It is no doubt that you can use your credit card for an international trip. But some of you may not know that many credit card issuers will charge a certain amount of transaction fees for using your credit card aboard. The fees may be up to 8% depending on the credit card terms. So before you leave, you’d better read your credit card agreement from your credit card issuer carefully and find out the one with lowest transaction fees.

Hereby I did a little research and summarized the transaction fees from many US credit card issuers to help you choose out the best credit card for an international trip. Another thing you should be aware is your credit card account might be frozen by your credit card issuer sometimes due to fraud prevention.

Foreign transaction fees are charges added to the cost of purchases made in a foreign currency. The card issuers said the cost covers the service of translating the price of the purchase into U.S. dollars, which is the amount reflected on a billing statement. The foreign transaction fees are varied for different credit card issuers and different types of credit cards.

Whenever you make a purchase at foreign countries with a Visa or MasterCard, you will be automatically charged by Visa or MasterCard Networks. Card issuers will also add some fees for foreign transactions. For example, Chase Sony Card will charge you 3% transaction fee for an purchase made outside US. This 3% includes the above mentioned 1% fee charge by Visa Network. But there is an exception which makes it a very good credit card for using internationally. All Capital One credit cards will get 1% refund for any transactions made using a foreign currency or outside US. The HSBC Household/Orchard Bank credit card with 2% cash back used to not charge additional 2% fees. So with 2% cash back and 1% transaction fee, you can still get 1% cash back for using that credit card aboard. All American Express cards will be charged 2% transaction fee. Discover Card will not charge foreign transaction fees for your purchases made using foreign currency or outside US. So all Discover Cards are good choice for using aboard. The only downside for using Discover Card is they don’t have too many networks outside US. You can only us Discover card at limited countries. While Visa and MasterCard are widely accepted in the word.

Some picks of credit cards for international use:

Capital One No Hassle Cash Rewards Card (Or Capital One No Hassle Miles Rewards Card): There is no annual fee associated with this card. There is also no foreign transaction fee for using aboard. You can accumulate cash rewards for using this card everywhere in the world. You can choose either the cash version or mile version.

Discover More Card: There is no foreign transaction fee for using aboard. You can also get rewards for shopping everywhere in the world. No annual fee. If you are a student, you should choose the Discover Student Card which is specifically designed for students. You may also consider the Discover Miles Card for accumulating miles. But you should expect the situation that you can’t use your Discover Card on an international trip.

It’s obvious that current banking system is still not stable. National City Bank followed WaMu and Wachovia’s step to be sold to PNC Bank. Smart American consumers concerned about the safety of their money and investments are increasing turning to trusted online banks and high yield savings accounts for the FDIC insurance protection they afford. Current FDIC insured amount has increased to $250K.

This post is trying to give you some advice on where to shop the best and trust online banks with high yields. If you are looking for the best online banks in terms of those that offer the highest interest rates for checking and savings accounts, you’ve come to the right place. It’s well known that online banks always offer higher rates on savings, money market funds and CDs than generally known banks like Citi, BOA, and Chase.

1. Capital One Direct Banking - 3.55%

Capital One Direct Banking offers 3.55% APY on balance over $10,000. If the deposit is under $10,000, the APY is 2.55%. I think this Capital One online savings account offers one of the best savings rates among the top national banks. During the financial crisis period, there is no negative reports about the Capital One, so I think it’s save to deposit money there. I personally have a Capital One Online Savings Account and I like it very much. The easy to use and link other accounts make me feel that Capital One Direct Banking is a really reliable bank. They will keep sending a statement to you even your balance is $0.02 every month.

2. WT Direct - 3.31%

WT Direct always offers top rates on their high yield savings account. There is no monthly service fees, minimum balance requirement but you have to keep your balance over $10,000 to get the high rate. As their website indicates the WT Direct online banking is part of a family of companies with over 100 years of financial strength and stability—Wilmington Trust Savings Bank. There is no related reports about the falling of this bank. WT Direct was rated as “This institution offers good financial security and has the resource to deal with a variety of adverse economic conditions.” by TheStreet.com.

3. Amboy Direct - 3.25%

Amboy Direct eSavings is an FDIC-insured savings account. For account balance higher than $3,000, you can have 3.25% APY! Plus you can get $50 sign up bonus if you open an eSavings account right now. The other interesting feature of this account is the ability to make (3) free Bank-to-Bank withdrawals and unlimited deposits in any calendar month. There is no monthly balance minimums or service fee.

