Fallback travel credit card

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tomsense76
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Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

Am looking for a fallback travel credit card. Curious to hear other people's recommendations/thoughts :happy

Currently have BoA's Premium Rewards card, which would be primary. Also in Platinum Honors so am getting 3.5% cash back on travel & restaurants with 2.62% on everything else.

Really want a basic card that can earn its place in my wallet even when not traveling. Preferably cash back (no points). Something around 2-3% (open to higher if other criteria are met). Categories are fine if they have a travel bent/still usable at home (like restaurants, entertainment, etc.). No FTF. Preferably no (or at least low) AF. Also as a measure of redundancy would be good if it used a different payment network (already have Visa covered so Mastercard or maybe Discover) that ideally gets taken lots of places. Something from a different financial institution would be good as well.

Thanks in advance! :sharebeer
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JoMoney
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by JoMoney »

Is there an airline or hotel you tend to stick to? Sometimes their are cards co-branded with an airline or hotel frequent flyer program that have additional perks for staying with that brand.

Outside of that, the Citi Premier Card (Master Card) might check some of the boxes you're looking for
https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/citi- ... er&afc=1C1
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UpperNwGuy
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by UpperNwGuy »

If you're eligible for Navy Federal Credit Union membership, then their Flagship card is the one you want. 3% cash back on travel (broadly defined) and 2% cash back on all other spending. Annual fee is $49.
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tomsense76
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

JoMoney wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 6:44 pm Is there an airline or hotel you tend to stick to? Sometimes their are cards co-branded with an airline or hotel frequent flyer program that have additional perks for staying with that brand.

Outside of that, the Citi Premier Card (Master Card) might check some of the boxes you're looking for
https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/citi- ... er&afc=1C1
Good question. Not really. Personally am ok with decent cash back. Would rather skip all the hopping through hoops of point programs.

Will take a look. Thanks! :beer
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tomsense76
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

UpperNwGuy wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 6:48 pm If you're eligible for Navy Federal Credit Union membership, then their Flagship card is the one you want. 3% cash back on travel (broadly defined) and 2% cash back on all other spending. Annual fee is $49.
Probably not. Have had a few family members who have served (mainly WWII), but none still around. That does sound like a good card though. Thanks for the suggestion :happy
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anon_investor
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by anon_investor »

tomsense76 wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 6:28 pm Am looking for a fallback travel credit card. Curious to hear other people's recommendations/thoughts :happy

Currently have BoA's Premium Rewards card, which would be primary. Also in Platinum Honors so am getting 3.5% cash back on travel & restaurants with 2.62% on everything else.

Really want a basic card that can earn its place in my wallet even when not traveling. Preferably cash back (no points). Something around 2-3% (open to higher if other criteria are met). Categories are fine if they have a travel bent/still usable at home (like restaurants, entertainment, etc.). No FTF. Preferably no (or at least low) AF. Also as a measure of redundancy would be good if it used a different payment network (already have Visa covered so Mastercard or maybe Discover) that ideally gets taken lots of places. Something from a different financial institution would be good as well.

Thanks in advance! :sharebeer
If you have Platinum Honors, why are you not getting the BoA Customized Cash Rewards card. With your status you can get 3.5% at whole sale clubs and grocery stores, and 5.25% for your selected category (you can change once a month): travel, dinning, online shopping, home improvement/furnishings, or gas.
sport
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by sport »

If you are a Costco member, the Costco credit card has 3% cash back on travel and restaurants. It also has 4% rebate on gasoline, 2% at Costco and 1% everywhere else. There is no annual fee and no FTF. It is a Visa card.
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tomsense76
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

anon_investor wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 6:57 pm If you have Platinum Honors, why are you not getting the BoA Customized Cash Rewards card. With your status you can get 3.5% at whole sale clubs and grocery stores, and 5.25% for your selected category (you can change once a month): travel, dinning, online shopping, home improvement/furnishings, or gas.
Oh I do and it is great! Have one and use it for grocery shopping and online shopping. They also count delivery services as online, which is nice.

Debated doubling down and getting a 2nd one, but Premium Rewards is pretty good already. Plus the latter cover restaurants and travel with 3.5%. It would take 2 cash rewards cards to cover both (and would mean giving up online shopping which might not be worth it).

Plus Cash Rewards has a FTF of 3%, which limits its utility when traveling abroad.
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whodidntante
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by whodidntante »

There are fewer Mastercard offerings. The best cards tend to be Visa or AmEx.

