If you are planning to use your credit card when you travel internationally, be careful of international transaction fees. What you purchased overseas gets charged as a percentage once converted back into U.S. currency. It can quickly add up if you are using your credit cards as the primary payment method. You will get quite the surprise in your bill summary after you've been home for a few weeks.
The two powerhouses, MasterCard and Visa, charge a 1 percent transaction fee. American Express charges 2 percent, according to MarketWatch. When deciding among the three, however, you can't take just one because they're not accepted everywhere equally. The other widely known banks, such as Bank of America, Chase and Citibank, all charge a 3 percent fee.
MoneyWatch and http://www.moneyunder30.com both recommend CapitalOne as your international credit card of choice. There is no annual fee and 0 percent transaction fee, and you can earn rewards with your spending. Their interest rates are low, but it's a card that can easily be obtained by someone with mediocre credit but at a higher interest rate.
