2% cash back on everything AND Vis and No foreign transaction fee?

[BlueberryPie]

I am switching from my Sapphire Preferred to a Citi Double cashback because now that United has raised their mileage requirements to fly to Europe, it's cheaper in most cases to use the points as cash which are only worth 1.25c. and the Sapphire has a $95/year fee and somehow I keep not finding ways to use the $50 hotel cash back , etc...

I am running into 2 things I don't like about the city card, one I knew about and one I didn't:

- It's a MasterCard and Costco does not accept Mastercard, and I spend enough money at Costco that I would love to get the 2% back

- That Citi card has a foreign transaction fee. I know about it, but after taking a trip to Canada and now planning a trip to Scottland, I find it a pain to have to use another card to avoid the 3% transaction fee.

I really wanted a no-brainer, 2% on everything without worrying about categories (such as Csotco or Foreign transactions) so the Citi falls short a little.

I don't think there is a no-fee, 2% back on everything, Visa, no foreign transaction card out there

 

[COcheesehead]

Fidelity Visa. They just dropped the foreign transaction fees. See this post.
https://www.early-retirement.org/fo...n-transaction-charges-119016.html#post2976198

 

[Dash man]

Pentagon Federal Platinum Visa doesn’t have foreign transaction fees.

https://www.penfed.org/credit-cards/platinum-rewards-visa/comparison

 

[Alex The Great]

Indeed Penfed cards all have no FTF and there is Power cash rewards card which return 2% on everything.
From Citi, I use Custom Cash card which pay 5% cash back on groceries every month up to $500 (but there are other categories too, cash back is for top spending category).

 

[Surewhitey]

+1 for Fidelity. I even got a small sign up reward for getting it... My go-to card now.

 

[CaptTom]

Pentagon Federal Platinum Visa doesn’t have foreign transaction fees.

Didn't know that. I have one of those. Now that I know, I'll be bringing that one on an upcoming trip. Only had one other card with no FT fees.


Thanks!!

 

[Gotadimple]

If you already shop at Costco, check that your membership card isn't a Citi credit card. Costco's credit card charges no foreign transaction fee but your 'cash points' can only be used in the warehouse.

 

[BlueberryPie]

If you already shop at Costco, check that your membership card isn't a Citi credit card. Costco's credit card charges no foreign transaction fee but your 'cash points' can only be used in the warehouse.

Yes I already have the Costco Citi visa, which I can use for Costco shopping and could use for foreign transactions but I am (and my wife even more so) trying to have only one card and not have to be constantly watching out for store/categories. I'm OK with getting only 2% vs juggling cards to get more on some type of expenses, but the flip side is I don't want to worry about FTF, visa vs Mastercard, etc...

I do have an Amazon Priem Visa, but this one takes no thinking, it's only used for Amazon online purchases (my wife never remembers to us it a Whole Foods)

 

[bmcgonig]

Wells Fargo has a 2% back on everything Visa Card.

 

[Yipper]

...because now that United has raised their mileage requirements to fly to Europe...

Can you elaborate on this? I haven't spent too much time comparing domestic vs. international using miles on United.

 

[BlueberryPie]

I don't have exact numbers or details, but flights I was looking at went up but I also lost all status on United after COVID and I know I had special mileage deals when i had status.

Also: https://www.google.com/amp/s/thepointsguy.com/news/united-worldwide-devaluations/amp/

 

[BlueberryPie]

Tonight I discovered another issue that I never had with other credit cards:

They declined the charge when paying for dinner, which is annoying but I have experienced that with other cards. But when I called to fix it, they needed to text a code to my phone but then said that that my phone number was "not acceptable" for verification. Their system is too smart for it's own good: my work pays for my phone, so my SIM is not registered in my name specifically but to my company name. I had to wait till I got home so they could call my wife Bea use the name checked out on the SIM.
They said there was no way around it, I cannot call them ever without access to my wife's phone. My char card allows them to send verify my identity through the app on my phone but Citi doesn't.

This card is turning out to be a dud. I'm moving to the Fidelity card, hopefully it'll be a better experience all around.

 

[Drake3287]

Yep, you're in the same dilemma as many of us. The bottom line is that there isn't one card that's right for everyone. In my case I use the BofA Travel Reward Visa card for almost everything and I easily get thousands of dollars back in cash each year. In my case it works best for me simply because of my preferred status with the bank. Not everyone would have the same experience as me.

Just keep doing your home work like you are and you'll find a card that works best for you. I also agree that unless you fly a whole lot, those airline credit cards aren't worth their weight in plastic. If I can get $2k to $3k in cash each year I can easily buy 2 tickets to anywhere.

 

[SecondCor521]

I like the Fidelity 2% cash back Visa; thanks to @COcheesehead for the info about no FTF.

To get the full 2%, you need to deposit the cash back into a Fidelity account. I do my 2% cash back automatically into my Fidelity HSA. The Fidelity HSA is highly regarded as well, so it works great for me.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Fidelity Visa. They just dropped the foreign transaction fees. See this post.
https://www.early-retirement.org/fo...n-transaction-charges-119016.html#post2976198

That was (good) news to me, too!
Even up until now, their FTF was only 1%, so I felt like I was getting 1% net cash back instead of 2%, which made it not worth the effort to have a separate no-FTF card.

 

[audreyh1]

If you already shop at Costco, check that your membership card isn't a Citi credit card. Costco's credit card charges no foreign transaction fee but your 'cash points' can only be used in the warehouse.

Not true at all. US Citi Costco VISA - I get cash rewards transferred to my bank account. You can also redeem for cash. The only inconvenience is redemption once a year.

 

[Gotadimple]

They declined the charge when paying for dinner, which is annoying but I have experienced that with other cards. But when I called to fix it, they needed to text a code to my phone but then said that that my phone number was "not acceptable" for verification.

The same thing may be true if your phone carrier is an MVNO (like Tracphone) with some verification systems. They have to have a way for you to provide verification besides texting to a cell phone (like sending an email).

But then you solved their problem for them by moving to a different credit card company.

 

[brett]

We always travel with several credit cards.

Two of them have no hidden admin fee for foreign transactions. More than once one card has been rejected and the other accepted. One MC, one Visa.

We do not bother traveling with our Amex card. Not as widely accepted as the others.

 

[Scuba]

Fidelity Visa. They just dropped the foreign transaction fees. See this post.
https://www.early-retirement.org/fo...n-transaction-charges-119016.html#post2976198

This is great news! This is our go to card for virtually everything while in the US. We did not use it in Australia due to the fees. Now we can drop the other card!

 

[brett]

Five days into our 22 day trip to Mexico this past March my no fx fee MC was locked.

Fortunately I had a second no fx fee Visa card that I was able to use for remaining 17 days!