You would do well to add BoA Cash Rewards variants (some are Mastercard like the MLB cards) and choose the 3% categories (5.25% with PH) wisely. No AF, but they do have an FTF.

If you just want Discover, you could get a Discover IT Miles card for 3% flat cashback for the first year, 1.5% after. The "miles" convert to cash 1:1. I have over 30 open credit cards and none are Discover if that tells you anything.

Citi Premier pays in points. But you can convert those to cash. They had a great sign-up bonus of 80k recently. Maybe they still do. It does have an AF.

I think the BMO Mastercards are pretty decent. Those points convert to cash 1:1. There are variants with and without an AF. See if those meet your desires.
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JoMoney
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by JoMoney »

tomsense76 wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 6:49 pm
JoMoney wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 6:44 pm Is there an airline or hotel you tend to stick to? Sometimes their are cards co-branded with an airline or hotel frequent flyer program that have additional perks for staying with that brand.

Outside of that, the Citi Premier Card (Master Card) might check some of the boxes you're looking for
https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/citi- ... er&afc=1C1
Good question. Not really. Personally am ok with decent cash back. Would rather skip all the hopping through hoops of point programs.

Will take a look. Thanks! :beer
FWIW, not sure if it fits what you're looking for, but my most recent card was the Citi "Custom Cash" card. It's a Master Card, no annual fee, it offers 5% on up to $500 in whatever your top category of spending is each billing cycle (certain categories like dining, grocery, gas, and a few others).
I plan to use it as a single purpose dining card.
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Jags4186
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by Jags4186 »

Citi Premier Mastercard is a great card. 3x gas, groceries, dining, airlines, hotels. No FTF. $95 annual fee but there is a $100 benefit if you book a $500 hotel stay through their portal. If you add a Citi Rewards+, your earnings go to 3.33x. Comes with an 80,000 pt ($800) bonus.
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JoMoney
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by JoMoney »

Jags4186 wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 7:10 pm Citi Premier Mastercard is a great card. 3x gas, groceries, dining, airlines, hotels. No FTF. $95 annual fee but there is a $100 benefit if you book a $500 hotel stay through their portal. If you add a Citi Rewards+, your earnings go to 3.33x. Comes with an 80,000 pt ($800) bonus.
Hmmm.. how does that 3.33x work? Can you redeem points earned from a different card through the Rewards+ card?
I'm wondering if I can stack that on to the points earned through my "Custom Cash" card :greedy :confused
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by Sage16 »

sport wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 7:04 pm If you are a Costco member, the Costco credit card has 3% cash back on travel and restaurants. It also has 4% rebate on gasoline, 2% at Costco and 1% everywhere else. There is no annual fee and no FTF. It is a Visa card.
+1 for the Costco Card. It's my travel backup card to my Chase Sapphire Reserve. If I ever find that I am not getting enough value for the annual cost of the CSR card, the Costco card will become my prime travel credit card.
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Marseille07
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by Marseille07 »

I know Travel Rewards doesn't meet your criteria, but I like it. It's basically a 2.62% everything card for PH; you can only apply points toward certain items, but one of them being dining and that's all we need.
dukeblue219
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by dukeblue219 »

I pair the BoA card (my primary and only card with an AF) with the Amazon Visa card for 5% back at Amazon/Whole Foods plus other occasional deals at both.

Its not a travel card, I know, but it's a good fit for our spending and it has no FTF as you requested. It's from Chase which is usually a good thing as well.
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by Jags4186 »

JoMoney wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 7:16 pm
Jags4186 wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 7:10 pm Citi Premier Mastercard is a great card. 3x gas, groceries, dining, airlines, hotels. No FTF. $95 annual fee but there is a $100 benefit if you book a $500 hotel stay through their portal. If you add a Citi Rewards+, your earnings go to 3.33x. Comes with an 80,000 pt ($800) bonus.
Hmmm.. how does that 3.33x work? Can you redeem points earned from a different card through the Rewards+ card?
I'm wondering if I can stack that on to the points earned through my "Custom Cash" card :greedy :confused
Rewards+ gives you 10% back on your Thank You Points points redeemed (up to 100k points redeemed a year). So if you redeem 30k points, you’ll get 3k back. Then if you redeem 3k points you’ll get 300 back, etc. etc. up to a total of 10k back.

