If You Could Only Bring One Card With You For International Travel, Which One Would It Be?

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When we travel outside of the U.S., I always make sure that we’re bringing the right credit cards with us. I have several boxes to check off to ensure we’re covered just in case something goes sideways during our travels.

I want to make sure that the cards I bring don’t charge foreign currency fees. I also double check that I have a card with Chip + PIN functionality, for when we’d need to use an automated kiosk. I’m going to bring my ATM card so I’ll be able to get some cash, which always comes in handy.

I’ll also bring along any cards we used to make reservations for the trip. If you made a train reservation, bought show tickets, arranged for a tour or paid for your hotel, they might ask to see the credit card you used to make the booking. That’s a good reason to try to stick to one or two cards when making advance reservations if you can.

What if I had to stick to only ONE card for the whole trip? Which one would it be?

What expenses do you have when traveling?

Think about what your main expenses are when traveling. Much of the heavy lifting for the trip has been completed. If you’re flying overseas, your airfare is already paid for, so there’s no need to bring a card with good categories for those expenses. Hopefully, you’ve made arrangements for a place to stay and have already paid for those or a card on file for the expenses.

For us, expenses while traveling fall into four main categories:

• Food
• Local Transportation
• Entertainment
• Miscellaneous (souvenirs)

So what card is the best for those categories?

What’s The One Card For The Trip?

If I’m only able to bring one card, I have to exclude cards from American Express. While their worldwide acceptance is much better than it had been, too many places won’t take it. I have to pick between a MasterCard or Visa product.

Chase Sapphire

A great overall card for travel is either the Sapphire Preferred or the Sapphire Reserve. I’m combining them into a single category because I think either one of these cards is a solid choice. The main difference is the Reserve earns 3x points on all travel and dining expenses. The Preferred earns 2x points in the same categories. I’ve found that all types of local transportation, from buses to trains, subways, taxis, UBERs and even ferries, all pay the category bonus for charges worldwide.

Citi Premier

Another option would be the Citi (ThankYou) Premier. This card pays 3x points for all air travel, hotel charges and dining expenses.

My Choice

While any of those cards would be a good choice in my mind, if I were forced to make that decision, I’d have to go with the Arrival+ from Barclays.

It earns 2% cashback on all charges, which you can use to pay for any travel expenses. It is also a true Chip + Pin card, which may come in handy. I know that I’d be giving up some in specific categories and that I’m capped at earning only 2% instead of earning points, which can be worth much more. I’d take that loss because I need to have a card that I’m reasonably sure will work wherever I am.

However, this example was to say if I could only bring 1 card. If I were able to bring one card and my debit card, I’d bring the Chase Sapphire Reserve. It has great bonus categories for what we spend money on when we’re on vacation (food and transportation). If I needed to use a card with a PIN, my debit card could do that.

If I could bring two credit cards, I’d bring the AMEX Green card, which now earns 3x Membership Rewards points for travel and dining expenses. I find we can use AMEX points for our travels more than the currencies from other banks. I’d also bring the Arrival+ as the backup card for places that don’t take AMEX or require a PIN.

Final Thoughts

Fortunately, I never needed to make a decision on a single card I could bring with me on a trip. I’ll probably bring 3 or 4, and Sharon will have the same in her wallet. We’ll spread cards across several banks to prevent any problems if one gets a fraud alert or is lost. I’ll bring the co-brand hotel card to pay for our hotel bill and room charges. If you have an AMEX Platinum, you’ll need to bring that with you to get lounge access.

I can add any card to Apple Wallet for contactless payments, which is increasingly accepted worldwide.

Your decision about which cards to bring when traveling depends on the type of expenses you plan to make. By understanding where you are likely to spend your money, you can determine which cards to prioritize. If you find that you are missing a card for certain expenses, this can help you decide which card to apply for next.

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