Don't be deceived by their marketing - Capital One is NOT a good card for international travelers. Yes they have no foreign transaction fees, but that doesn't do you any good if your card doesn't work.

Background: I work from home and typically spend 5-7 months abroad every year. I have a cheap US cell plan for when I'm in the US, but when traveling abroad, I use a cheap foreign SIM/plan. Big savings on cell service without the need for expensive international plans or roaming.

The problem: Capital One Mastercard is a fine card when using the physical card - it will work anywhere MasterCard is accepted. However, if you ever try to use the card on a website where you manually type in your 16 digit card number, expiration and CVV code - it generates a pop-up from MasterCard that wants to send you a OTC (One Time Code) as a text message to your US number. But what if you're not using your US number at the time? You have no way to receive the code. It doesn't give you any other option to receive the code. Not email, not a different international number, not an authenticator app like Google/Microsoft Authenticator. You're basically screwed. And don't bother trying to call customer service - there is NOTHING they can do. Its MasterCards Fault they'll tell you. Out of our control. Yet if you try to call MasterCard - "Sorry we're just the transaction processor, contact your card company." Circular finger pointing with you left screwed over.

I know this may be a small issue for people who keep their US number when outside US, but for travelers like me its a deal breaker.

Buyer Beware.

So pretty much the title and probably a dumb question. The capital one website says I can use my savor card with no issue internationally with no foreign transaction fees. So if I'm traveling through Qatar and I want food at the airport I can just swipe my card as normal and it just charges automatically in local currency? Or does it convert into dollars or something?

I recently noticed I am being charged almost 4.5% on every purchase on my purchases in Mexico with my capital one quicksilver. Is this normal? I thought the card was suppose to have no fees.

For example I just bought something that was 260 MXN which the time of this writing, using Xe to do the conversion is $13.56, yet I was charged $14.16! I understand visa / mc take like 0.5% or something or the top but this 4% seems way too high.

Another data point, using the Mastercard website here with whatever they take off the top it says the charge should only be $13.94

https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/personal/get-support/convert-currency.html

Is it possible because it’s the weekend it is much worse?

Has anyone else been slapped with exorbitant foreign transaction fees on their Capital One credit card? I recently found out that my monthly fee would increase by $15 for any purchase made outside the US, and I'm wondering if this is a standard practice or if there are ways to avoid it. I've tried looking through my account settings and customer service hasn't been able to provide me with any information on how to minimize these fees. Any advice or experience with Capital One would be greatly appreciated!

Considering “no foreign transaction fees” as a benefit is like celebrating that your credit card company has a mobile app to manage your account.

What mainstream cards are assessing foreign transaction fees?

Hey fellow Redditors!

I'm currently on the lookout for the perfect credit card to complement my Capital One Savor. The goal is to find a catch-all card for those purchases not covered by the Savor, specifically one with no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee.

I've been doing some research, but I wanted to tap into the collective wisdom of this community. Does anyone have recommendations for credit cards that fit the bill? Ideally, I'm hoping to find one that offers at least a solid 2% cash back (unlimited).

what credit cards have you found that match these criteria? Any personal experiences or insights would be greatly appreciated.

I live in the United States and I recently got the Capital One Savor One credit card because it has no foreign transaction fees. My question is, when I travel abroad how can I make sure I get the best/most competitive exchange rate when paying with my credit card? The thing is, when you pay for something it will usually ask if you want to pay in the local currency or if you want to pay directly in US dollars. I have no idea what I should be clicking. Does it matter which one I choose (local currency or US dollars)? Should I be choosing a different option based on the card? Any guidance on this will help a ton.

Any recommendation? At least 1.5% reward on all purchases would also be nice

Looking for a good way to send cash to my wife overseas without getting eaten up by Out Of Network ATM fees and Foreign Transaction fees.

Capital One advertises both of these as no fee, as well as no minimums.

The only downside I've seen reviewed on this is a bigger overdraft fee than other banks but it won't be an issue.

Any gotchas to be worried about?

Ok here goes!

PURPOSE

• What's the purpose of your next card?: We will be traveling internationally for 3 weeks in August (I know, this is a last minute realization). Our primary card gives us money to spent at REI. We love to buy outdoor equipment! But we’re well stocked and we can’t cash out our REI balance, so we don’t see a need to add to it more. So we want something that has no foreign transaction fees. We’re okay with a reasonable annual fee

CREDIT PROFILE

• Current credit cards you are the primary account holder of: Capital One REI, $14,500 limit, 2007; Chase Freedom Unlimited, $10,700, 2017

• FICO Score: 803 from Creditwise via Capital One

• Oldest credit card account age with you as primary name on the account: 17 years

• Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 6, 12, 24 months: 0

• Annual income: $100,000+

CATEGORIES

• OK with category-specific cards?: Yes, but prefer a single card

• OK with rotating category cards?: No, I can never keep track

• Monthly dining: $1500

• Monthly groceries: $1000

• Monthly gas: $150

• Do you plan on using this card abroad for a significant length of time?: 3 weeks in August

MEMBERSHIPS & SUBSCRIPTIONS

• Member of any big bank?: Chase, Capital One

• Amazon Prime member?: No

• Verizon postpaid customer?: No

• Costco or Sam's Club member?: No

• Streaming services?: None

• Active US military?: No

• Are you open to business cards?: No

I already have my "good" credit card that has all kinds of travel benefits and that I use for basically everything. What I need is a backup card for when my good card gets frauded and I have to wait for a replacement. Would prefer one that has no annual fee, even if it does offer a travel credit. And obviously it's essential that it doesn't charge any foreign transaction fees. Must be open to US citizens. Visa or Mastercard preferred.

Thank you for taking a look at this!

The title says it all.