4. HSBC Direct - 3.00%

It’s no doubt that HSBC Direct is one of the safest online banking choices out there with a wide international and national banking presence. (The world’s local bank!) Although the account opening process is a little complicated for new customers, their customer service is generally good and helpful. HSBC direct online savings account also often offer sign up bonuses. If you travel around the world frequently, HSBC is your top choice.

5. E*Trade Savings - 3.00%

Better known for its online discount broker program, E*Trade also runs a traditional banking component. Their complete savings account features high yield rewards and super fast money transfer service. If you are using the E*Trade brokerage service and want to link E-Trade brokerage account and their online savings, E-Trade’s Complete Saving Account is a recommended choice.

6. Emigrant Direct - 3.00%

The Emigrant Direct American Dream Savings Account is the feature banking product from Emigrant Direct which features no monthly fees and no minimum balance. Furthermore, there is no need to change your checking account. Your American Dream Savings Account will be linked to your current checking account. This bank is always chased by customers seeking for safe and high yield savings products.

7.  ING Direct - 2.75%

When it comes to ING Direct, one thing is common - it’s universally agreed upon is that ING Direct is a great online savings bank. When you read a personal finance blog, online journals, or newspapers, ING Direct is often praised for its super customer support and easy-to-use online account. Once you start a relationship with ING, you just don’t want to try others. Their simplified and streamlined website interface that makes it easy for both advanced users and novice online banking customers to use. The famous Orange Savings Account is not only quick and painless to open, the high yield savings account also imposes no monthly fees or account balance minimums.

As I pointed out in my post “How can Wall Street Crisis Affect Main Street“, the number one result is we will see more banking promotions. And this is true. Most banks have to attract more customers to deposit money in their institutions to meet the requirement from FDIC.

$25 bonus from Citi Ultimate Savings Account

Citibank has a $25 bonus for opening its Ultimate Savings Account with a minimum initial deposit of $1,000. To get the bonus, you have to apply online or via phone call at 877-695-9400 with the promotion code CYA8. The $1,000 initial deposit must have to be maintained in the account for 3 months before the $25 bonus deposited to your account.

The promotion page can be found here. You should remember that:

• This offer is only available for first-time Citibank deposit account customers
• $25 bonus will be credited to your account within 120 days
• This bonus payment will be reported to the IRS as interest earned in the year credited
• NO hard pull any longer for opening a deposit account at Citibank

As a reminder, Citi has a very low ACH outbound transfer limit: $2,000 per day and $10,000 per month.

$50 bonus for opening a Capital One Online Savings Account

The $50 bonus for opening a Capital One Online Savings Account can be found here. Capital One always gives out sign up bonus for this savings account but the typical amount is $25. So I personally think this is a good catch if you want to open a savings account at Capital One.

To get the $50 bonus, you have to open an online savings account at www.capitalonedirect.com/osa1 with promotion code: BONUS50 before 10/31/2008. Of course, you have to fund this account with $25,000 within 30 days of account opening. The bonus code must be provided at the time of the application. The $50 interest credit will be deposited to your account 4-8 weeks after 11/30/2008.

This account has a very competitive rate of 3.55% APY for balance over $10,000. So far there is no nagetive reports about Capital One.

Capital One is reported to launch a nee type of rewards debit card that would change how banks and consumers approach debit cards last year. The unique feature of this debit card is: It can be linked to any bank account and used for purchases and ATM withdrawals, just like the debit card consumers get from their bank when they open a checking account. Another appealing feature of this card is better rewards. Plus this card also features zero-liability. This new type of debit card is being used by some Capital One credit card users.

Today, I received an email from Capital One indicating that if you apply for a new Capital One Debit MasterCard and make a first purchase, you would get 5,000 bonus No Hassle Points. The 5,000 No Hassle Points card be redeemed as a $50 gift card from Macy’s, Amazon.com, or Spa Finder. Furthermore, you can get 1 No Hassle Point for every dollar you spent on this card just like other Capital One credit cards do. However, this offer appears to require you to be a current Capital One credit cardholder.

During the application process, you have to link you current bank checking account to this debit card. You have to verify bank account access.

Basic features of this debit card:

• Earn No Hassle Points^SM on debit purchases. Earn 1 point per dollar spent when you sign for debit purchases.
• No need to open a new checking account. Your transactions are deducted from your existing checking account, wherever you bank.
• Shop with confidence, this card comes with MasterCard Zero Liability.
• There are 9 card designs to choose from.