Yes, you can get 5.55x with the Custom Cash that way as well. It’s still best sign up for the Premier for the 80k bonus and then after a year downgrade to whatever card you ultimately want if you don’t want to continue paying the $95 fee.
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tev9876 »

Take a look at PenFed credit union cards. I have a 5% gas cashback card that is no longer offered, but a major advantage of their cards is that they do not charge a cash advance fee. Also no annual or foreign transaction fees and the rewards post automatically every month so nothing to do in terms of tracking. This can make it cheaper to get a cash from a foreign ATM with a credit card than many bank ATM cards that charge fees for using other banks ATMs. They do start charging interest from the day of the transaction, but my APR is only 9.99% making a $100 withdrawal cost about 2.7 cents per day. Think it cost me something like $9 when I had to use my BoA debit/ATM card for cash overseas once.

I leave it in my car unless traveling as it is only used for gas purchases, but is a good backup since my car is usually with me if I were to lose/forget my wallet.
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by UpperNwGuy »

tev9876 wrote: Sun Oct 31, 2021 5:15 pm Take a look at PenFed credit union cards. I have a 5% gas cashback card that is no longer offered, but a major advantage of their cards is that they do not charge a cash advance fee. Also no annual or foreign transaction fees and the rewards post automatically every month so nothing to do in terms of tracking. This can make it cheaper to get a cash from a foreign ATM with a credit card than many bank ATM cards that charge fees for using other banks ATMs. They do start charging interest from the day of the transaction, but my APR is only 9.99% making a $100 withdrawal cost about 2.7 cents per day. Think it cost me something like $9 when I had to use my BoA debit/ATM card for cash overseas once.

I leave it in my car unless traveling as it is only used for gas purchases, but is a good backup since my car is usually with me if I were to lose/forget my wallet.
The above card is not available to new applicants, but PenFed does have a travel card called the Pathfinder. In my opinion it isn't as good as the Navy Federal Credit Union's Flagship, but it might serve your purposes.

I don't use credit cards to withdraw cash at ATMs, either here or abroad. If you join PenFed, their debit card is, in my opinion, a pretty good way to withdraw cash.
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by xb7 »

UpperNwGuy wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 6:48 pm If you're eligible for Navy Federal Credit Union membership, then their Flagship card is the one you want. 3% cash back on travel (broadly defined) and 2% cash back on all other spending. Annual fee is $49.
I appreciate the pointer on this. I served in the Army, so hadn't considered these guys due to the name. Well, and also given how uninspiring USAA has been in the banking arena. But NFCU looks like a good option. If at some point it becomes clear that there's significantly less travel in my future, I might go this route; for now I'll stick with a couple of Chase cards (Sapphire Reserve and Freedom Unlimited) and hope that the pandemic resolves in such a way that my wife and I can still do a lot more traveling before we're too old!

Anyway, thanks.
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by investor997 »

Why not keep using the BofA PR card? The AF is pretty low on it and it's easy enough to recover (just buy a $100 American Airlines GC with it). Otherwise they have the new Unlimited Cash Rewards card which is pretty similar to the PR card (-AF, +FTF, 2.62% cash back on everything w/ Platinum Status).
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by anon_investor »

investor997 wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 2:34 pm Why not keep using the BofA PR card? The AF is pretty low on it and it's easy enough to recover (just buy a $100 American Airlines GC with it). Otherwise they have the new Unlimited Cash Rewards card which is pretty similar to the PR card (-AF, +FTF, 2.62% cash back on everything w/ Platinum Status).
Are there any other airlines where a GC can be purchased to make use of the $100 airline incidentals from the BofA PR card? I got that card this year, but it looks like I won't be able to make sure of that $100 airline incidentals benefit this year.
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by investor997 »

anon_investor wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 2:39 pm
Are there any other airlines where a GC can be purchased to make use of the $100 airline incidentals from the BofA PR card? I got that card this year, but it looks like I won't be able to make sure of that $100 airline incidentals benefit this year.
Check this link for more details on what works and what doesn't:
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/triggers ... el-credit/
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anon_investor
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by anon_investor »

investor997 wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:05 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 2:39 pm
Are there any other airlines where a GC can be purchased to make use of the $100 airline incidentals from the BofA PR card? I got that card this year, but it looks like I won't be able to make sure of that $100 airline incidentals benefit this year.
Check this link for more details on what works and what doesn't:
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/triggers ... el-credit/
Thanks, that was just what I was looking for. It looks like AA GCs are the only ones that work. Looks like AA GCs don't expire and there are no maintenance fees.
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tomsense76
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

investor997 wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 2:34 pm Why not keep using the BofA PR card? The AF is pretty low on it and it's easy enough to recover (just buy a $100 American Airlines GC with it). Otherwise they have the new Unlimited Cash Rewards card which is pretty similar to the PR card (-AF, +FTF, 2.62% cash back on everything w/ Platinum Status).
Oh I plan to. Am just looking for a backup.

