International travel always finds a place on everyone’s bucket list. While planning for a foreign trip, you should ensure that you use the right credit card for foreign transactions. International credit cards are ideally suited for those who travel to foreign countries regularly and want to stay away from the worries of foreign exchange after reaching their destinations.
The different types of international credit cards Indian banks provide have made international trips very convenient and easy to manage. Travel credit cards come with exclusive benefits and attractive bargains, making them popular among regular travellers. These credit cards, apart from providing you with air miles, also give reward points and several other kinds of discounts and cashback offers that are redeemable.
If you are planning to go on your dream vacation, you probably will end up spending a significant amount. You should choose the right travel credit card for your international transactions. The point to be noted here is that international transactions levy a new kind of transaction fee known as Foreign Currency Markup Fee, which usually lies in the range of 3.5%+GST.
Thus, for these kinds of transactions, you might have to spend around 4% of the actual expenditure as the mark-up fees. So, international travel credit cards can come to your rescue at this point.
To help you choose among the best international travel credit cards with a low foreign currency mark-up fee, we have done a comparison of the 7 best international credit cards Indian institutions offer for foreign travel.
1. Bajaj Finserv RBL Bank SuperCard
This Bajaj Finserv co-brand credit card is the best choice for your first credit card as it provides you with complimentary access (up to 4 times a year) to airport lounges and you get extra reward points on your international spendings. Along with all the benefits of a regular credit card, you are awarded 20,000 reward points as a welcome bonus and you can avail of 20 reward points per Rs. 100 spent internationally.
The most exciting advantage of this travel credit card is that on booking flights with this SuperCard, you get extra reward points along with discounts and cashback. You also earn frequent flyer miles, which when accumulated, can be used for flight and hotel bookings. You can convert your available credit limit into a personal loan, which can be used to meet your urgent financial requirements.
2. Premier Miles Credit Card – Citibank
The Premiermiles Credit Card from Citibank provides complimentary air travel and you can select from over 100 airlines. Miles earned through the transactions can be used against any flight or hotel bookings among Citibank’s partners. By using this flagship travel credit card from Citibank, you get 10,000 bonus miles on spending more than Rs. 1000 within 60 days of joining.
3. HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card
The Regalia credit card provided by HDFC Bank is a dedicated travel credit card, which offers great benefits on dining, travelling and flight bookings. You are awarded 12 complimentary lounge access annually on domestic and international flights. If the annual spending on this credit card touches the Rs. 5 lakh mark, then you are awarded 10,000 reward points. You also get a Zomato gold membership as a bonus along with this travel credit card.
4. Platinum Travel Credit Card – American Express
This Platinum travel credit card from American Express allows you to profit from extra miles and reward points it offers on international spendings. Other major benefits and features include IndiGo vouchers of more than Rs. 7,700 if you spend Rs. 1.90 lakh in a year. Also, you can earn a 3% cashback on your fuel refilling charges. If your annual spending crosses the threshold limit of Rs. 4 lakhs, then you are awarded IndiGo vouchers worth Rs. 11,800 and vouchers amounting to Rs. 10,000 from the Taj Group.
5. Miles & More World Credit Card – Axis Bank
This travel credit card comes power-packed with 3000 bonus miles as a signing up gift. Other notable features include a chance to win 3000 miles as an annual bonus. Additionally, you are provided MasterCard lounge access across the country by using this world credit card. Expenditure of Rs. 200 gives you 4 miles as reward points, along with a 2.5% fuel surcharge waiver on spending Rs. 400 – Rs. 5000 using this credit card.
6. Air India Platinum Card – SBI
The Air India Platinum Card provided by SBI has been specifically designed for international travellers and offers the most attractive rewards. Along with facilitating comfortable and cheaper travel, you are provided with a joining gift of 5000 reward points. On applying for his travel credit card, you get complimentary membership of Air India’s Frequent Flyer Program, which has its premium benefits. On annual spending of Rs. 2 lakhs and Rs. 3 lakhs, you can get 5,000 and 15,000 bonus points respectively.
7. JetPrivilege World Credit Card – HDFC Bank
The JetPrivilege World credit card from HDFC Bank provides travel privileges with the best-in-class airline. You are offered a 10% discount on business class tickets of Etihad Airways. On spending Rs. 75,000 and above within the first 90 days of joining, you are offered 3,750 InterMiles which can be redeemed to book flight tickets on accumulation. Furthermore, you are provided with a 5% discount on economy class tickets booked through Etihad Airways using this credit card.