Personal credit cards?

[ilke]

As a Europoor, I somehow neglected the possibilities and advantages of credit cards - however, upon re-domiciling myself quite a few years ago, and also using US LLCs for some purposes, I found them to be incredibly useful.

TBH, I don't know what the corporate card is called, it's something like "Visa Business Gold Credit", but it brings great rewards as well as a 3% cash-back on many purchases and still over 1.5% on the rest - really insane, with most EU EMIs you have to pay to spend smi(&%

Well, I have 1 crypto-linked personal credit card, but the rewards are approximately equal to the fees spent on the account and individual spending.

So, my question is, are there any foreigner-accepting card programs with some effective rewards (wherever in the world, I guess) and do you have any recommendations? I have no interest in the credit, but I might as well get something out of the interchange the banks keep 😀

 

[daniels27]

Sure. But your options depend on whether you have a ITIN, SSN or not:
https://frugalflyer.ca/blog/which-us-banks-allow-canadians-to-apply-for-credit-cards-using-an-itin/

Credit unions are to avoid as they normally don't give you anything, even with SSN.

Bank of America is a good starting point with their Travel Rewards card, no foreign transaction fee and 1.5% cash back (more if you are preferred client). There even is a secured version now. You still probably need to go there in person to open.

If you have better credit history, Citi Strata Premier could be another option.

I think for business, they mainly use Chase ink cards.

Last edited: Dec 28, 2024

 

[Forester]

ilke said:
TBH, I don't know what the corporate card is called, it's something like "Visa Business Gold Credit", but it brings great rewards as well as a 3% cash-back on many purchases and still over 1.5% on the rest
Click to expand...

Well, nothing exceptional with US Premium Credit Cards.

ilke said:
Well, I have 1 crypto-linked personal credit card, but the rewards are approximately equal to the fees spent on the account and individual spending.
Click to expand...

Crypto-linked cards represent another business, apparently.

ilke said:
So, my question is, are there any foreigner-accepting card programs with some effective rewards (wherever in the world, I guess)
Click to expand...

Yes, there are.
IMO, The Promised Land for Credit Cards = the U.S.A. And @daniels27 is right above.
Just adding, that
”“ if you have an account with some US bank in another country, it can help you to access the US CC (yet I expect you to be well aware of this);
”“ if you are able to pretend well that you are pretty rich and willing to spend remarkably with your card it will help you extremely;
”“ a basic AmEx is said to be more easy to get than it seems.

ilke said:
I have no interest in the credit
Click to expand...

Fair; but do not mention it to the banker 😉

daniels27 said:
https://frugalflyer.ca/blog/which-us-banks-allow-canadians-to-apply-for-credit-cards-using-an-itin/
Click to expand...

Really an interesting article; and continuously updated, as I can see. Thanks for sharing!
A side-note: Frugalflyer's Cloudflare seems to be over-protective. Be ready for some hacking to see the page 🙁. (If you fail, mention this here. The current version of the article is already on my disk 😉 )

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[linusAG]

Agreed with US will be the heaven of Credit Card, If you want to get a Credit Card in the US quickly, You can use Amex (The necessary condition is that you are already an Amex membership in another country, Europe has: UK, DE, NL)

https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/company/about-us/moving-abroad/

 

[JohnnyDoe]

Amex Membership Rewards used to be great, but today you can no longer buy a Lambo with points, only some airline and hotel points, which some find attractive. So I kept accumulating millions of points for years in vain cry&¤

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[Nigital Domad]

Anyone know of any good credit card options outside the US? Even secured ones?

 

[linusAG]

Nigital Domad said:
Anyone know of any good credit card options outside the US? Even secured ones?
Click to expand...

It depends on where you live and your nationality.

For example, As spooky as this sounds, I have to say that some of the credit card benefits in mainland China are okay, but as a foreigner, you're not likely to get them. 😛 😛 😛 😛

 

[Nigital Domad]

linusAG said:
It depends on where you live and your nationality.

For example, As spooky as this sounds, I have to say that some of the credit card benefits in mainland China are okay, but as a foreigner, you're not likely to get them. 😛 😛 😛 😛
Click to expand...

