What's the Latest on Travel Credit Cards?

March 10, 2011 — -- The relationship between travel and credit cards may be longstanding, but it continually evolves and changes. Knowing my ongoing interest in the subject, a reader asked me:

"What's new with credit cards for travelers?"

The short answer is, "Some key issuers have added important benefits to at least a few of their cards. But there's no news yet on the chip-and-pin front." Here's a look at some of the latest developments.

Chase and Citi Drop Foreign Surcharges on Premium Cards

Two big banks are dropping the 3 percent surcharge on foreign purchases on at least some of their premium-level cards:

• Citi has dropped the charge on its Thank You Premier and Thank You Prestige cards.
• Chase previously dropped the surcharge on its British Airways Signature Visa card and Hyatt Visa card ($75 annual fee), and is now dropping it on the Continental Airlines Presidential Plus and the United Mileage Plus Club Visa cards.

These two banks join Capital One in eliminating not only the bank-imposed 2 percent surcharge but also the 1 percent conversion fee nominally charged by the international MasterCard/Cirrus and Visa/Plus networks, resulting in a zero fee. American Express has also recently dropped the surcharge for its Platinum card.

I know of no other banks that assess neither their own nor the network fees, but several niche banks, including USAA and many credit unions, add only the networks' 1 percent charge, as do some other cards limited to a few banks' preferred and high-value customers. But on most cards, the giant banks – Bank of America, HSBC, US Bank, Wells Fargo – still add a 3 percent surcharge to all foreign purchases, as do Citi and Chase on other cards.