If you’re travelling abroad and using your credit cards for most purchases, foreign transaction (forex) fees can really take a bite. That’s because card issuers charge around 2.5% on every foreign purchase—on top of the exchange rate.
You can avoid this fee by using a card that waives it. Alternatively, you could offset the fee with a credit card that offers more than 2.5% back in rewards on those purchases. There’s a lot of valuable information to cover, so let’s get started.
What is the best no foreign exchange fee credit card in Canada?
We’ll cut to the chase and show you the best 0% forex change fees cards currently available.
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Gold: Best no forex credit card
Scotiabank Gold American Express Card
Earn up to 6 Scene+ points per $1 spent and access incredible travel perks, including no foreign transaction fee.
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Interest Rates:
20.99% purchase, 22.99% cash advance, 22.99% balance transfer
Welcome offer:
$500 value
Earn up to $1,050 in welcome offers, first year rewards and savings value, including no annual fee in your first year, and up to 50,000 bonus Scene+ points.
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Silver: Best no forex credit card
Home Trust Preferred Visa
The only no-annual-fee credit card in Canada to waive its forex fee on all foreign purchases. Earn 1% cash back on all Canadian purchases.
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Interest Rates:
21.99% purchase, 21.99% cash advance, N/A balance transfer
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Bronze: Best no forex credit card
Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite Card
Save on the forex fee when spending in foreign currencies. Plus, get 6 airport lounge passes annually.
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Interest Rates:
20.99% purchase, 22.99% cash advance, 22.99% balance transfer
Welcome offer:
$350 value
Earn$350 in travel rewards (35,000 bonus Scene+ points) for new Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card clients who spend $2,000 within the first 3 months
Anniversary bonus:
$100 value
Gold: Scotiabank Gold American Express
With an impressive earn rate—especially on groceries, dining, and entertainment—plus a comprehensive insurance coverage package, the Scotiabank Gold American Express is not only the best no foreign transaction fee credit card, but also one of the best overall travel credit cards in Canada. The card earns Scene+ points, which you can redeem for travel, movie tickets or concessions, groceries, gift cards, statement credits, and more.
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Scotiabank Gold American Express
Annual fee: $120
Welcome offer: Earn up to $1,050 in value in the first 12 months, including up to 50,000 bonus Scene+ points. Offer ends October 31, 2025.
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Silver: Home Trust Preferred Visa
As the only no forex card on our list that doesn’t charge an annual fee, the Home Trust Preferred Visa is a good option. It waives the 2.5% fee on purchases in all foreign currencies (not just U.S. dollars) and even includes 1% cash back on all Canadian dollar purchases.
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Home Trust Preferred Visa
Annual fee: $0
Welcome offer: This card does not have a welcome bonus at this time.
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Bronze: Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite
Our third pick (and second Scene+ choice) was the first card from a big Canadian bank to waive its foreign transaction fee. Today, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite continues to offer strong rewards, a flexible and easy-to-understand rewards program, a hefty welcome bonus, and seriously impressive airport lounge benefits.
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Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite
Annual fee: $150
Welcome offer: Earn up to $1,350 in value in the first 12 months, including up to 45,000 bonus Scene+ points. Offer ends October 31, 2025.
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Pros
Airport lounge access: The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite is the only no forex fee card in Canada to also offer airport lounge access. You’ll get a complimentary Priority Pass membership with six free airport lounge visits per year—the most lounge passes available on a card with an annual fee below $200.
Straightforward rewards program: Redeeming Scene+ points for travel rewards is intuitive and as easy as cash back in your wallet. There are no complicated travel charts or maps (1,000 points is always worth $10 in travel savings, no matter where you travel).
Annual bonus: Every year that you charge $40,000 or more to the card, you’ll earn an additional 10,000 bonus points, which is a $100 value toward travel.
Generous insurance coverage: Enjoy 11 types of insurance coverage, including travel accident, trip delay, and rare emergency medical coverage over 65.
Cons
Relatively high annual fee: While the Scotiabank Passport offers considerable perks, its annual fee is $150, which is among the highest on this list.
Relatively low earn rates: Perks aside, the card’s rewards on everyday purchases in Canada—1 or 2 points per $1 on most purchases—isn’t all that impressive for an annual card with a premium fee.
How we determine the best cards
To select the best cards in this specialized category, we evaluated several key factors that are important when looking for a credit card that waives or offsets the foreign transaction fee. First, we considered the return on spending and weighed that against any annual fee. We also looked at acceptance (and excluded cards like Amex that might not be accepted abroad) and other valuable travel perks like lounge access. The addition of links from affiliate partners has no bearing on the results in this ranking. Read more about the MoneySense selection process and about how MoneySense makes money.
