Top Premium Credit Cards with No Foreign Transaction Fee

Credit cards with no foreign transaction fees seem to be a hot area these days with new products popping up in recent months.  Since the demise of the popular Amazon Visa, there have been a number of new cards that have popped up.  In a recent post listing the best travel credit cards, I wrote about the Rogers/Fido Platinum credit cards that are attractive, but they are already facing changes.

Effective May 2018, Rogers will be devaluing the Platinum version of the card but offering a World Elite card with the previous benefits.  I’m reading that credit card companies charge merchants a higher percentage fee for World Elite cards.  This is also likely the reason that there seems to be a flurry of new World Elite cards with premium benefits issued as of late.

With Chase closing up their credit card business in Canada (Amazon and Mariott credit cards), they left a gap in the premium (ie. annual fee) no foreign transaction fee credit card space.  It didn’t take long for companies to jump in on the action.  Right now, there are two new prominent players in this space, with anticipation of more to come.

Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite

This is a brand new card that has a specialized value proposition for the frequent traveler.   While the card charges a hefty annual fee ($150), there are some pretty good value-added features.

To begin, the key feature of this card is that it offers 0% fee on foreign transactions. Regular spending earns Scotia Rewards; 1 pt earned for every $1 spent; 5000 pts = $50 in travel. 

For base return on spending, it’s 2% on groceries, dining, entertainment and transit purchases and 1% on everything else.  One bonus is that Scotia Rewards can be converted to Scene points (1,000 Scotia Rewards = 770 Scene points), which is added value for movie theater fans (how to maximize Scene points with the Momentum Infinite Card).

In addition to the points, a feature that is attractive to me is the Priority Pass lounge passes.  I’ve had the opportunity to try both the Maple Leaf lounges (Air Canada) and the Priority Pass lounges.  Priority Pass lounges offer real hot food with protein, rather than just snacks like Air Canada.  The priority pass membership is $99/year (USD) plus $27/visit (USD).  The Passport Visa offers 6 free visits equal to $261USD which when converted to CAD is worth more than double the $150 annual fee.

The Rewards

• Earn 25,000 bonus points ($250 worth) with your first $1,000 in everyday purchases in the first 3 months*;
• Earn 3x Scotia Rewards® points on every $1 you spend on eligible grocery stores, dining, entertainment purchases and daily transit purchases (including buses, subways, taxis and more);
• Enjoy no FX Mark-up;
• Enjoy Complimentary Airport Lounge Access, plus 6 free lounge visits per year; and,
• When you spend at least $40,000 in purchases annually on your Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite account, you will earn 10,000 bonus Scotia Rewards points!

Insurance

• Travel Medical Insurance – This policy covers 25 days per trip, which is higher than average.
• Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance – Coverage of up to $2,500 per person up to $10,000 per trip.
• Flight Delay Insurance – Coverage up to $500 for delays greater than 4 hours.
• Delayed and Lost Baggage Insurance – Coverage up to $1,000 for lost luggage or delayed greater than 4 hours.
• Travel Accident Insurance – Coverage for $500,000 (up to $1,000,000 for group).
• Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance – Coverage up to $1,000 on the amount that exceeds hotel coverage.
• Rental Car Collision Insurance
• Purchase Protection – 90 days insurance in case of theft or damage (up to $10,000).
• Extended Warranty – Doubles warranty up to 1 year.
• Price Protection – Find a lower price within 60 days of purchase and get up to $100 refunded to the card (up to $500/year).

Annual Fee: $150/year ($0 for a secondary card; $50 for every card after)

Brim Financial World Elite Mastercard

Brim Financial is a newcomer to the credit card space with a pretty strong offering.  The great thing about this credit card is that they offer three tiers with each tier offering lots of value.

The three cards include:

1. Brim (1% cash back, free Boingo WiFi, 0% fx) – Annual fee: $0
2. Brim World (1.5% cash back, free Boingo WiFi, 0% fx, lots of insurance) – Annual Fee: $99
3. Brim World Elite…

This article is going to focus on their Brim World Elite ($120) Mastercard which has a number of perks over and above the other offerings.  Pay particular attention to the insurance package.

The Rewards

• 2% cash back which can be claimed anytime (but only up to $25,000 in spending, 1% thereafter);
• 0% foreign transaction fee;
• Free Boingo Wifi; and,
• Lounge Key membership (still need to pay for passes).

Insurance

• Travel Medical Insurance – This policy covers 15 days per trip.
• Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance – Coverage of up to $3,000 per account for cancellation, $5,000 per account for trip interruption.
• Flight Delay Insurance – Coverage up to $500/day up to $1,000 for delays greater than 4 hours.
• Delayed and Lost Baggage Insurance – Coverage up to $500/day up to $1,000 for lost luggage or delayed greater than 4 hours.
• Travel Accident Insurance – Coverage for $500,000.
• Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance – Coverage up to $1,000 on the amount that exceeds hotel coverage.
• Rental Car Collision Insurance
• Rental Car Personal Effects Insurance – Up to  $1,000 (max $2,000 per account).
• Purchase Protection – 90 days insurance in case of theft or damage (up to $10,000).
• Extended Warranty – Doubles warranty up to 1 year.
• Mobile Device Insurance – Up to $1,000 for loss, theft or damage (unique!)
• Event Ticket Protector Insurance – Up to $1,ooo covered in case you can’t make the event due to medical reasons.

Annual Fee: $120/year ($25 for a secondary card)

Final Thoughts

Overall, I think the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite is the stronger offering of the two.  Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for lounge access – especially lounges that offer decent food.  Also, the sign-up bonus is equivalent to 19 free movie passes when converted to SCENE points, which is a benefit for us since we are movie theatre fans.

While the Brim World Elite Mastercard offering is interesting with a really strong insurance package, I like the free Brim card the best.  It offers the essentials of 0% foreign transactions fee, 1% cash back, but also added bonus of Boingo Wifi access.  I will be writing more about Brim in the near future.