For example if Visa isn't accepted having a CC using Mastercard would be helpful. Or if BOA locks my card for some reason, would like to have a card with a different institution as a fallback. Or (and hopefully this doesn't happen) the card is lost, stolen, or compromised, having another card would helpful.
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investor997
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by investor997 »

tomsense76 wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:25 pm
Oh I plan to. Am just looking for a backup.

For example if Visa isn't accepted having a CC using Mastercard would be helpful. Or if BOA locks my card for some reason, would like to have a card with a different institution as a fallback. Or (and hopefully this doesn't happen) the card is lost, stolen, or compromised, having another card would helpful.
In that case I'd probably look at a Citi DoubleCash (2% back on everything). It's a Mastercard.
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by anon_investor »

tomsense76 wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:25 pm
investor997 wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 2:34 pm Why not keep using the BofA PR card? The AF is pretty low on it and it's easy enough to recover (just buy a $100 American Airlines GC with it). Otherwise they have the new Unlimited Cash Rewards card which is pretty similar to the PR card (-AF, +FTF, 2.62% cash back on everything w/ Platinum Status).
Oh I plan to. Am just looking for a backup.

For example if Visa isn't accepted having a CC using Mastercard would be helpful. Or if BOA locks my card for some reason, would like to have a card with a different institution as a fallback. Or (and hopefully this doesn't happen) the card is lost, stolen, or compromised, having another card would helpful.
Check out Capital One, I think their no annual fee consumer credit cards are all Master Card and no foreign transaction fee.
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Watty
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by Watty »

tomsense76 wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 6:28 pm Am looking for a fallback travel credit card. Curious to hear other people's recommendations/thoughts
Just a reminder if you have a spouse who you are traveling with it is good for you to each have at least one credit card that the other does not have so that you will have a credit card that works if a wallet or purse is lost and you have to cancel those credit cards.

Someone already mentioned the PenFed cards that do not have a cash advance fee or a foreign transaction fee. I don't know what their current offerings are but that is what I use to get cash from an ATM when I am traveling overseas. The local brick and mortar bank that I use in the US has foreign transaction fees but I don't travel internationally enough to make finding a bank with no foreign transaction fees worthwhile. I do take that ATM card with me as a backup in case there is a problem with getting cash with my PenFed credit card, but I have never had to use it.
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by madbrain »

Sage16 wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 7:18 pm +1 for the Costco Card. It's my travel backup card to my Chase Sapphire Reserve. If I ever find that I am not getting enough value for the annual cost of the CSR card, the Costco card will become my prime travel credit card.
The Citi Costco card dropped travel insurance a few years ago. For example, trip cancellation. I won't use it for travel at all for that reason.

For travel, I use the Sapphire Preferred as my primary card ($95 FTF).
The other 2 travel cards we warry are Amex Hilton Surpass ($95 FTF x 2). These provide Priority Pass and Hilton Gold status.
We both just renewed our Global entry and don't have any cards that provide credits for it now. I suspect we'll get a card or two that do in the next 5 years.

The only thing I use the Costco card nowadays for is items that have a high likelihood of failing, such as the $4000 hot tub I bought in April 2017. It extended the warranty from 2 years to 4 years. There were $1500 of claims paid between the 2 years and 4 year period. Extended warranty for hot tub was not offered. Only buying more expensive models ($8000 and up) would have provided a longer warranty.

The Citi Costco card stays in my drawer. I use the Costco app for my membership card. I do have the Citi Costco card in my Samsung pay in case I want to use it. It is pretty rare.
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tomsense76
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

anon_investor wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 6:34 pm Check out Capital One, I think their no annual fee consumer credit cards are all Master Card and no foreign transaction fee.
Thanks for the suggestion. Was looking at these. Are there any you would recommend? Was looking at SavorOne possibly.
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tomsense76
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

