Credit Cards with No Foreign Transaction Fees
Canadian cross border shoppers finally have a convenient way to make U.S. purchases in Canadian dollars without paying big foreign transaction fees.
The Marriott Rewards Visa Card is a Canadian dollar credit card with no foreign transaction fees that also offers free hotel nights!
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Marriott® Rewards Premier Visa Card
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Currency
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Annual Fee
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Foreign Transaction Fee
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Interest Rate
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Cash Advances
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$ CAD
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$120
Waived for First Year |
0%
Currency Conversion Rates Apply |
19.99%
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19.99%
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✓ No Foreign Transaction Fees – only pay the foreign exchange rate ✓ Annual Fee Waived for First Year ✓ 30,000 Bonus Points with First Purchase – good for up to 4 free hotel nights ✓ Additional Free Hotel Night Annually * Rate, card and benefit information is subject to change at any time and does not constitute financial advice. Please contact card issuer for complete details. |
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Why Choose a Credit Card with No Foreign Transaction Fees?
Whether you travel to the U.S. to do your cross border shopping or make your U.S. purchases online, the Marriott Rewards Visa Card is a great way to save money on foreign currency exchange.
If you're a Canadian cross border shopper, you are going to incur a foreign exchange charge at some point when buying your goods from the U.S., regardless of whether you pay by cash, credit card, debit or some other method. The cost of exchanging Canadian dollars to U.S. dollars (or vice versa) is usually in the range of 1.5%.
What you may not know is that most payment methods, including credit cards, have additional foreign transaction fees. In fact, almost all Canadian credit cards charge an additional foreign transaction fee of 2.5%, which means that Canadians end up paying a 4% surcharge just to make a purchase in U.S. dollars.
However, The Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Card is one of the only Canadian dollar credit cards that doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee, essentially saving you 2.5% on all your U.S. purchases while still allowing you to make all of your Canadian dollar purchases as well. As an added bonus, cardholders are given 30,000 bonus points when they make their first purchase that can be used for up to four free hotel nights, great for overnight cross border shopping trips. They even waive the annual fee for the first year.
U.S. Dollar Credit Cards vs. Canadian Dollar Credit Cards with No Foreign Transaction Fee
In the past, some cross border shoppers would opt for a U.S. dollar credit card to pay for their U.S. purchases. While these U.S. credit cards allow Canadians to avoid foreign transaction fees, the also have a number of drawbacks, including:
- annual fees with no benefits
- limited, onerous options for paying off your credit card
- the inability to use the card for Canadian dollar purchases
However, a no foreign transaction fee Canadian dollar credit card also allows you to avoid foreign transaction fees, but doesn’t have any of the drawbacks associated with a U.S. dollar credit card, making Canadian dollar credit cards with no foreign transaction fees a better choice than a U.S. credit card for Canadians.