Other top cards for foreign purchases
Some credit cards in Canada that do charge a foreign transaction fee may still be worth considering. The cards below offer rewards that offset their forex fee, leaving you with a little extra money in the process.
Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard
Why we love it: The 3% return on USD spending more than offsets a 2.5% FX fee.
Things to note: With much higher earn rates than other no-fee credit cards, the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard charges a 2.5% foreign transaction fee—but it also nets you 3% cash back on purchases in U.S. dollars, so you end up with an extra 1% in rewards. You can redeem them whenever you have a minimum of $10 in rewards.
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Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard
Annual fee: $0
Welcome offer: None at this time.
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Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards
Why we love it: This card’s $99 annual fee is waived the first year and you’ll earn 3% rewards on foreign purchases, which means you’ll come out 0.5% ahead.
Things to note: This is a competitive mid-tier credit card with a reasonable annual fee, offering better-than-average travel insurance and 3% in rewards on foreign-currency purchases. Plus, you’ll earn 1.5% back on Canadian purchases and get almost a dozen types of travel insurance, including the rare emergency medical coverage for those over the age of 65.
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Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards
Annual fee: $99
Welcome offer: Get 7,000 bonus points when opening any new Meridian Visa card. Offer ends May 31, 2025.
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EQ Bank card
Why we love it: It’s a prepaid card with no foreign transaction fees, which means it’s available to everyone.
Things to note: The EQ Bank Card can help you avoid costly fees when you’re withdrawing or spending money in a foreign currency by waiving all foreign exchange fees charged by EQ (transactions are still subject to Mastercard’s currency conversion rate). This is a great back-up card for shops that don’t accept credit cards, especially since you’ll earn 0.5% cash back on all purchases—including international ones.
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EQ Bank card
Annual fee: $0
0.5% cash back on all purchases
Pay no forex fees on purchases
Earn 2.5%-4% interest on your cash deposits
Welcome offer: This card does not have a welcome bonus at this time.
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Wealthsimple Cash card
Why we love it: Pay no service or exchange fees on foreign purchases and earn interest on your balance.
Things to note: The Wealthsimple Cash account doesn’t charge service fees or exchange fees on purchases made in foreign currencies. Plus, you’ll earn cash back on all spending and your card balance earns up to 2.75% interest, which offsets any foreign transaction fees. As a prepaid Mastercard, the Wealthsimple Cash card acts like a debit card but enjoys a high level of acceptance worldwide.
Wealthsimple Cash
Annual fee: $0
Welcome offer: This card does not have a welcome bonus at this time.
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Reddit reviews: The best no foreign exchange fee credit cards according to Canadian cardholders
It’s one thing to take our word for what card to use and another to read what actual cardholders have to say, so we turned to Reddit.
Another Redditor pointed out a few more of our picks and brought up another option to watch for: the new Wealthsimple Visa Infinite card.
What are foreign exchange (FX) fees?
Using your credit card to pay in a foreign currency often ends up being costlier than you think. When you purchase something abroad, the transaction amount is converted from the local currency to Canadian dollars by the credit card network, using a credit card conversion rate that’s slightly higher than market rates.
In addition to the currency exchange fee, the card issuer also charges a 2.5% foreign currency transaction fee for every purchase that’s not made in Canadian dollars—even when you shop online. This is the fee you’ll eliminate by using one of the cards mentioned above.
Pro Tip: When you make a purchase, you’ll probably have the option to pay in the local currency or pay in Canadian dollars. Before you accept the dynamic currency conversion, consider that it uses an exchange rate with a significant markup (around 3% to 5%). While you’ll save on the foreign transaction fees, you’ll still come out behind..
Tips for minimizing fees on foreign purchases
Here’s a quick rundown on saving money when shopping abroad or making online purchases in non-CAD:
Use a no-FX-fee card whenever possible: The easiest way to avoid forex fees is to use a forex-free credit card wherever they’re accepted. If the merchant doesn’t accept cards, try to pay cash in the local currency.
Consider cards that offset the FX fees: If you can’t get a card that waives forex fees, your next-best option is using a card that has a high rewards rate for non-CAD purchases that offsets the 2.5% fee.
Avoid dynamic currency conversion: When given the option to pay using local currency or your home currency, always choose the local currency option.
Watch for ATM and withdrawal fees: If you use an ATM, you’ll be hit with the foreign transaction fee and the ATM fee charged by the overseas machine. You’ll also incur cash advance interest charges immediately (unless you’ve purposely overpaid your credit card).
