Best business credit card for international travel

Best cards for international travel

Best overall

Who's this for? If you love food and travel, the American Express Gold Card could be the ideal rewards card for you. Cardholders earn a competitive 4X points per dollar spent at restaurants and 4X points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X). Plus, earn 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com. Terms apply.

Cardholders also receive an annual dining credit of up to $120 ($10 in statement credits a month) at participating partners, including Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations. Enrollment is required. In addition, cardholders receive $120 ($10 a month) for Uber rides or for ordering Uber Eats.

This card has a $250 annual fee*, but it can be reduced to effectively $10 if you take advantage of both spending credits.

Cardholders can also benefit from Amex Offers, where they earn statement credits or bonus Membership Rewards® points at select retailers. Travelers will appreciate that there's no foreign transaction fees* as well as getting insurance for car rentals and damaged, lost or stolen luggage.

Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. Please visit americanexpress.com/ benefitsguide for more details.

*See rates and fees

Best for dining

Who's this for? Travelers who love to eat out can't go wrong carrying a dining rewards card. The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card offers 4% cash back on dining purchases. This is one of the highest rewards rates on dining available, and Capital One classifies dining as restaurants, cafes, bars, lounges, fast-food chains and bakeries. Plus, you can enjoy foodie-centric perks, such as exclusive access to premium reservations with OpenTable. And if you're dining overseas, this card doesn't charge foreign transaction fees.

You can also earn 4% cash back on entertainment spending, whether you're buying movie tickets, taking a family trip to the zoo or spending the evening bowling with friends. Through January 2023, cardholders who buy tickets through Vivid Seats, a ticket resale site, can take advantage of 8% cash back.

Cardholders benefit from exclusive access to dining, sports and entertainment events. Beyond dining and entertainment perks, you will also earn 3% cash back at grocery stores and 1% on all other purchases.

This card comes with a $95 annual fee, but it can be offset by the cash back you earn.

Best for hotels

Who's this for? Anyone looking to book hotel rooms should consider the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card with its impressive offer of 5X miles on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Cardmembers can earn unlimited 1.25X miles on all other purchases, making it a solid choice for everyday use. The card has no annual fee and charges no foreign transaction fees.

Another perk is the intro 0% APR period, which lasts for 15 months on purchases (after, 17.99% - 27.99% variable APR). This can come in handy if you want to pay for a vacation over the course of a year and avoid interest charges.

The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card offers new users a strong welcome bonus: 20,000 bonus miles after they spend $500 on purchases within three months from account opening. You can redeem miles for past travel expenses, which is essentially a statement credit. Or you can book new travel reservations through the Capital One Rewards Center.

Additionally, with this card, it's possible to transfer your miles to any of Capital One's partner airlines, including Emirates Skywards, Air Canada and Qantas. (Read how to make the most of your airline miles.)

Best for luxury travel

Who's this for? The Chase Sapphire Reserve is geared toward foodies and frequent travelers who are looking for luxurious perks, such as annual travel credits, airport lounge access and complimentary hotel room upgrades. You can take advantage of an annual $300 travel credit, which can cover everything from airfare and hotels, to parking and tolls.

As you spend on the card, you will earn:

• 10X points per dollar spent on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually
• 10X points per dollar spent on Chase Dining purchases with Ultimate Rewards
• 5X points per dollar spent on flights through Chase Ultimate Rewards after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually
• 3X points per dollar spent on travel worldwide after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually
• 3X points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out
• 1X points per dollar spent on all other purchases

Points are worth 50% more when redeemed for travel via Chase Ultimate Rewards. For example, 80,000 points are worth $1,200 redeemed toward airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards. This perk is a great way to get the most value for your rewards.

In addition, Chase recently added new Lyft perks, including 10X points on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025, when you use your Sapphire Reserve.

While this card has a robust rewards program, it also has a steep $550 annual fee. All the card's added credits and benefits provided by Chase can help offset the cost. The $300 annual travel credit effectively reduces the annual fee to a more manageable $250. Cardholders can take advantage of a Priority Pass™ Select membership that has a value of about $429, as well as Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit of up to $100 every four years.

Read Select's Chase Sapphire Reserve review for more details and check out Select's best travel credit cards.

Best for bad credit

Who's this for? If you have no credit history or bad credit (scores below 580), a secured card may be your best option. The Discover it® Secured Credit Card is a well-rounded secured card that offers many benefits that are typically found with unsecured cards. Cardholders can earn cash back, receive a generous welcome bonus, use the card overseas without incurring added fees and more — all for no annual fee.

Cardholders earn a competitive 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants, on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, then 1%. Plus, you can earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases automatically. The welcome bonus is also unique: For new card members in the first year only, Discover will automatically match all the cash back they've earned at the end of their first year. So, if you earn $50 cash back at the end of the first year, Discover will give you an additional $50.

This card requires a $200 security deposit, which is fairly standard for secured credit cards. It stands out from the crowd because it gives users a clear path to upgrading to an unsecured card (and getting their deposit back). Starting at seven months from account opening, Discover will automatically start to review your credit card account to see if they can transition you to an unsecured line of credit and return your deposit. This takes the guesswork out of wondering when you'll qualify for an unsecured credit card.

Bottom line

Traveling internationally can sometimes be quite expensive, and require several more steps than domestic travel. However, figuring out currency exchanges doesn't need to be one of them. By simply using a credit card with no foreign transaction fees, simply swipe your card and the conversion into U.S. dollars is done for you — with no additional fees.

And what's more is that during your travels, you can continue to earn valuable credit card rewards for your next adventure. But before you apply for your next credit card, be sure to check your credit score to ensure it's as solid as possible. Additionally, be sure your travels are well-planned out in your budget, as you don't want to come home to a mountain of debt.

Our methodology

To determine which cards will put the most money back in your pocket, Select evaluated 127 popular rewards credit cards offered by major banks, financial companies and credit unions that allow anyone to join. We compared each card on a range of features, including travel rewards (points and miles), annual fee, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR, one-time perks, annual perks, redemption rates, as well as factors such as required credit and customer reviews when available.

Select teamed up with location intelligence firm Esri. The company's data development team provided the most up-to-date and comprehensive consumer spending data based on the 2019 Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can read more about their methodology here.

Esri's data team created a sample annual budget of approximately $22,126 in retail spending. The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). General purchases include items such as housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care products, prescription drugs and vitamins, and other vehicle expenses.

We then estimated how much the average consumer would redeem over the course of a year, two years and five years, assuming they would attempt to maximize their rewards potential by earning all welcome bonuses offered and using the card for all applicable purchases. All rewards total estimations are net the annual fee.

It's important to note the value of a point or mile varies from card to card and based on how you redeem them. When we calculated the estimated returns, we assumed that cardholders are redeeming points/miles for a typical maximum value of 1 cent per point or mile. (Extreme optimizers might be able to achieve more value.)

Our final picks are weighted heavily toward the highest five-year returns, since it's generally wise to hold onto a credit card for years. This method also avoids giving an unfair advantage to cards with large welcome bonuses.

While the five-year estimates we've included are derived from a budget similar to the average American's spending, you may earn a higher or lower return depending on your travel habits.

For rates and fees of the Discover it® Secured Credit Card, click here.

For rates and fees of the Amex Gold Card, click here.

Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.

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