Our goal at SmartCreditchoices is to help consumers save money with credit cards.  However, if you do not have enough time to get a new credit card that charges no international fees before you leave for vacation, we recommend paying the fees.  Why?  3% of each transaction is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

The peace of mind comes from not using your debit card for your purchases.  If, for example, you use your debit card and fraudulent charges are made using your info, your bank account balance will immediately decline.  If it is one small charge, its no big deal.  But in a worst case scenario, a fraudster could empty out your checking account and leave you with no available cash while on vacation.

Additionally, the process to get your money returned to a checking account is much more complicated than contesting charges with your credit card.  With 99% of credit cards, you have ZERO fraud liability.  Essentially, all fraudulent charges are reversed and your credit line is restored.  With a debit card, you will likely get all or most of your money back.  However, your bank may not make that money available immediately.  This can lead to lots of headaches, not to mention hours of time wasted with customer service.

Obviously, the best course of action is to apply online for a credit card that charges no foreign transaction fees and use this card on your vacation.  However, if you don’t have time to get a new credit card, you may want to consider paying the 2 to 3% transaction fee charged by your credit card company to avoid the potential nightmares using your debit card can cause.

“I currently have a Visa card, but I want to apply for one with a 0% interest rate.  Can I apply for another Visa offer?”

The answer is yes.  Visa and MasterCard are credit card networks, not credit card issuers.  Therefore, you could theoretically have 10 or more Visa cards from different issuers.

Plus, with many issuers, you can have multiple cards.  I personally carry three American Express cards and know many others who do the same.

Now, when you are applying for a credit card with a 0% interest rate to do a balance transfer, you should apply for a credit card issued by a different company than the one(s) you carry a balance with.  For example, if you carry a balance on a Bank of America credit card, you could do a 0% balance transfer with a Chase or Discover credit card.  However, you can’t transfer a balance from one Bank of America credit card to another and still get a 0% APR.

Below is a list of the major companies that offer Visa and MasterCard credit cards with links to their respective offers on SmartCreditChoices.com:

Capital One

CitiBank