Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
That is why I recommend the Capital One Venture Card. You get some rewards with it (one point for
every dollar spent), but the rewards structure is really, really awful. I use this card for one reason: There are
no foreign transaction fees when you use it overseas. I get a good conversion rate (see Chapter 3 for the dis-
cussion on banking) and I don't pay any fees. Between this card and my Charles Schwab ATM card, I never
pay any bank fees when traveling outside the United States. Note: Some Chase, Discover, and American
Express cards also have no foreign transaction fees.
If you are willing to do a little work, you can use credit cards to gain tons of free miles and reward points
before you go on your trip, to keep you in free flights and hotels for a long, long time. It's never too early
to sign up for these cards, and I would begin signing up for as many as you feel comfortable signing up for
today. After I got my free rewards, I simply stopped using the cards. There was no reason to. They served
their purpose. I use the cards before I leave for my trip to gain points, and I use my Capital One card over-
seas to avoid transaction fees. I win twice and so can you.
Travel credit cards and the lucrative bonuses and awards they can get you are predominantly an Americ-
an thing. But that doesn't make it impossible for non-Americans to use these points and loyalty systems to
their advantage.
In Canada, you can find large bonuses on some cards. A link on the Points Guy site (thepointsguy.com/
top-deals-3) shows the latest and greatest card deals near the bottom of the page. Additionally, the following
blogs can teach you how you can best use travel credits to your advantage:
Canadian Kilometers:
boardingarea.com/canadiankilometers
Rewards Canada:
rewardscanada.ca
Canadian Travel Hacking:
canadiantravelhacking.com
The best site in the UK is Head for Points (headforpoints.com), which keeps its thumb on the pulse of
getting rewards and free flights. Australia has some deals once in a while and the website listed on page 40
can help you find them, but they are few and far between.
For everyone else in the world, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the large credit card bonuses
just don't happen in your countries, and there's nothing that can be done about that. You just have to accept
this fate.
