International trips involve careful planning, but while you’re packing your suitcase and making a list of must-try restaurants, don’t forget one important detail: how you’ll pay for stuff once you arrive.
🤓 Nerdy Tip
Don’t forget to notify your credit card issuers of travel plans before you leave. Otherwise, they may think your overseas purchases are fraudulent charges and lock your card.
You may stick mainly to one card back home, but carrying a spare while you travel can help you out of a bind.
What about taking more than two cards? You absolutely can do this, but limiting the number of cards you travel with can save you the headache of countless phone calls to credit card companies if you get pickpocketed.
Keep your cards safe: Consider leaving additional cards in a secure place, like a safe in your hotel room, or having a travel companion carry one of your cards. Carry your wallet in your front pocket. If you wear a purse, opt for a crossbody style that closes with a zipper, and keep it in your sight at all times. Don’t hang it from the back of a chair at a restaurant, for example.
What to look for in a travel-ready credit card pairing
No foreign transaction fee
Worldwide acceptance
As mentioned earlier, cards in the Visa and Mastercard networks tend to be accepted by more retailers in other countries. There are always exceptions, though, which is why having two cards to choose from can give you options.
Different payment networks
Diversify your cards so you don’t carry, say, two Mastercards or two American Express cards. That can help increase the odds that one of your cards will work.
Cards that earn rewards on your spending
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8 points per dollar spent on travel bookings purchased through Chase, including flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, activities and tours.
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4 points per dollar spent on bookings made directly with an airline or hotel.
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3 points per dollar spent at restaurants, including eligible food delivery. (10 points per dollar on Chase Dining purchases.)
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1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
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Through Sept. 30, 2027: 5 points per $1 spent on Lyft.
The card also offers a $300 annual travel statement credit (helpful for offsetting that massive annual fee), which will reimburse you not only for hotels, flights and rental cars, but also for expenses like taxis, tolls and parking. And since points are potentially worth more than 1 cent each when redeemed for travel booked through Chase, your vacation purchases today can stretch your travel budget even further later on.
When checking out of your hotel or paying the tab at a restaurant the night before you leave, use up the last of your cash — unless it’s a country that you plan to return to, in which case you can always save your cash for the next trip.