How about for citizens/nationals of Fiji (but who do business / have bank accounts in EU)? For China, can you only apply for a card if Chinese? Or will they take any applicant (if so, which cards are good to apply for? Perks/benefits are less important just being able to have/use a personal credit card around the world (not in US).

 

[daniels27]

There is not much outside the US that I would recommend. China does indeed have some cards, but almost all of the Visa and MasterCard ones typically have foreign transaction fees. You can get them but would need some visa (not Visa) or relationship with the bank. But they are not really worth it if you ask me.

 

[daniels27]

EU does have cards but most likely no cash back worth mentioning as the merchant fees are capped. And then many have foreign transaction fees of 3%. Same for Switzerland.

 

[daniels27]

Hong Kong has some worth the trouble only for local shopping (discounts like 5% in some supermarkets). Almost all Visa and MasterCard have foreign transaction fee. The Standard Chartered Smart one being an exception at 0.56% cash back.

Only available with a valid visa with decent number of months left.

Japan hard to get anything even years after being resident.

Last edited by a moderator: Dec 27, 2024

 

[linusAG]

Nigital Domad said:
How about for citizens/nationals of Fiji (but who do business / have bank accounts in EU)? For China, can you only apply for a card if Chinese? Or will they take any applicant (if so, which cards are good to apply for? Perks/benefits are less important just being able to have/use a personal credit card around the world (not in US).
Click to expand...

I have no idea about Fiji

And foreigners living in China with work contracts can apply credit card, Apologies for the inappropriate example, it's a bit off-topic.

perhaps you can try AMEX Australia or New Zealand? Although they are not good choice with high FTF/foreign transaction fees

 

[linusAG]

daniels27 said:
Hong Kong has some worth the trouble only for ocal shopping (discounts like 5% in some supermarkets). Almost all Visa and MasterCard have foreign transaction fee. The Standard Chartered Smart one being an exception at 0.56% cash back.

Only available with a valid visa with decent number of months left.
Click to expand...

According to what I remember, All the credit cards in HK have FTF, and there's no good benefit overseas (out of HK)

 

[daniels27]

UK and Canada do have some good cards. Hard to get a decent credit score. Much harder without SIN in Canada, which is only available to citizens and for residents while the permit lasts.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

Wait:

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And:

For 1,000,000 points, you could book more than 25 nights at extravagant five-star Marriott hotels in destinations including Dubai, London and Los Angeles when you transfer them to Marriott Bonvoyâ„¢ Points

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[daniels27]

linusAG said:
According to what I remember, All the credit cards in HK have FTF, and there's no good benefit overseas (out of HK)
Click to expand...

This one is the exception
https://www.sc.com/hk/credit-cards/smart/

Or the HSBC debit card with cash back
https://www.hsbc.com.hk/debit-cards/products/mastercard-debit-card/

UnionPay is generally without foreign transaction fees.

None of them can keep up with what you get in the US.

 

[linusAG]

daniels27 said:
Japan hard to get anything even years after being resident.
Click to expand...

https://www.americanexpress.com/ja-jp/

As an amex shareholder, I have to recommend amex japan again, but you need to be a Japanese resident + have a Japanese checking/current account.

But I think it still has FTF dead:-!

 

[Forester]

daniels27 said:
UK and Canada do have some good cards. Hard to get a decent credit score. Much harder without SIN in Canada, which is only available to citizens and for residents while the permit lasts.
Click to expand...

All true. Yet I think that no non-US card can beat its US counterparts (admitting that an exception may exist).

(@Nigital Domad, a US card can be used worldwide, of course.)

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I am just a simple countryman. Anything I say is only a personal opinion, not a certified advice 🙂

If you think it makes sense, you can like it; if opposite, please, tell me, why I am wrong...

 

[daniels27]

Forester said:
All true. Yet I think that no non-US card can beat its US counterparts (admitting that an exception may exist).
Click to expand...

It you find anything, please let me know.

No need to look at the EU or Switzerland as the fees are too low to offer more than 0.5% for Visa and MasterCard.

And I am pretty sure that @Forester would not even consider the 200 CHF you can get here
https://www.preispirat.ch/cashback-cards-apple-pay-2023/

 

[daniels27]

If you live in Kazakhstan
https://halykbank.kz/index.php/en/card/diamond

4% cash back but only on Kazakhstan on Halyk terminals (most terminals are Halyk as it is the biggest bank).