Canada’s Best No Foreign ATM Fee Bank Card Debit Card

Best No Foreign Transaction Fees Bank Card in Canada

I was looking for a Canadian bank card that charges no foreign currency transaction fee and no international ATM withdrawal fee. Then I came across the EQ Savings Plus Account.

EQ Bank offers a high-interest savings account, unlimited transactions, unlimited Interac e-Transfers, bill payments, and Electronic Funds Transfers. No minimum balance requirements, no separate accounts for savings/chequing … and all these are free.

All these sounded too good to be true, so I was hesitant. So, I read of few reviews online and contacted their customer support. At this point, I was certain that this was the real deal and I ended up opening an account.

I was only interested in the unique feature of EQ Bank’s no foreign currency ATM withdrawal fees and no foreign currency transaction fees. I have a one-month long trip coming up, so I needed to have a bank card that lets me withdraw from foreign ATMs.

The problem with taking out money from a foreign ATM with a Canadian bank card is that you will get hit 3 times with fees. Your Canadian bank’s ATM fee, a foreign currency transaction fee, and a foreign location’s ATM fee imposed by that ATM.

With an EQ Bank card debit card, I am removing my Canadian bank’s ATM fee and foreign currency transaction fee, which is a win-win situation and for all these benefits EQ Bank is not charging anything. 

I will keep a few hundred dollars (for security) to access via my EQ bank card when I am traveling and if I need more, I can always transfer more money from my regular bank.

I have a video about EQ Bank you can watch here:

The Best Canadian Bank Debit Card To Avoid International ATM Fees

2 Big Secrets Most Travel Credit Cards Are Hiding from You

What Your Travel Credit Cards Are Not Telling You

You can be paying a $700 Annual Fee for American Express Platinum, $250 for Amex Gold, $400 for TD, CIBC, RBC Visa Infinite Privilege (and many others), but what they don’t want you to know is that you will get dinged with 2.5% foreign currency transaction fee and some of these even don’t provide free lounge access.

For example, American Express Gold has a hefty $250 annual fee, but it even doesn’t provide free global lounge access. On paper, it looks like there are 4 free Plaza Premium Lounge Passes, but these free lounge passes are only applicable to Canadian airports.

The most important travel credit card feature all these cards don’t provide and are actually hiding from you is the foreign transaction fee. Every time you make a purchase in something other than Canadian currency, you will get charged a 2.5 percent foreign transaction (FX) fee.

However, there is one card with only a $140 annual fee that gives you both zero foreign currency transaction fees and 6 free global lounge accesses. Scotia Passport Visa Infinite is the only travel credit card on the Canadian market that offers both free global lounge access and zero foreign currency FX fees.

If you are reading this from another country, look for a travel credit card that offers zero foreign currency transaction fees and free global lounge access. These features should be the gold standard of any premium travel credit cards.

To view this article in video format, please visit this link: Secrets Travel Credit Cards Hiding From You

American Express Gold Canada Review (Non-Affiliated Real Review)

AmEx Gold Canada Review | Non-Affiliated & Unbiased Review

American Express Gold Canada is a popular travel credit card giving some travel perks and features to Canadians. AmEx Gold has a $250 annual fee (1st supplementary card is free), but there is an annual $100 travel credit when you book travel through American Rxpress website, making it $150 per year.

American Express Gold Canada offers most travel insurance you would expect from a premium credit card, including trip cancellation insurance, which many other premium Amex cards do not offer.

AmEx Gold Canada offers many perks and features, but 3 big features the AmEx Gold Canada card is missing are concierge service, no foreign transaction fee, and global lounge access free passes. Although, AmEx Gold Canada provides 4 Canadian Plaza Premium Lounge passes and a complimentary Priority Pass membership, but not free passes.

A distinctive feature AmEx Gold Canada has is that it’s made of metal, not plastic. 13 grams of stainless steel feels good in your hands and cold to the touch. Although the supplementary card is plastic, not metal. I ordered a supplementary card thinking it would be metal too but was disappointed when I found out it was plastic.

 American Express Gold Canada also provides 24-hour Travel Emergency Assistance, to help in finding hospitals, embassies, doctors and lawyers around the world. This service also provides you with key travel information, including details on visa and inoculation requirements, and much more.

Travel Emergency Assistance is specific to AmEx Gold Canada (and Platinum) and many other premium Amex cards, such as AmEx Cobalt or Marriott Bonvoy, do not offer this service.

Please visit this link to watch my American Express Gold Canada Review in video format.

Limited Time Opportunity: Download Credit Card Hacks For Free on Amazon

Credit Card Hacks:

What Credit Card Companies Don’t Want You to Know By Award-Winning Author Ahmed Dawn

This is a special post to let you all guys know that my latest book Credit Card Hacks has been published and currently available on Amazon.

There is a promotional free download offer, which will expire on December 12, 2020 midnight. Grab your free copy here:

mybook.to/CreditCardHacks

Credit Card Hacks is a must-have guide for digital-age credit card users and delivers simple steps to use credit cards for savings and travelling the globe for free or paying very little.

If you are not using the right credit card, you are losing an opportunity to earn a free point or mile. To help you get started with credit card benefits, this book will show you:

 - How to Pick the Right Credit Cards

- How to Use Promotional Rate Offers

- What Credit Card Feature You Should Never Use

- The Hidden Credit Card Perk No One Uses

- How to Travel for Free/Fly Business Class Using Credit Cards

- And much more

Is Travel Credit Card Scotiabank Gold American Express Now A Cash Back Credit Card As Well?

Scotiabank Gold Amex Credit Card Offers New Feature

First Published Date: November 26, 2016

Scotiabank Gold American Express travel credit card is known for its mega proprietary points offer on selected categories, beating any other cards. For example, 4 points for every $1 spent at eligible gas, grocery, dining, and entertainment purchases in Canada. You can read my full review here: The ScotiaBank Gold American Express Card Review. However, a recent change made on Scotia Rewards Program, starting November 6, 2016, makes Scotiabank Gold Amex Credit Card as a Cash Back credit card as well.

Author/Copyright: Ahmed Dawn www.adawnjournal.com

In the past, Scotiabank Gold Amex card members were only allowed to redeem points for travel purchases, as it’s a travel rewards credit card. But to make the use of this credit card more flexible and attractive, Scotiabank is now allowing you to redeem points for statement credit on any purchases. This change of feature makes this card basically a travel credit card that works as a Cash Back credit card as well.

However, this change puts Scotiabank Gold Amex card in direct competition with Scotia’s own cash back credit card, the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card, which offers 4 percent on gas + grocery and 2 percent on pharmacy + recurring bills. Read my review on this card here Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card review if you need to decide which one to choose.

There is another travel credit card, the MBNA World Elite Rewards MasterCard, which offers a flat 2 points per dollar on all spending and allows you to redeem points for cash back.

I consider this cash back option offered by Scotiabank Gold Amex travel credit card as a positive change, as it provides greater flexibility for customers.