Plan to use a credit card overseas, You’ll save money—and headaches—by packing the right plastic. The best credit card for international travel is a chip-enabled Visa or Mastercard that does not charge foreign currency transaction fees. 4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.

If you have excellent credit, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® card is the must-have card for any serious traveler and also an excellent choice for anyone heading abroad. 95—still well worth it if you’ll do a bit of spending on the card. It has no foreign transaction fees, plus chip-enabled for enhanced security and wider acceptance when used at a chip card reader.

Best yet, Sapphire’s points-based travel rewards program quickly earns you free travel. You’ll earn 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. When redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, these points can be traded via 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs. Or, you can get 25 percent more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards.

This card also has an award-winning 24/7 dedicated customer service line that can come in handy while you’re traveling. 4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. 625 in travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards. Read our Chase Sapphire Preferred® review. The Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card has no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee. 1 spent on all purchases and your points don’t expire. 1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days.

200 as a statement credit toward travel. 200 sign-up bonus is one of the highest I’ve seen from a card with no annual fee. The Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card is a good option for any traveller, but it’s especially rewarding if you use other Bank of America® products. You can get an additional 10 percent customer points bonus on every purchase when you have an active Bank of America® checking or savings account.

Preferred Rewards clients can earn even more. For years, the Capital One® Venture® and VentureOne® credit cards have been our go-to recommendation for young travelers looking for a credit card to take abroad that offers no foreign transaction fees and a straightforward rewards program. Capital One was among the first card issuers to eliminate foreign currency transaction fees on certain cards. The Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card pays 2x miles on all purchases that can be redeemed for any travel at any time. Miles don’t expire and there’s no limit to how much you can earn.

95 annual fee that’s waived the first year. There’s also a no annual fee version, the Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card that pays 1.25 miles on every purchase. You can read our full review and comparison of the Venture and VentureOne Rewards cards, but most people will get far more miles by paying the fee and earning double miles.

If you want a no-annual fee card for international travel or simply earning miles, the aforementioned Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card has a better rewards rate than VentureOne. Which credit cards are accepted worldwide, Most importantly, you want any credit card for international travel to be accepted everywhere you go.

That means a Visa or Mastercard. Although American Express cards are accepted in a lot of places, you will find a lot of merchants that do not accept Amex outside of the United States. You’ll be able to use your American Express cards almost anywhere in the world at large hotel chains and other international travel providers, but don’t expect to use an Amex at a local restaurant or store. And though Discover cards offer great benefits and some of the lowest foreign currency exchange rates, Discover cards are not widely accepted outside the United States, period.

Do you need to use a chip-enabled credit card to travel overseas, Yes. Although here in the U.S. ’re still getting used to credit cards with “chips” (also known as EMV technology), these chip-enabled cards have been standard in Europe and other parts of the world for years. In the unlikely situation that you still have a credit card without a chip, consider picking up another card to carry overseas—or call your credit card issuer and ask if they’ll send you a new version of your card.