What is a foreign transaction fee?

What decides whether a foreign transaction fee applies?

A card is issued in a home market and keeps a billing currency. A transaction can move outside that setting in two ways: the merchant, or the bank that processes the payment for it, sits in another market, or the amount is priced in a different currency from the one the account is billed in. Each issuer writes its own rule for when that turns into a charge, and each card product inherits the rule of the agreement it is issued under. That is why the same purchase can cost different amounts on two cards, and why the fee is a property of the card rather than of the loyalty currency it earns.

The separation matters when you compare cards. American Express states that its Membership Rewards terms relate only to the rewards programme, and that the terms and conditions for a specific card come in a separate document received at enrolment [1]. The rewards terms then decide a narrower question: whether the amount charged counts towards earning [1] [2].

Do foreign transaction fees earn rewards points?

On the American Express Membership Rewards accounts, no. Earning is defined around eligible purchases, described as goods and services bought on the card minus returns and other credits, and the exclusion list names "Foreign exchange fees and fees for account services" alongside cash advances, balance transfers, person-to-person transactions and interest charges [1]. The same foreign exchange wording appears in the checking-account section of the same terms, where it is excluded from purchases made with the linked debit card [1].

On the Chase side, the Ink Business Preferred with Ultimate Rewards Program Agreement takes a broader approach: purchases are products and services minus returns or refunds, and the transactions that do not count include "fees of any kind, including an annual fee, if applicable" [2]. A foreign transaction fee therefore falls under the general fee exclusion rather than under a rule written specifically for spending abroad.

The exclusion stops at the fee itself. American Express measures earning on the underlying purchase as goods and services minus returns and other credits, and lists fees as a separate excluded item [1]. Chase defines purchases in the same shape, as products and services minus returns or refunds, before removing fees and other transaction types from the group [2].

Where does the transaction currency come in?

When an amount is priced in one currency and the account is billed in another, a conversion happens before the charge reaches the statement, and the issuer or its network applies a rate. Any charge attached to that conversion is part of the card's pricing, which is why the transaction currency rather than the destination decides the outcome: paying a merchant at home in a foreign currency can raise the same questions as paying abroad in the local one.

Foreign currency also appears in the earning rules in a different sense, as something a cardholder can buy. Chase treats "cash-like transactions including, but not limited to" travellers checks, foreign currency, money orders, wire transfers and cryptocurrency as transactions that do not count as purchases at all [2]. That is a rule about acquiring currency as a product, not about a cardholder spending abroad, and the two should not be read as the same exclusion. American Express separates its own cash-like list, naming cash advances and cash equivalents including gift cards [1].

Exceptions and limits

• More than foreign fees. The American Express exclusion list also removes fees or interest charges on the account, fees for Card Member services the holder enrols in, and rewards programme fees, so a foreign exchange fee is one line in a wider fee exclusion [1].
• Issuer discretion. American Express states that the list of eligible purchases and exclusions is determined in its sole discretion and is subject to change at any time without notice, and that points may be removed if they were earned on ineligible purchases [1].
• Other transaction types excluded. The Chase agreement also keeps balance transfers, cash advances, checks that access the account, interest, and unauthorized or fraudulent charges outside the purchases that earn points, so the fee rule is applied next to a longer list [2].
• Market and product scope. The examples here are US-issued American Express and Chase accounts. The fee amount and the currency rules for a given card sit in that card's own agreement, which is separate from the rewards terms [1], so a different card, or a card issued outside the United States, can reach a different result for the same purchase.

Frequently asked questions

Does paying a foreign transaction fee earn points?

No, on both accounts described here. American Express lists foreign exchange fees among the items that are not eligible purchases [1], and Chase excludes fees of any kind from purchases [2].

Does the exclusion apply to the whole purchase or only to the fee?

Only to the fee. Earning is assessed on the purchase as goods and services minus returns and other credits or refunds, and the fee is listed as a separate excluded item [1] [2].

Does buying foreign currency count as a purchase?

Not under the Chase agreement, which places foreign currency among cash-like transactions that do not count as purchases [2]. That rule concerns buying currency, not spending abroad in it.

Why does the rewards programme not set the fee?

Because the programmes define earning and redemption, while card terms are issued separately. American Express says its Membership Rewards terms relate only to the rewards programme and that product terms come in a separate document [1].

Related pages

Start with credit cards for US travellers and the card selection framework. Terms: card annual fee, category bonus, loyalty currency. See also the card travel protection checklist and the full glossary.

Sources

Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. Only US-issued American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards accounts are covered; cards issued outside the United States, and other issuers and rewards programmes, are not covered here.

1. Membership Rewards Program Terms and Conditions, American Express, checked 18 October 2026
2. Ink Business Preferred with Ultimate Rewards Program Agreement, Chase, checked 18 October 2026