Sage16 wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 7:18 pm
sport wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 7:04 pm If you are a Costco member, the Costco credit card has 3% cash back on travel and restaurants. It also has 4% rebate on gasoline, 2% at Costco and 1% everywhere else. There is no annual fee and no FTF. It is a Visa card.
+1 for the Costco Card. It's my travel backup card to my Chase Sapphire Reserve. If I ever find that I am not getting enough value for the annual cost of the CSR card, the Costco card will become my prime travel credit card.
Unfortunately not a Costco member. As a single guy, feel like I would struggle to justify that membership. Thanks for the suggestion though :happy
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tomsense76
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

tev9876 wrote: Sun Oct 31, 2021 5:15 pm Take a look at PenFed credit union cards. I have a 5% gas cashback card that is no longer offered, but a major advantage of their cards is that they do not charge a cash advance fee. Also no annual or foreign transaction fees and the rewards post automatically every month so nothing to do in terms of tracking. This can make it cheaper to get a cash from a foreign ATM with a credit card than many bank ATM cards that charge fees for using other banks ATMs. They do start charging interest from the day of the transaction, but my APR is only 9.99% making a $100 withdrawal cost about 2.7 cents per day. Think it cost me something like $9 when I had to use my BoA debit/ATM card for cash overseas once.

I leave it in my car unless traveling as it is only used for gas purchases, but is a good backup since my car is usually with me if I were to lose/forget my wallet.
Thanks will take a look!

Currently don't have a car, but do occasionally rent one on trips. Plus this could change in the future. That said, looks like the card covers a bunch of categories at the 3% level, which is pretty good. Guessing you are referring to Power Cash Rewards?

Haven't really considered using a credit card for cash advances before. Though you make a good point. Will keep that in mind. Have a few debit cards without fees so try to use those first, but it doesn't hurt to have a backup plan.

Yeah BoA charges a FTF. Additionally they charge fees if one uses an ATM that is not at one of their partner banks. Have used their card for that purpose in the past, but it is something I try to avoid. Fortunately setting up a bank account with Schwab or CMA with Fidelity works well and charges no fees (even reimbursing ATM fees). Capital One has a similar offering, but doesn't reimburse ATM fees AFAIK. There may be other offerings like this that I'm unaware of.
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tomsense76
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

Watty wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 6:56 pm
tomsense76 wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 6:28 pm Am looking for a fallback travel credit card. Curious to hear other people's recommendations/thoughts
Just a reminder if you have a spouse who you are traveling with it is good for you to each have at least one credit card that the other does not have so that you will have a credit card that works if a wallet or purse is lost and you have to cancel those credit cards.

Someone already mentioned the PenFed cards that do not have a cash advance fee or a foreign transaction fee. I don't know what their current offerings are but that is what I use to get cash from an ATM when I am traveling overseas. The local brick and mortar bank that I use in the US has foreign transaction fees but I don't travel internationally enough to make finding a bank with no foreign transaction fees worthwhile. I do take that ATM card with me as a backup in case there is a problem with getting cash with my PenFed credit card, but I have never had to use it.
This is a good thing to keep in mind. Thanks. Currently single so not an issue atm, but that could change.

Interesting to hear a few people are using PenFed credit cards for withdrawals. Never really considered using a credit card for that before it came up in this thread. The lack of FTF with fee-free cash advance seems pretty useful.

Have a couple debit cards to avoid FTF, but having a backup if those don't work or I need more cash than they provide seems useful.
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tomsense76
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

whodidntante wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 7:06 pm There are fewer Mastercard offerings. The best cards tend to be Visa or AmEx.

You would do well to add BoA Cash Rewards variants (some are Mastercard like the MLB cards) and choose the 3% categories (5.25% with PH) wisely. No AF, but they do have an FTF.

If you just want Discover, you could get a Discover IT Miles card for 3% flat cashback for the first year, 1.5% after. The "miles" convert to cash 1:1. I have over 30 open credit cards and none are Discover if that tells you anything.

Citi Premier pays in points. But you can convert those to cash. They had a great sign-up bonus of 80k recently. Maybe they still do. It does have an AF.

I think the BMO Mastercards are pretty decent. Those points convert to cash 1:1. There are variants with and without an AF. See if those meet your desires.
Yeah that makes sense. Have yet to see a place that won't take Visa (unless they don't take cards altogether), but it still seems prudent to have some kind of backup. Thought about AmEx, but have run into more places that won't accept those (or are even limited to just Visa & Mastercard). Unfortunate as AmEx has pretty good benefits.

Have thought about another BoA Cash Rewards card. Already have 1 and am pretty happy with it. A second one seems useful. Though they seem to have been pruning the other branded cards from their line up. The remaining branded one is Visa.

