Cards built for spending abroad.

Forex markup is a hidden tax on every international swipe. The market default is 3.5%, which on a ₹5 lakh international spend year adds up to ₹17,500 — roughly the annual fee of a premium travel card. A card with a 1.5–2% markup quietly saves enough to justify itself for anyone traveling abroad regularly.

A handful of cards on our shelf charge a genuine 0% forex markup and are open to direct applicants rather than gated behind an invite-only relationship tier — the Scapia Federal Bank Credit Card, the IDFC FIRST Mayura Credit Card, the RBL Bank World Safari Credit Card, and AU Small Finance Bank's ixigo Credit Card all clear that bar. Just above zero, AU Bank's Zenith+ and HSBC's Premier Metal charge under 1%. Outside that small group, the achievable sweet spot for most applicants is a 1.5–2% markup paired with decent domestic rewards.

Don't conflate forex markup with Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC). Even on a 2% forex card, if you accept the merchant's offered local-currency conversion, you pay an additional 3–5% DCC markup. Always decline DCC and pay in the local currency; the card's native conversion beats the merchant's.

International rewards are the other side of the coin. Many cards earn accelerated points on international spend (often 2–5× the domestic rate), which offsets the markup further. We factor the realistic net cost — markup minus rewards — into the ranking, not the headline markup alone.

Card network doesn't determine the forex markup — the issuing bank sets it independently of Visa, Mastercard, or Diners Club. Our lowest-markup cards span multiple networks: Visa Signature (AU ixigo), Mastercard World (RBL World Safari), and a dual Visa Infinite/Mastercard World Elite card (IDFC FIRST Mayura). Don't assume switching networks alone lowers your forex cost — compare markup issuer by issuer using the table above.

Forex rankings net the card's markup against a realistic international-spend allocation alongside its domestic rewards, so a low-markup card with weak everyday earning can still lose to a stronger all-rounder. Full mechanics at /about/methodology.