Best credit cards for international travel with no annual fee

You don't have to pay an annual fee to get a solid travel rewards credit card. You might not get all the fancy perks that come with some of the more luxe travel cards, but there are some really good options that will help you earn rewards to pay for your next adventure.

To make sure you're choosing the best no-annual-fee travel card for your needs, we analyzed 12 popular options using an average American's spending annual budget and digging into each card's perks and drawbacks to find the best of the best based on your travel habits. (See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best cards.)

There are two key perks that are essential when choosing a travel card: no foreign transaction fees and the ease with which you can cash in rewards for travel. And the card is even better when you can earn bonus rewards for travel-related purchases. The cards in this round-up check every box, and based on our calculations, you could earn upwards of $1,500 in cash back over five years. Plus, some of the cards may offer travel insurance, which provides added value.

Here are Select's top picks for the travel credit cards without an annual fee:

• Winner: Discover it® Miles
• Runner-up: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card
• Best for hotels: Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
• Best for students: Bank of America® Travel Rewards for Students
• Best secured card: U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa® Secured Card

Winner

Who's this for? The Discover it® Miles card comes with a generous rewards program that makes it a standout among travel cards.

Unlike some other cards on this list, you won't earn more for travel or dining related purchases. The Discover it Miles card offers users unlimited 1.5X miles for every dollar spent on all purchases. But for higher spenders, Discover offers a welcome bonus that's hard to beat: It will do a mile-for-mile match of all miles earned the first year (for new card members in their first year only). If you rack up 35,000 miles within the first 12 months, Discover will match you with 35,000 miles. That's a total of 70,000 miles or $700 toward travel. (Based on our calculations, the average card user will earn around 32,777 miles in the first year.)

With this card, there are no blackout dates when you pay for travel purchases using your card. And, you can easily redeem miles as a statement credit for travel, restaurant or gas station purchases, as well as a deposit to your bank account. The best part is, miles earned never expire even if your account is closed.

Runner-up

Who's this for? The Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card also offers an unlimited 1.5X rate like the Discover card above. Cardholders earn 1.5 points for every dollar spent on all purchases.

Its welcome bonus is not as generous as Discover's, which is why we ranked it as a runner-up, but potential cardholders can still score from signing up and spending: Earn 25,000 bonus points after spending at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening. This can be redeemed for a $250 statement credit toward qualifying travel purchases.

With this card, there is no limit on the points you can earn and points do not expire. Cardholders can redeem their rewards at any time and at any amount, plus count on zero foreign transaction fees on their next overseas vacation.

Best for hotels

Who's this for? Anyone looking to book hotel rooms should consider the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card and its impressive offer 5X miles on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. This no-annual-fee card also gives cardmembers an unlimited 1.25X miles on all other purchases, making it a solid choice for everyday use.

Another perk is the intro 0% APR period, which lasts for 15 months on new purchases and balance transfers. After that, the APR is 17.99% - 27.99% variable.

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.

Additionally, with this card, it's possible to transfer your miles to any of Capital One's partner airline loyalty programs, including Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest and Aeroplan®. (Read how to make the most of your airline miles.)

Cardholders can also redeem their miles for cash in the form of a check or account credit, gift cards and more, though rates for these other redemption options vary.

Best for students

Who's this for? The Bank of America Travel Rewards for Students is a great choice for students who plan on studying abroad or traveling during breaks. The rewards program is geared toward travel, and cardholders earn 1.5 points per dollar spent on all purchases.

You can redeem rewards as a statement credit to cover the cost of qualifying travel purchases — a simple way to reduce the cost of taking a spring break vacation or buying a plane ticket home. There are no foreign transaction fees, making it an ideal card for students studying abroad.

Cardholders can redeem their rewards at any time and at any amount, including when shopping on Amazon.

This card also comes with a longer-than-average special financing offer of no interest for 15 billing cycles (then 15.49% - 25.49% variable APR). A full year of no interest is a great way for you to pay off new purchases over time, without incurring interest charges. We recommend you pay off your balance on time and in full each month.

You must be 18 or older and enrolled in school (college, vocational or trade school) to qualify for this card.

Best secured card

Who's this for? The U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa® Secured Card is one of the few travel-focused secured credit cards on the market. So if you want to earn travel rewards on your purchases while building your credit, this card may be a great fit for you.

As you spend on the card, you can earn:

• 4X points per dollar spent on dining
• 2X points per dollar spent at grocery stores, gas stations and streaming services
• 1X points per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases

When these points are redeemed, they are worth 1 cent per point, giving you an effective 4% back in value on dining — an excellent value that even trumps some non-secured credit cards.

In addition, cardmembers are eligible for a $15 credit for annual streaming service purchases.

New cardholders must put down a deposit of between $300 and $5,000 which acts as your credit line. If you spend within your credit limit and pay your bill when it's due, over time, U.S. Bank could upgrade you to the U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card, but unlike some other cards on this list, there's no clear timeline. Once you're upgraded, your security deposit will be returned.

The card doesn't have foreign transaction fees, and you can choose the due date for your bill.

Read more

Our methodology

To determine which cards will put the most money back in your pocket, Select evaluated 12 popular travel credit cards with no annual fee 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.

Note: We didn't calculate the estimated rewards rate for college student credit cards because the focus should be on building good financial habits not optimizing points.

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® Miles, click here.

Information about the Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card, Bank of America Travel Rewards for Students has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

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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