Makes sense. Was trying to think of other payment networks that might be worthwhile. Though agree Discover is less interesting than say a Mastercard. This article suggests Mastercard might have a slight edge over Visa on exchange rates. Though the article is a few years old, am guessing they are both pretty close.

Need to dig into the Citi program more since it seems like a few people are happy with them. Haven't fully wrapped my head around how points work there.

Thanks will give all these a look! :D
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tomsense76
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

investor997 wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:43 pm In that case I'd probably look at a Citi DoubleCash (2% back on everything). It's a Mastercard.
That seems like a reasonable suggestion. Thanks! :beer

Kind of curious about Citi's point program given the discussion here.

Though there's something to be said for a simple 2% cash back card.
"Anyone who claims to understand quantum theory is either lying or crazy" -- Richard Feynman
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anon_investor
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by anon_investor »

tomsense76 wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 2:39 am
anon_investor wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 6:34 pm Check out Capital One, I think their no annual fee consumer credit cards are all Master Card and no foreign transaction fee.
Thanks for the suggestion. Was looking at these. Are there any you would recommend? Was looking at SavorOne possibly.
That one or the Quicksilver.
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billthecat
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by billthecat »

tomsense76 wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:28 am
investor997 wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:43 pm In that case I'd probably look at a Citi DoubleCash (2% back on everything). It's a Mastercard.
That seems like a reasonable suggestion. Thanks! :beer

Kind of curious about Citi's point program given the discussion here.

Though there's something to be said for a simple 2% cash back card.
DoubleCash has a 3% FTF.
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Watty
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by Watty »

tomsense76 wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:09 am Have a couple debit cards to avoid FTF.....
There are a lot of threads about debit cards that you can look up about all the downsides when things go wrong. I would not want to be dealing with that when I am out of the country. There are very few upsides to using a debit instead of a credit card.

A lot of people, including myself, refuse to have a debit card. I have had a bank send me a debit card when my ATM card expired and then when I called they they said that they did not issue ATM only cards anymore. When I told them that I would be moving my account elsewhere they quickly said that I would get my new ATM card in a few days. :twisted: I did not have a large amount of money with them either.
jpelder
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by jpelder »

tomsense76 wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 2:39 am
anon_investor wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 6:34 pm Check out Capital One, I think their no annual fee consumer credit cards are all Master Card and no foreign transaction fee.
Thanks for the suggestion. Was looking at these. Are there any you would recommend? Was looking at SavorOne possibly.
I have the SavorOne. It worked well on my trip to Europe last summer. Mastercard, no FTF, no annual fee, 3% back on dining, breweries, and lots of entertainment venues. I used that and my Chase Amazon Prime Rewards Card on the trip (plus a debit card to get cash at ATMs).
It may be worth getting the regular Savor Card with the annual fee if you eat out a lot.
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bltkmt
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by bltkmt »

sport wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 7:04 pm If you are a Costco member, the Costco credit card has 3% cash back on travel and restaurants. It also has 4% rebate on gasoline, 2% at Costco and 1% everywhere else. There is no annual fee and no FTF. It is a Visa card.
I have this card. The downside is the way they force you to redeem the cash back in a Costco location. PITA.
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by Jags4186 »

bltkmt wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 9:07 am
sport wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 7:04 pm If you are a Costco member, the Costco credit card has 3% cash back on travel and restaurants. It also has 4% rebate on gasoline, 2% at Costco and 1% everywhere else. There is no annual fee and no FTF. It is a Visa card.
I have this card. The downside is the way they force you to redeem the cash back in a Costco location. PITA.
Yup. The Costco card is awful IMO.
tibbitts
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tibbitts »

tomsense76 wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:05 am
tev9876 wrote: Sun Oct 31, 2021 5:15 pm Take a look at PenFed credit union cards.
Thanks will take a look!
As stated, the card is no longer available, and I never got one due to the hoops for joining (effectively it would mean an annual fee for me since I'd feel guilty about not paying every year), and still don't regret that, although now I do wish I had a 5% gas card. I usually get 5% once or twice a year in rotating categories, but if the pandemic ever goes away and driving is practical again, it would be nice to have a card that always works.

