Foreign Transaction Fees

Check what foreign transaction fees your cards already charge

Before you leave home or enter your card details on an international site, spend a few minutes checking for foreign transaction fees on every piece of plastic you plan to carry. To tell if my card charges foreign transaction fees, check your card's agreement or the issuer's account pages. American Express points you to the benefits page of your online account, while Bank of America advises calling the number on the back of the card or reviewing your agreement. You will not usually see the charge while a transaction is pending. Chase notes it appears only after the purchase is converted to U.S. dollars on your statement.

The same homework applies to the card you pull from your wallet at a foreign ATM, because debit card foreign transaction fees are common and can hit both point-of-sale purchases and cash withdrawals outside the U.S. Even a prepaid card can trigger a foreign transaction fee on an international purchase. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reminds users that not all prepaid cards work outside the country at all. Your digital wallet does not escape scrutiny either. When you send money abroad, PayPal international personal payments and purchase payments are subject to cross-border fees that depend on the recipient’s market and whether you fund the transfer with a bank account, PayPal balance, or a credit or debit card. With Apple Pay international fees, the wallet itself adds nothing, but the linked card issuer can still apply its own foreign transaction fee exactly as it would on the physical card.

Avoid the fees at checkout and online

When the card machine or website flashes a currency choice, your single most powerful move is to select the local currency. Decline any offer to view the total in U.S. dollars, because that prompt is the moment dynamic currency conversion triggers hidden fees overseas. The merchant or ATM provider sets its own exchange rate, often a poor one, and may tack on a separate markup that your card issuer cannot control. If the screen feels rushed or the receipt fails to show both the local amount and the exchange rate, tell the cashier you want to pay in the local currency.

The same logic applies when you shop at international online stores without paying extra fees. At the final checkout screen, look for a dropdown or toggle that lets you switch the billing currency and deliberately choose euros, pounds, or yen rather than a U.S. dollar option. Even when a US dollar card is used in a non-US dollar country, the transaction can still pick up a foreign transaction fee if the purchase routes through a foreign bank or settles in the merchant’s home currency, a risk that grows when a website quietly converts the total for you. The habit to build, whether you are standing at a terminal or clicking “buy” on a foreign site, is simple: always pay in the currency of the place where the business operates, and you will avoid foreign transaction fees when traveling abroad that stem from dynamic currency conversion.

Choose the right card and handle fees after they hit

If you would rather sidestep surprise charges altogether, start by looking at which credit cards have no foreign transaction fees as a permanent feature of the account, not a limited-time promotion. Capital One says none of its U.S.-issued credit cards have foreign transaction fees, and Navy Federal says this applies whether you are stationed overseas or just traveling. When a card does carry an annual fee, do premium travel cards justify the annual fee with no foreign transaction fees folded into a broader set of perks like lounge access or trip insurance is a question without a documented rule, since the math depends on how often you actually use the other features. If a charge does slip through, you can try to get foreign transaction fees waived or refunded by checking your card agreement or contacting your issuer, though policies vary and no rule guarantees a reversal. Be especially careful with returns, because are foreign transaction fees charged on refunds and returns is a question you should check with your issuer, as you may still owe the fee even after the purchase price comes back.