The top business credit card options for international travel

If you find yourself frequently traveling for work or you’re part of a finance or travel team looking to optimize budgets for your company, finding the right corporate travel card can make a big difference, especially for foreign travel. An unplanned 1-3% surcharge on every international purchase can quickly eat into travel, supplier, and software budgets.

Of note, if you’re a business owner or finance team that also pays overseas suppliers, runs cross-border ad campaigns, or covers foreign-billed SaaS subscriptions, business credit cards can also be a helpful solution. Picking a business credit card with no foreign transaction fee removes additional costs before they add up.

We’ve rounded up five specific cards for anyone comparing a business travel credit card more broadly, or browsing the top business credit cards for small business, including the best small business credit cards for new businesses that haven’t built a credit history yet.

Key takeaways

• A foreign transaction fee is a 1-3% surcharge that card networks or issuers add to any purchase made in a foreign currency or processed through a non-US bank.
• The right no-fee card depends on how a business actually spends internationally, whether that’s employee travel, overseas suppliers, or foreign-billed software and ad platforms.
• Charge cards like Brex pair $0 foreign transaction fees with built-in spend controls. Premium travel cards like Amex Business Platinum add lounge access and concierge support for a much higher annual fee.
• Even a $0 foreign transaction fee card can’t fix a bad exchange rate. Decline dynamic currency conversion and pay in the local currency instead.

What is a foreign transaction fee?

A foreign transaction fee is a surcharge, typically 1-3%, that card networks or issuers add to a purchase made in a foreign currency or processed through a non-US bank, even when the charge is billed back in US dollars.

This cost may hit employee travel spend, including dining, transportation, and other purchases, payments to overseas suppliers, foreign-billed SaaS subscriptions, and cross-border ad spend on platforms like Google or Meta. If you or your business have meaningful international spend, eliminating this fee can result in meaningful, predictable savings.

Why a business credit card matters for frequent travelers

Finding the best credit card for international travel comes down to more than just rewards programs and points. The more frequently employees travel internationally, the more a card built for business travel pays for itself: in savings, visibility, and control. Here’s what a dedicated card typically adds that a personal or generic card doesn’t:

• Fee protection that compounds: no foreign transaction fees (and on some cards, no international ATM fees) means every overseas purchase keeps its full value instead of losing 1-3% to a surcharge.
• Travel-specific perks: airport lounge access, trip delay or cancellation coverage, elevated hotel status, and bonus points on flights and hotels.
• Centralized, real-time expense tracking: transactions sync to accounting software automatically instead of employees turning in receipts weeks after a trip. That same discipline matters when building a travel expense policy with spend tracking for a growing team.
• Employee-level spend controls: virtual cards, per-employee or per-trip limits, and instant issuing or freezing keep travel spend visible across a distributed team.
• A separate business credit history: consistent business card use builds credit tied to the company itself, rather than one owner’s personal score absorbing every expense.
• Stronger fraud liability and purchase protection: business cards typically carry more protection than debit cards, which matters even more in foreign countries.

These benefits generally scale with the annual fee. $0 fee cards lean toward savings and spend control tools, while premium cards add lounge access and concierge support. The right pick depends on your needs, any restrictions stated in your corporate travel policy, and how frequently you or your employees travel.

5 best business credit cards with no foreign transaction fee, at a glance

Here’s a quick side-by-side of five business credit cards with no foreign transaction fee and who each is best for. Get the full breakdown below.

1. Brex Corporate Card

Brex isn’t a traditional credit card. It’s a corporate charge card, so approval is based on business metrics like revenue and cash balance rather than personal credit. That makes it a fit for incorporated businesses (LLCs, C-corps, S-corps) with meaningful revenue or cash reserves that spend internationally across multiple employees or entities.

Where Brex stands out is expense management. Local-currency cards issued in 60+ countries eliminate FX markups for employees transacting where the business has a local entity and bank account. Real-time accounting-automation sync replaces manual expense reports, and per-employee virtual cards keep spend visible and controlled without slowing anyone down.

Rewards are a secondary reason to choose this card: 7X on rideshare, 4X on Brex Travel bookings, 3X on dining, 2X on recurring software, 1X on everything else. But the underwriting is real. This is a charge card requiring full approval, not a guaranteed-approval product.

2. Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business

For companies where international travel is a real budget line, not an occasional trip, the Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business works as a corporate travel card built around premium perks: 8X points on purchases through Chase Travel, 4X on flights and hotels booked directly, and an uncapped 3X on social media and search advertising, worth flagging for any company running paid campaigns. Cardholders also get a $300 annual travel credit and a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee credit every four years. Lounge access comes from Chase’s own Sapphire Lounge plus more than 1,300 Priority Pass locations worldwide.

The trade-off is straightforward. At this fee, the card only pays for itself if the company’s actual international spend flows through flights, hotels, and travel-adjacent categories. Finance teams that mainly need spend controls and accounting integration may find the cost harder to justify.

3. American Express Business Platinum

For executive teams with high-volume international travel who want concierge support alongside a fee waiver, the Amex Business Platinum leads with Centurion Lounge access, more than 1,550 airport lounges worldwide, hotel elite status with Hilton and Marriott, and a Platinum Travel Service. Cardholders also get up to $200 per year in airline fee credits and 5X Membership Rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel. A Dell Technologies credit adds up to $150 annually, plus another $1,000 after $5,000 in qualifying Dell purchases in a calendar year. Trip cancellation and delay insurance on prepaid, round-trip fares rounds out the protections, the kind of coverage that matters most when international travel plans change on short notice.

Two honest caveats: at an $895 annual fee, the elevated 5X rate only applies to Amex Travel bookings, with most other purchases earning just 1X. And American Express is accepted in fewer places abroad than Visa or Mastercard, so international teams should confirm acceptance in their specific markets before relying on it as a primary card.

4. Ink Business Preferred Credit Card

For e-commerce and DTC companies running Google or Meta ad campaigns through foreign-domiciled billing entities, the Ink Business Preferred solves a recurring cost: those campaigns can rack up foreign transaction fees every billing cycle without a no-fee card. This card earns 3X points on the first $150,000 spent annually across travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone services, and advertising combined, dropping to 1X after that cap, for a modest $95 annual fee.

Points transfer to airline and hotel partners, or redeem for 25% more value through Chase Travel. This is a rewards card, not a platform with built-in spend controls or accounting automation, so it suits a company that mainly needs the fee eliminated on a specific, recurring spend category rather than one managing complex, multi-employee travel.

5. Bank of America Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard

Early-stage and pre-revenue businesses whose international spend is mostly foreign SaaS subscriptions and occasional vendor payments tend to watch annual fees closely. This card charges $0 while still waiving foreign transaction fees, and it earns a flat 1.5X points on every purchase. The headline rate climbs to 2.62X for cardholders at the top Preferred Rewards for Business tier, but that tier requires maintaining a qualifying Bank of America business banking balance, so most companies without that relationship earn closer to the 1.5X base.

This is a flat, non-category-specific rewards structure. It’s a better fit for a business mainly looking to eliminate the fee itself than one chasing travel-specific perks or lounge access.

The bottom line

If you or your employees travel internationally often for work, it almost always makes sense to have some type of corporate travel card. And if you’re staying somewhere for a month or longer for a client visit or project, consider staying at a Blueground furnished home for additional cost savings and comfort instead of a hotel room. A closer look at furnished apartment vs. hotel for business travelers breaks down the cost and space difference.

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Frequently asked questions

What US credit cards do not charge a foreign transaction fee?

All five cards above (Brex, Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business, American Express Business Platinum, Ink Business Preferred, and Bank of America Business Advantage Travel Rewards) waive foreign transaction fees. Most no-annual-fee and premium travel business cards today do the same. The biggest difference between them is in the additional benefits.

How do I avoid the 3% foreign transaction fee?

Use a card that doesn’t charge one (see the list above), and always decline dynamic currency conversion (DCC) when a foreign merchant or ATM offers to charge you in U.S. dollars. Paying in the local currency avoids the unfavorable markup DCC adds, even on a card with $0 foreign transaction fees.

What is the best credit card for a small business LLC?

Most business cards require an EIN, basic business information, and a personal credit check from an owner with significant ownership, so approval odds depend on personal credit almost as much as business revenue. Weighing what is the best small business credit card for a specific LLC usually comes down to that owner’s personal credit as much as any card’s advertised perks.

Is there a free credit card with no foreign transaction fees?

Yes. Bank of America Business Advantage Travel Rewards and Brex both charge $0 annual fee while still waiving foreign transaction fees. The trade-off, covered in their sections above, is flat rewards and fewer travel-specific perks compared to the premium cards on this list.