I could get a Sams card, but that eliminates the strategy of dropping membership for 6 months to get another free membership. Maybe I'll do that, since I'm getting somewhat addicted to the chickens.
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tomsense76
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

tibbitts wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 9:17 am
tomsense76 wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:05 am
tev9876 wrote: Sun Oct 31, 2021 5:15 pm Take a look at PenFed credit union cards.
Thanks will take a look!
As stated, the card is no longer available, and I never got one due to the hoops for joining (effectively it would mean an annual fee for me since I'd feel guilty about not paying every year), and still don't regret that, although now I do wish I had a 5% gas card. I usually get 5% once or twice a year in rotating categories, but if the pandemic ever goes away and driving is practical again, it would be nice to have a card that always works.

I could get a Sams card, but that eliminates the strategy of dropping membership for 6 months to get another free membership. Maybe I'll do that, since I'm getting somewhat addicted to the chickens.
Interesting thanks for the info. The link I included above is current and advertised on their webpage. Odd they would list/advertise this card if it can't be used. Though didn't see an AF. Maybe we are talking about different cards?

There are other good 5% category cards to choose from though.
"Anyone who claims to understand quantum theory is either lying or crazy" -- Richard Feynman
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tomsense76
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

jpelder wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 8:16 am
tomsense76 wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 2:39 am
anon_investor wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 6:34 pm Check out Capital One, I think their no annual fee consumer credit cards are all Master Card and no foreign transaction fee.
Thanks for the suggestion. Was looking at these. Are there any you would recommend? Was looking at SavorOne possibly.
I have the SavorOne. It worked well on my trip to Europe last summer. Mastercard, no FTF, no annual fee, 3% back on dining, breweries, and lots of entertainment venues. I used that and my Chase Amazon Prime Rewards Card on the trip (plus a debit card to get cash at ATMs).
It may be worth getting the regular Savor Card with the annual fee if you eat out a lot.
Cool thanks for the feedback. May look into this more then. Already use Capital One so this is a lower hurdle.

Yeah was looking at the Savor Card. The higher rate would make it an easier go to. BoA Premium Rewards would then become the fallback card. Already float bills on it due to the 2.62% on everything so that could make sense. Need to work through the math to see if this will come ahead. Might not be spending enough eating out atm to make it worth it.

Are there any other benefits from the Savor Card in your view that would help claw back the AF?
"Anyone who claims to understand quantum theory is either lying or crazy" -- Richard Feynman
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tomsense76
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

billthecat wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 6:32 am
tomsense76 wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:28 am
investor997 wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:43 pm In that case I'd probably look at a Citi DoubleCash (2% back on everything). It's a Mastercard.
That seems like a reasonable suggestion. Thanks! :beer

Kind of curious about Citi's point program given the discussion here.

Though there's something to be said for a simple 2% cash back card.
DoubleCash has a 3% FTF.
Yeah that's a non-starter unfortunately.
"Anyone who claims to understand quantum theory is either lying or crazy" -- Richard Feynman
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tomsense76
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

anon_investor wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 6:07 am
tomsense76 wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 2:39 am
anon_investor wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 6:34 pm Check out Capital One, I think their no annual fee consumer credit cards are all Master Card and no foreign transaction fee.
Thanks for the suggestion. Was looking at these. Are there any you would recommend? Was looking at SavorOne possibly.
That one or the Quicksilver.
Yeah looked at that one as well. Though the relatively low cash back makes it less appealing. BoA Premium Rewards already beats that. Even though the goal is to make this a fallback card, still need to use this on a day-to-day to keep it from being closed, which seems less likely if there is a better choice.
"Anyone who claims to understand quantum theory is either lying or crazy" -- Richard Feynman
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tomsense76
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

Watty wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 8:05 am There are a lot of threads about debit cards that you can look up about all the downsides when things go wrong. I would not want to be dealing with that when I am out of the country. There are very few upsides to using a debit instead of a credit card.

A lot of people, including myself, refuse to have a debit card. I have had a bank send me a debit card when my ATM card expired and then when I called they they said that they did not issue ATM only cards anymore. When I told them that I would be moving my account elsewhere they quickly said that I would get my new ATM card in a few days. :twisted: I did not have a large amount of money with them either.
Yeah I've read a few of these threads. The main takeaway I got is the amount of liability one has. Though feel free to add anything else I may have missed.

Personally am pretty cautious about ATMs I use. Try to only use bank ATMs that are preferably within the branch. Does make it more of hassle to find one, but it does give me some peace of mind.

That said, my experience has been fairly good.

There is one transaction that appeared fraudulent on my debit card once. Was able to login to my account and flag it. Think it was around the $50 that one is usually liable for. My bank simply removed it and sent me a letter letting me know how they handled this issue. Plus a new debit card came shortly.