Please note that, in order to get 1 No Hassle Point, you have to choose “credit” purchase at the check out. A credit purchase means a signature-based purchase. A signature-based purchase is one where you select “credit” (not “debit”) and typically sign a receipt instead of entering a PIN.

The application page can be found at: http://www.capitalone.com/debit/index2.php

The reference code is:K3E6L8K149

You can also call Capital One at 1-866-812-6923 to apply for this card.

According to the Nilson Report, an industry newsletter, one in three Americans use Visa or MasterCard debit cards last year, up from 17% in 2000. Meanwhile, regarding to credit cards, the numbers have gone down to 73% in 2006 from 82% in 2000. Debit cards are still very popular with those who have not good credit. Capital One is testing a new kind of debit card which is supposed to change how banks and consumers approach debit cards.

The innovative idea of this card is: It can be linked to any bank account and used for purchases and ATM withdrawals. Most importantly, this kind of new card will give you rewards for using it to make purchases. The new Capital One MasterCard debit card will offer rewards nearly as generous as those consumers can get from their credit cards. There are two types of rewards: points, miles or cash back. Of course, there will be no fees associated with this card from CapitalOne unless the bank imposes its own fees.

According to the industry experts, this new debit card will be two to five times superior to the rewards you get with any other debit cards.

Only 20% of debit-card spending was on rewards debit cards in 2006, according to Aite Group. However, 84% of credit-card purchases will be placed on rewards credit cards as estimated by Aite Group (an industry research company). We might expect that this new debit card will bring more new debit card users. Especially for those can’t get a credit card.

Basics of Capital One MasterCard Debit Card

This card can be linked to any existing checking account and used for purchase and ATM withdrawals. You can select which bank account the card should pull money from, and you can change your selection as your needs evolve. This is great!

No fees associated with this card from Capital One unless the bank that manages the checking account imposes its own fees.

If the card is stolen or fraudulently used, cardholders should contact Capital One. Capital One will reimburse the fraudulent charges to the linked checking account within a day.

Capital One will offer a variety of co-branded cards issued in partnerships with retailers and card users will earn bonus points for shopping at these retailers; rewards will be redeemable for gift certificates at those retailers. You can also earn rewards as what you can get from credit cards issued by Capital One.

CapitalOne launched a new website——www.capitalonecardlab.com. According to CapitalOne, this site allows you to choose the credit card offers by fitting the application criteria of CapitalOne. They claim that this is the first America’s “Do-It-Yourself” credit card offer. However, I think I should write a post about this new website. You might find a great offer from them.

Once you click “Get Started”, you will be beginning the choosing process. According to your credit score, you can choose “Excellent”, “Above Average”, “Needs Improvement”, and “Limited History”. And then, you can choose the from the following card features: “Basic Rewards”, “Additional Rewards”, “Introductory APR on Purchases”, “APR on Balance Transfer”, “Annual Percentage Rate”, and “Annual Fee”. After that, you can choose your card design through 9 beautiful designs. The last step is to review your card features and then click “Apply Now” to file the application form. Actually, at this step, you will be redirected to the CapitalOne site.

I think what you might be interested in is to choose “2x Rewards on Purchases for 12 months” at “Additional Rewards”. (They offer 1% cash back for everything.) SO you will have a card will 2% cash back on everything for 12 months with 0% APR on purchases. Another feature of CapitalOne card is there is no foreign transaction fee.

Following are two cards that I chose from this website. (Actually the ads from Kontera in my blog are introducing the CapitalOne card lab.)
Excellent

Above Average

Capital One No Hassle Cash Rewards Card is offering $50 credit after first purchase. This card features a 1% cash rewards on everything plus 25% annual bonus on the cash you earned during the year. SO the average cash rewards is about 1.25% on everything. If you don’t have a 2% on everything card, this is a good choice. (You’d better have other specific cards which will give you more rewards—-like gas card.) You can redeem the rewards at anytime! There is no minimum amount required. If you’d like to get $1, then go ahead. They will send you a check! You can earn cash back as much as you can. There is no limit! To receive the $50 credit, you have to use the card before Dec 31, 2007.

Another feature is they won’t charge foreign transaction fees. Don’t like Citi, Chase and BOA which will charge about 3% transaction fees for transactions made in a foreign currency. (See http://www.capitalone.com/tv/)

My experience tells me that they will pull credit report from 3 credit bureaus.