What is the foreign currency fee?

Best travel credit cards

Travel cards earn more on foreign currency spend, and many add lounge visits or travel insurance. Compare the foreign currency fee too, since it applies to every overseas purchase.

Miles or points on foreign currency spend
Lounge visits on some cards
Complimentary travel insurance on some cards

Written by Vidhu BajajReviewed by Nilooka Dissanayake

Featured

Citi PremierMiles Card

240,000 bonus points
Complimentary airport lounge access

Application

How much could you save on foreign fees?

Enter your yearly overseas and foreign-currency spend to see what each card saves below. The 3% rate is a typical card fee: change it if you know your current card's rate.

Compare 9 travel credit cards

Credit card comparison table with rates, fees, rewards and apply links.
Card	Name and rating	Rewards program	Earn rate	Foreign transaction fee	Annual fee	Fee saving / yr
Bank of China (Hong Kong)Platinum •••• •••• •••• •••• Credit Card Compare	BOC Hospital Authority Credit Card	BOC Gift Point Rewards Program	1 pt per HK$1Uncapped	1%	HK$0	Save ~HK$100a year	Application
	Standard Chartered Smart Credit Card	—	—	0%	HK$0	Save ~HK$150a year	Application
	HSBC Premier Mastercard®	HSBC RewardCash	0.4 RewardCash dollars per HK$100Uncapped	1.95%	HK$0	Save ~HK$53a year	Application
	BOC Cheers Visa Infinite Card	BOC Gift Points	1 pt per HK$1Capped	1.95%	HK$0	Save ~HK$53a year	Application
	Citi PremierMiles Card	Citi ThankYou Rewards	12 Points per HK$8Uncapped	1.95%	HK$1,800	Save ~HK$53a year	Application
	BOC Go Card	BOC Gift Points	1 pt per HK$1Uncapped	1%	HK$0	Save ~HK$100a year	Application
	Standard Chartered Cathay Mastercard	Asia Miles	1 Asia Mile per HK$6Uncapped	1.95%	HK$0	Save ~HK$53a year	Application
	BOC Hong Kong Airlines Visa Card	Fortune Wings Club Points	1 FWC Point per HK$5Uncapped	1.95%	HK$0	Save ~HK$53a year	Application
	BOC Chill World Mastercard	—	—	1.95%	HK$0	Save ~HK$53a year	Application

Travel by the numbers

Cards compared

1.5 pts per HK$1

Top earn rate

Citi PremierMiles Card

Cards earning rewards

HK$200

Average annual fee

HK$0

Lowest annual fee

What are travel credit cards?

Travel cards earn more points or miles on foreign currency spend, and some add lounge visits or travel insurance.

Most Hong Kong cards add a foreign currency fee of about 1.95% to every purchase in a foreign currency, so compare the earn rate on overseas spend with the fee you pay on it.

Paying overseas

When a shop or website offers to charge you in Hong Kong dollars, choose the local currency instead. The merchant's rate is usually worse, and the bank may still charge a fee.

Complimentary travel insurance often applies only when you pay for the trip with the card, and the cover differs by bank. For lounge visits, compare airport lounge cards.

Travel credit card FAQs

A percentage the bank adds to every purchase in a foreign currency. Some banks also charge a fee on Hong Kong dollar purchases with an overseas merchant. Each card shows its fee as the bank states it.

Questions and answers

No questions yet. Ask the first one about Travel credit cards.

Related card types

Credit cards with airport lounge access

Sources

Credit Card Compare: Credit card statistics for Hong KongHow CardIQ scores cards