My sister had a debit card compromised abroad. They refunded her for all the transactions and sent her a new card.

Also in many cases the bank flagged issues with my card well before it got to the stage of a bad transaction and would send me a new card. So in a lot of cases they were on top of it. Know a bit about how banks flag these things as it overlaps a bit with my day job. Honestly the tech here has gotten to be very good. That's why some companies don't even require travel notices any more.

Anyways these days credit cards are accepted all over the place. Especially with mobile payment apps. The pandemic seems to have sped this transition for businesses around me that were still reliant on cash. Found flea markets in Europe where I could use a card. Also Germany, where there is a propensity towards using cash, was able to use a card everywhere (though cash was still an option). It is also fairly easy to just lock a debit card these days. Plus even debit cards come with chips now. So one has more tools at their disposal than before.

Frankly am much more worried about data breaches.
"Anyone who claims to understand quantum theory is either lying or crazy" -- Richard Feynman
tibbitts
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tibbitts »

tomsense76 wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:41 pm
tibbitts wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 9:17 am
tomsense76 wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:05 am
tev9876 wrote: Sun Oct 31, 2021 5:15 pm Take a look at PenFed credit union cards.
Thanks will take a look!
As stated, the card is no longer available, and I never got one due to the hoops for joining (effectively it would mean an annual fee for me since I'd feel guilty about not paying every year), and still don't regret that, although now I do wish I had a 5% gas card. I usually get 5% once or twice a year in rotating categories, but if the pandemic ever goes away and driving is practical again, it would be nice to have a card that always works.

I could get a Sams card, but that eliminates the strategy of dropping membership for 6 months to get another free membership. Maybe I'll do that, since I'm getting somewhat addicted to the chickens.
Interesting thanks for the info. The link I included above is current and advertised on their webpage. Odd they would list/advertise this card if it can't be used. Though didn't see an AF. Maybe we are talking about different cards?

There are other good 5% category cards to choose from though.
I was referring to the Penfed 5% gas card, which the post indicated is no longer available.
robphoto
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by robphoto »

For our backup card we got the Citi Double Cash Card: MasterCard, no fee, 1% credited at purchase and 1 percent when you pay, so if you pay it off each month, effectively 2% credit.
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tomsense76
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by tomsense76 »

tibbitts wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 4:22 pm
tomsense76 wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:41 pm
tibbitts wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 9:17 am
tomsense76 wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:05 am
tev9876 wrote: Sun Oct 31, 2021 5:15 pm Take a look at PenFed credit union cards.
Thanks will take a look!
As stated, the card is no longer available, and I never got one due to the hoops for joining (effectively it would mean an annual fee for me since I'd feel guilty about not paying every year), and still don't regret that, although now I do wish I had a 5% gas card. I usually get 5% once or twice a year in rotating categories, but if the pandemic ever goes away and driving is practical again, it would be nice to have a card that always works.

I could get a Sams card, but that eliminates the strategy of dropping membership for 6 months to get another free membership. Maybe I'll do that, since I'm getting somewhat addicted to the chickens.
Interesting thanks for the info. The link I included above is current and advertised on their webpage. Odd they would list/advertise this card if it can't be used. Though didn't see an AF. Maybe we are talking about different cards?

There are other good 5% category cards to choose from though.
I was referring to the Penfed 5% gas card, which the post indicated is no longer available.
Right this seems similar ( https://www.penfed.org/credit-cards/pla ... wards-visa ), but it is points. From a cursory look am not seeing whether points can be redeemed as cash. Though it seems they can be redeemed to cover purchases or as gift cards. Maybe someone else knows.
"Anyone who claims to understand quantum theory is either lying or crazy" -- Richard Feynman
Marseille07
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Re: Fallback travel credit card

Post by Marseille07 »

tomsense76 wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:49 pm
anon_investor wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 6:07 am
tomsense76 wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 2:39 am
anon_investor wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 6:34 pm Check out Capital One, I think their no annual fee consumer credit cards are all Master Card and no foreign transaction fee.
Thanks for the suggestion. Was looking at these. Are there any you would recommend? Was looking at SavorOne possibly.
That one or the Quicksilver.
Yeah looked at that one as well. Though the relatively low cash back makes it less appealing. BoA Premium Rewards already beats that. Even though the goal is to make this a fallback card, still need to use this on a day-to-day to keep it from being closed, which seems less likely if there is a better choice.
You shouldn't have to use it on a day-to-day basis. I have QuickSilver but planning to just use it once a quarter.
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