Best Credit Cards for International Spends

The markup is not the whole decision. Three costs sit on top of it. GST of 18% applies to the markup, so 3.5% really costs 4.13%. The card network sets the exchange rate before the markup is applied. And the shop abroad may offer to bill you in rupees, which adds a second margin you never see. Get that last one wrong and a 0% card costs more than a 2% card.

Which credit card has the lowest forex markup in India?

Sorted by all-in cost, lowest first. The all-in column is the markup plus 18% GST on that markup. Annual fee is the renewal fee before GST.

Source: issuer tariff pages, as of 5 September 2026. Markups are changed at short notice. Check the schedule of charges on your own card before you travel.

What does a forex markup cost on ₹1,00,000 of spending?

The markup is a percentage of the rupee value of each foreign transaction. GST is charged on the markup, not on the purchase. So a 3.5% markup costs 4.13% of the bill.

Spend ₹1,00,000 abroad and the sums are simple. A 3.5% card costs ₹4,130. A 2% card costs ₹2,360. A zero-markup card costs nothing. The gap between the best and worst card here is ₹4,130 for every ₹1,00,000 spent. Two weeks in Europe crosses that easily.

Now compare that with the fee. HDFC Infinia charges ₹12,500 a year. On forex alone, it takes about ₹7,00,000 of overseas spending to beat a free 0% card. The Scapia card wins for almost everybody. Run your own figures on the forex markup calculator. The charge is broken down further under forex markup charges.

Why a zero-markup card can still be the wrong card

Three things bite. First, rewards. Most Indian issuers pay reward points on international spends. But the low-markup cards are not the strongest earners. A 2% markup with a 3% reward rate beats a 0% markup with a 1% one. Work out the net, not the headline.

Second, what the card gives you when things go wrong. Free zero-markup cards rarely carry travel insurance, purchase protection or emergency card replacement abroad. Premium cards do. That is a large part of what the fee buys.

Third, acceptance. American Express is thin outside major cities and across much of Asia. RuPay works in a short and growing list of countries, not everywhere. Carry a Visa or Mastercard as a backup, whatever your main card is.

Should you use a credit card or a forex card abroad?

They are regulated differently, and that matters more than the markup.

Loading a forex prepaid card is a remittance under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme. Spending on an Indian credit card while you are physically abroad is not. The RBI states it plainly: “The LRS limit shall not apply to the use of ICC for making payment by a person towards meeting expenses while such person is on a visit outside India.” That is from the RBI’s Miscellaneous forex facilities FAQ, updated 5 September 2026.

That single line is why a credit card is often the cleaner instrument. It keeps the spend outside your LRS headroom. The trade-off is that you carry the exchange-rate risk until the statement date. See the LRS limit and TCS rules for how the remittance side works, and forex cards for the prepaid option.

The habit that saves more than any card choice

Always pay in the local currency. If a terminal or a website offers to charge you in rupees, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion. The merchant’s payment processor sets the rate, and the margin is usually far worse than your card’s markup.

A traveller with a 3.5% card who always declines rupee billing can end up cheaper than one with a 0% card who accepts it. We cover the trap in detail under dynamic currency conversion. It costs nothing to get right and takes one tap.