American Express will always be the most reputable credit card option for millions of customers. It offers a wide range of credit cards that cater to a plethora of needs and interests of its customers. While American Express has a wide range of options, it is also notorious for its foreign transaction fees.
Foreign transaction fees can be quite expensive if you’re frequently traveling and using the card abroad. Individuals who often travel find themselves in a difficult situation especially when their bill arrives.
While it is best that you recognize this downside, American Express is still very popular and useful. Plus, you can avoid these extra charges when you make international transactions. Learn more about this and more below.
- When Are Foreign Transactions Fees Charged?
- Here’s How You Can Minimize Your Foreign Transaction Fees
- Avoid Using Traveler’s Checks When You Travel Abroad
- Check All of Your Transactions Using the Mobile App
- What to Do If You Lose Your Card Abroad
When Are Foreign Transactions Fees Charged?
Let’s get into the nitty-gritty immediately. Foreign transaction fees are already quite high and you want to do everything in your power to try to avoid them.
Foreign transaction fees are extra service charges made when you use your card outside of your home country. As a responsible cardholder, you should always know how much the foreign transaction fee is before you use it abroad.
This fee can be charged to your account when you use your card to pay for your food or any other transaction when you’re traveling. These charges can range from 0.5% up to 5%, depending on the card the you are using.
You may think that this is not much but considering the number of times you have used your credit card, this can come out as a surprise when you read your bill.
What Are the Other Fees and Exchange Rates That You Should Be Aware Of?
American Express charges a whopping 2.99% of the transaction amount whenever you make a foreign purchase. This alone should give you the alert to try and avoid using your credit card when you’re abroad.
When you use your Amex Card to withdraw cash outside of the country, you are also charged 3% of the withdrawn amount or £3, whichever amount is greater along with the transaction fee. While American Express does use the standardized exchange rate and conversion system, all the transactions that you make will be charged a transaction fee.
These fees can pile up without you noticing. So save yourself and learn how you can avoid foreign transaction fees by checking out more tips below.
Here’s How You Can Minimize Your Foreign Transaction Fees
Now that you know foreign transaction fees can be very high if you use your card abroad, here are some tips on how you can minimize them for you to save money.
Traveling abroad means you will have to use your card either to purchase food or pay for your other bills. Most local vendors will ask you to use your purchase for the transaction using their local currency.
This process is called dynamic currency conversion which is quite common when you go abroad. The downside to this is that it takes a lot of time and will also charge you an additional foreign transaction fee.
If you can, try to tell the local vendor to use your currency instead or avoid such a proposal altogether. This should save you a lot of time and money in the long run.
Try Not to Buy Travel Money, Especially at the Airport
When you travel abroad, it is always best to have some pocket money with you. This can save you a lot of hassle especially when you finally land and you want to immerse yourself in the local scene immediately.
One good tip to avoid foreign transaction fees is to avoid buying or converting your travel money at the airport. Most airports have a higher exchange rate which can be quite expensive. It is one of those unnecessary expenses that you can avoid if you know where and how to do it properly.
Make sure that you go to your local bank and exchange your currency days before you want to travel. Most banks have a lower exchange rate that can help you save money.
Avoid Using Traveler’s Checks When You Travel Abroad
Many travelers often try to avoid having cash in their pockets when they go abroad. There are a lot of advantages to having cashless transactions which are why many of them try to use traveler’s checks.
But, having traveler’s checks can have more downsides than benefits. The main drawback to this is that you will need to have the checks signed individually which can be a time-consuming experience.
You want to travel and avoid wasting so much precious time. A good option is to have an American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card that offers a very low mark-up exchange rate.
This helps you save a lot of money in the long run, plus you get to receive airline miles and a lot of reward points when you use the card for your transactions when you travel. You even get exclusive access to world-class services and airport lounges as well.
Take Advantage of Credit Card Rewards and Use Them Instead
Speaking of rewards, there are a lot more rewards that you can take advantage of when you use the American Express Platinum Card on your travels. There may still be foreign transaction fees that you need to be aware of but you can always tip the balance in your favor now that you can earn a lot of reward points from using your card.
Use this card when you book your hotel and flights, and even pay for your food abroad. This credit card is accepted in major outlets all over the world so you don’t have to worry about paying your bill.
Additionally, the American Express Platinum card triples the number of reward points you get for every foreign transaction that you make. This lets you enjoy more rewards than ever before.
Check All of Your Transactions Using the Mobile App
Another good way to prevent excessive foreign transaction fees is to manage your purchases and other transactions.
When you know you’ve already spent a lot with your credit card, you also know that you need to control it before it goes out of hand. This is where the Amex mobile app comes in.
It allows you to check all of your transactions alongside the different fees that you have incurred. This will help you decide whether you can still afford to use your card for purchases or find other methods to help save money.
The app also has AMEX offers that you can avail of at any time so go ahead and take advantage of these promotions.
Advantages of Using the App
There are a lot of advantages when you use the app aside from tracking down all of your transactions and receiving promotions.
You can use the app to make payments so that you won’t be late, especially when you’re traveling. All you need to do is to set up an automatic credit card payments schedule before you go and it will make the payments for you.
You don’t have to worry about making your payments on time ever again even if you’re not traveling.
What to Do If You Lose Your Card Abroad
Losing your card is one of the most horrendous experiences you can experience, especially when you are traveling abroad. It is a total nightmare for anyone who has to go through all of the procedures just to cancel the card.
Fortunately, American Express makes it a lot easier for you to protect yourself in case you lose your card abroad. So what do you do in case you lose your card in a foreign land?
The best way to do this is to call customer service immediately and have the card blocked. Their robust security system also monitors any suspicious transactions on your account and if there are any fraudulent activities, they will make sure that they will contact you about it.
It is these little efforts from American Express that gives you a sigh of relief knowing you are well taken care of.
Here’s How You Can Contact Them
To report your missing card, you will need to contact their customer support with their toll-free number—1-800-528-4800. They are open 24/7 so you should be able to report your lost card at any point in the day.
Make sure that you provide all the necessary details so that the process goes smoothly. They also have a mailing address at American Express, P.O. Box 981535, El Paso, TX 79998-1535.
Once you arrive in the US, you can also go to the nearest branch or the bank where you signed up for the card to report it or ask for updates on what has happened. You can also check to see if you can have the card replaced as soon as possible.
Conclusion
Foreign transaction charges cannot be avoided and are simply part of the services you get when you travel abroad and use your credit card.
While they are unavoidable, there are still many effective ways to reduce or eliminate these charges from your transactions by keeping the financial pointers mentioned above in mind. Make sure to follow them whenever you go out of the country.
Disclaimer: There are risks involved when applying for and using credit products. Ensure you consult the bank’s terms and conditions page before agreeing to anything.
