Spending abroad

Which card should you use abroad?

Most people carry two or three cards and reach for whichever is on top. On a trip, a little order to that choice can quietly save more than any single reward.

Put the fee first

Rewards get all the attention, but on foreign spending the foreign transaction fee usually matters more. A card earning 1% in points but charging a ~3% fee abroad leaves you down on the deal; a no-fee card earning nothing often comes out ahead. So the first question isn't "which earns most?" — it's "which charges me least to spend here?" Start with your 0%-fee cards and only then compare rewards among them.

Then compare rewards — like for like

Among the cards that don't punish you on the fee, look at what each earns for this kind of spend. A card with strong dining rewards is the one for dinner; a flat-rate cashback card is fine for the taxi. The trick is comparing the reward you'd actually get on this purchase, not the headline rate on the advert.

Don't forget acceptance

• Visa and Mastercard are accepted almost everywhere.
• American Express is widely taken but can be patchier at smaller, independent places — worth a backup.
• Networks tied to one country may not work overseas at all. The best card in your wallet is no use if the terminal declines it, so always travel with a second option.

A quick mental checklist

• Which of my cards charge 0% abroad?
• Of those, which earns the most on this purchase?
• Will it be accepted here — and do I have a backup?
• At the terminal, am I paying in the local currency?

Where Travelstone helps

This is exactly the little calculation Travelstone's card feature does for you on a trip: from the cards you tell it you hold — names only, never numbers — it points to the one that costs you least for a given spend, fee and rewards weighed together, with the estimate shown in plain money. It's a nudge to reach for the right card, not financial advice.

General information for travellers, not financial advice. Card fees, rewards and acceptance vary by issuer, network and country and change over time — check your own card's current terms before relying on them.