I always have at least three cards with me – an AmEx, a Visa, and a MasterCard. As with data, phones, cash, and passports it is a good idea to have redundancy. There are occasions when a card is rejected, either at point of sale or during an online transaction, for absolutely no apparent reason. I have had accounts frozen because of ‘suspicious’ activity (= my daily life). No problem – next card.
While it is stating the obvious, it is absolutely essential that you pay off your total bill every month. If you carry a monthly balance the interest costs rapidly negate the value of the card benefits.
When selecting a travel credit card there are a few points to consider. Make sure that there are no ‘foreign transaction fees’. Since your life will be almost all foreign these can be substantial charges. Note that in some countries (and even post COVID USA) vendors add on a charge at the point of sale (1.5% in Australia, 4.5% in Vanuatu) for credit cards that cannot be avoided unless you go ‘all cash’. In nearly all cases the value of the rewards I earn outweigh the added cost, and I am not going to change my behaviour to accommodate the tiny minority.
Make sure that the card has a ‘chip’ and is equipped for contactless transactions. These safety features have been in wide use internationally, and the US is lagging years behind in adopting them. If your card does not have a chip there are places where it is unusable as some transaction terminals now do not have a swipe reader, only a slot insert. Contactless is a luxury, but has really proliferated in COVID times and is absolutely the standard payment method in many countries. For example, in Canada I used contactless for almost every transaction.
Read reviews of the issuing bank’s mobile app as this is how you interact nearly all the time. Specifically I searched for ones that made travel notifications easy and reward redemption painless.
There are many really excellent sites (such as PointsGuy and NerdWAllet) that analyze the pros and cons of cards for different types of users. While searching for the perfect credit card I steered clear of those tied to brands (airline rewards cards, hotel chain rewards) because as discussed on frequent flyer it is really difficult to be brand loyal when traveling everywhere.
I ruled out a couple of the big name travel cards like AmEx Platinum despite their billboard rewards like ‘five times points on airfare booked with the airline’ (it is a pain to book directly with each and every airline I fly) and the ‘luxury Centurion lounges’ (because these few lounges are primarily in the US in places that I do not want to go). I am not a foodie so skipped the cards that reward loyal luxury diners.
This Card is the absolute best card for full time travel.
To have other options if my favorite goes AWOL:
I picked up the Chase United Explorer card during COVID when I was stuck in the US. The signup bonus was certainly worth more than a couple of years of annual fees. It has been valuable, though not a rock star (again, because I am not brand loyal). The best benefit is that I can book a galley slave fare rate, which United requires you to strip naked and check ANY bag you carry. But when I use this card I get to board early and bring on a bag. Eight flights in 2021-22, saving on average $40 per flight. They throw in two lounge access passes annually that are worth something if I have a long layover on an international flight, and my pedestrian PriorityPass does not give me any access.
Chase Marriott Bonvoy card. Also came from COVID travel handcuffs. As with the United card the signup bonus covers the annual fee for a couple of years. Some pretty modest rewards, but I have received a little more respect and some valuable upgrades/early check in/late checkout perks. Flying so much, it is guaranteed that I will have some inconvenient arrival and departure times. This has helped me with more nap time. Also, while booking direct is usually not the least expensive rate, this did save me perhaps $200 on an LA three night stay.
AmeEx anything inexpensive. They offer a few choices and, if I was signing up for my first AmEx, I would choose the revamped Green Card ($100 credit for Clear membership), or the Wells Fargo offering. This card barely sees the light of day – I carry it just in case the others blow up.
I signed up for the cash advance option on all the cards, made sure that I know the PIN codes, and actually execute an ATM cash advance once a year, whether I need to or not. Despite the outrageous fees associated with the advance I want to know that the service works, so that I have a total of six different accounts to get cash when I want it.
Though this is covered on the Theft page, it is worth repeating that my credit and ATM bank cards live in three different places on my person and in my pack. Physically separating them provides some insurance against catastrophic loss. Similarly they are separated in my digital life. They do no all reside in one digital wallet, nor are all listed on the ‘payment options’ section of any online vendor. Simple and prudent.