A foreign transaction fee is a percentage an issuer can add when you buy something outside the US, in a foreign currency, or from a merchant based abroad. Some cards charge it and some do not, and the difference shows up on every purchase during a trip to Taiwan or anywhere else. This guide covers where to confirm the fee, the payment-terminal prompt that can cost money even on a no-fee card, and the cards in our catalog whose issuer page showed no foreign transaction fee when we checked between September 21 and October 16, 2026. Issuers can change fees, so confirm on the card's own page before you rely on it.
The CFPB's commentary on Regulation Z treats the fee as a finance charge and lists three cases: a purchase in a foreign currency that gets converted to dollars, a purchase in US dollars made outside the US, and a purchase from a foreign merchant whether it is billed in a foreign currency or in dollars. The third case catches online orders from overseas shops that show prices in dollars. On a card that charges the fee, paying in dollars does not by itself avoid it.
Open the pricing table on the card's application page, often labeled "Pricing & Terms" or "Rates and Fees". Look under Transaction Fees for a row called Foreign Transaction. Regulation Z lets an issuer either delete that row when it charges no fee or show it with "None". If the row shows a percentage, that rate applies to each qualifying purchase. For a card you already hold, the same table is in your cardholder agreement in the issuer's app or website.
Dynamic currency conversion (DCC) is when a shop terminal or ATM abroad offers to charge you in US dollars instead of the local currency. Mastercard's DCC guide explains the split: choose the local currency and your card issuer's exchange rate applies; choose your billing currency and the merchant's payment processor sets the rate. Visa says a DCC offer includes an exchange rate and additional fees, that the screen must show both amounts, the rate and any markup, and that the merchant must not choose for you. When a terminal in Taipei asks "TWD or USD", choose TWD. If the receipt was already run in dollars without asking you, Visa's advice is to decline the conversion and report it to your card issuer.
Chase (checked October 15 to 16, 2026): Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, Ink Business Preferred, United Gateway, United Explorer, United Quest, Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus, Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority, Marriott Bonvoy Boundless, IHG One Rewards Premier, Air Canada Aeroplan Card. Capital One (October 15 to 16, 2026): Venture X, Venture, VentureOne, Savor, Platinum, Quicksilver Secured. Barclays (October 16, 2026): JetBlue Plus, Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus. Bilt (September 21, 2026): Bilt Blue. Several other cards in the catalog are also listed without the fee, but their records were last checked in July 2026 or against a third-party page, so we left them off this list. Fees can change after our check date.
Chase Freedom Unlimited, Ink Business Unlimited and Ink Business Cash were recorded as charging a foreign transaction fee when we checked them on October 16, 2026. The Amex Blue Cash Preferred page showed a 2.7% foreign transaction fee on the same date. These are fine cards for spending at home. For a trip, carry a no-fee card as the main card and keep a second no-fee card on a different network, since some merchants abroad take Visa or Mastercard but not American Express.
CFPB, Regulation Z official interpretation of 1026.4 (finance charge, foreign transaction fees): https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1026/Interp-4/; CFPB, Regulation Z official interpretation of 1026.60 (Foreign transaction disclosure): https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1026/Interp-60/; Visa, Decoding Dynamic Currency Conversion: https://www.visa.com/en-us/personal/travel/dynamic-currency-conversion; Mastercard, Dynamic Currency Conversion guide (2025 merchant version): https://www.mastercard.com/content/dam/mccom/shared/business/support/rules-pdfs/DCC-Guide-2025-Merchant-Version.pdf; Chase Sapphire Preferred: https://creditcards.chase.com/rewards-credit-cards/sapphire/preferred; Chase Sapphire Reserve: https://creditcards.chase.com/rewards-credit-cards/sapphire/reserve; Capital One Venture X: https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/venture-x/; Capital One Savor: https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/savor/; Capital One VentureOne: https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/ventureone/; Barclays JetBlue Plus: https://cards.barclaycardus.com/banking/cards/jetblue-plus-card/; Bilt Blue: https://www.bilt.com/card/blue; Amex Blue Cash Preferred: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card/blue-cash-preferred/. Card pages checked September 21 to October 16, 2026.
No. Under the CFPB's commentary, the fee can apply to dollar purchases made outside the US or with a foreign merchant. Only a card that charges no foreign transaction fee avoids it.
Pick the local currency. Choosing dollars lets the merchant's processor set the exchange rate, and Visa notes the offer includes additional fees.
In the pricing table of the card agreement, under Transaction Fees, in the Foreign Transaction row. A missing row or "None" means no fee.
They can. The CFPB lists purchases from a foreign merchant as covered even when they are billed in US dollars.
⚠️ About this data: Where we have checked a card's annual fee, APR and foreign-transaction fee, the page shows the date and the source. Welcome offers, rewards and benefits change often, so the issuer's own site is the final word. Approval is decided by the issuer. Nothing here is financial advice.