at NFCU since 2008 and will never ever change banks!
Is the Bank of America card the only one of all of these mentioned that offers the TSA or Global Entry?
I think so. Most travel cards starting around $95+ offer global entry tho. To your other question, the venture x also has it (wasn't out when this vid was made)
ua-cam.com/video/OTk9otNjBXo/v-deo.html
Are the multipliers of the citi and the capitalone worldwide? Or us only?
I believe they work everywhere. Amex is the main play who draws a line between US and everywhere else. To my knowledge any way
Talk about the Apple Card’s no foreign transaction fees
Apple isn't a bad card. It's good for the people who don't want a ton of cards or to play the 5x gift card game. No FTF's is also a nice touch given it's no annual fee.
Hello Sir. May I know the safest way to get my new credit card when I'm in the Philippines. I will be there when my card expires next year. Thank you for your informative vlogs.
Best bet is probably contacting the bank directly to see if they’ll send it securely to you. They’ll probably do it as they want you to use the card.
@@RJFinancial Thank you.
Our chip and sign is a PITA….
We are always behind. :-(
When they have to get a pen overseas for you to sign… they’re not always happy 😊
I thought we could have done full out chip + pin in 2015 with the change over but nobody wanted to spend the money or time. On top of making lines move slower... typical USA I guess. The cafeteria in my office building doesn't do the insert thing simply to keep the line moving
👍
Thanks for stopping by!