Best No-Foreign-Transaction-Fee Cards to Pay Your Cambodia eVisa (US 2026)

The US card categories that usually waive the fee

Rather than name specific products that change terms every year, it is more useful to know the categories of US cards that, as a rule, waive foreign transaction fees. If your card falls into one of these buckets, there is a strong chance it already pays the eVisa at the exact USD price — check the terms to confirm, but start here.

• Travel rewards credit cards. This is the category built for spending abroad, and waiving the foreign transaction fee is close to universal across it. If your card earns travel points or miles, it very likely has no foreign transaction fee.
• Premium and annual-fee cards. Cards carrying a yearly fee almost always drop the foreign transaction fee as part of the package, since they are pitched at frequent travelers. The annual fee is doing the work the per-transaction fee otherwise would.
• Online-bank and fintech debit cards. Several US online banks and fintech checking accounts issue debit cards with no foreign transaction fee — a useful option if you would rather pay from a checking balance than a credit line.
• Some mainstream no-annual-fee credit cards. A growing number of everyday cards with no yearly fee now also waive the foreign transaction fee. This is the category people most often underestimate, so it is worth checking even a basic card.
• Credit-union cards. Many US credit unions issue cards with low or zero foreign transaction fees. If you bank with a credit union, the terms are worth a quick look before you assume you will be charged.

The categories that tend to charge the fee are the opposite end: basic store cards, some entry-level secured cards, and a number of legacy no-frills bank cards that have never been positioned for travel. None of those are wrong to use — the fee on an $80 charge is about $2.40 — but if you have a choice in your wallet, the travel or premium card is the one to reach for.

Whichever card you choose, it works the same way at our checkout. For the full list of what we accept — networks, wallets, and the security around it — see our Cambodia eVisa payment methods for Americans guide.

How to check the card already in your wallet

Before you think about opening anything new, confirm what your current card does. There is a real chance it already has no foreign transaction fee, which makes the whole question moot. Every US card discloses this in plain language, and there are three reliable ways to check in about two minutes.

First, open your card's mobile app or log in online and find the cardholder agreement, the rates-and-fees table, or the benefits guide. Foreign transaction fees are always listed there, phrased as a percentage or as "None." Second, search the card name plus "foreign transaction fee" — issuers publish this on their public product pages because US law requires the disclosure. Third, call the number on the back of the card and ask one question: does this card charge a foreign transaction fee on charges processed outside the US? Any of the three gives you a definitive answer before you reach checkout.

The totals above use a 3% rate for the fee-charging row, which is the most common figure on US cards. Some issuers charge slightly less, a few slightly more, and a large share charge nothing at all. Two minutes with your own terms tells you exactly which line you are on before you spend a cent.

Digital wallets, and whether a new card is worth it

We accept PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay alongside Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. A wallet does not have its own foreign transaction fee — it passes the charge through to whichever card you have linked behind it. Link a no-foreign-transaction-fee card and you pay the exact USD price; link a fee-charging card and the fee still applies, because the wallet inherits the underlying card's terms. If you keep a no-fee card set as your wallet default, paying the eVisa is effortless and markup-free.

So is it worth opening a brand-new no-fee card purely for the visa? For the $80 charge alone, no — a 3% fee is about $2.40, and a new card is not worth the hassle for that. But the calculation changes the moment you look at the whole trip. Every hotel, every online booking with a Cambodian merchant, and every card tab on the ground attracts that same roughly 3% if your card charges it. Across a two-week trip, a no-foreign-transaction-fee card can save far more than the visa fee ever would.

If you do already hold an American Express card and want to use it, it works at our checkout the same as any other network. Our Cambodia eVisa payment methods guide for US citizens covers card networks, wallets, and the security around each so you can pay with whatever you trust most.

One practical note before you pay with any card, no-fee or otherwise: make sure it is enabled for international online transactions. US banks sometimes place a fraud hold on an unfamiliar overseas merchant, which can decline an otherwise good card. A quick heads-up to your bank, or a travel notice in the app, clears that before it costs you a delay at checkout.

The e-Arrival Card and spending once you land

The same card logic carries straight through to the rest of your Cambodia spending. The e-Arrival Card — the separate, mandatory step every air arrival files — is $5 USD verified through us, billed in dollars like the visa. A no-foreign-transaction-fee card pays exactly $5; a fee-charging card adds its usual percentage to that small amount too. It is the same rule, applied to a smaller number.

On the ground, the foreign transaction fee stops being a one-off and becomes the running theme of the trip. Every hotel swipe, every online booking, and every restaurant tab on plastic can carry the same roughly 3% if your card charges it. This is exactly why a no-fee card is worth sorting before you fly rather than just for the visa — the savings compound across the whole trip in a way they never do on a single $80 charge.

A quick word on cash, since Americans always ask. Cambodia runs heavily on US dollars on the ground, so a lot of your in-country spending will be in physical USD with no card and no fee involved at all. That does not change the eVisa, which is an online payment, but it does mean the card question mostly matters for online and card spending. For where the visa sits in your wider budget, our Cambodia visa cost for Americans guide breaks down every line in the all-in total.

The bottom line before you pick a card

Put plainly: the Cambodia eVisa costs $80 USD for the Tourist eVisa and $90 USD for the Business eVisa, billed in dollars, approved in 3 business days, and delivered as a printable PDF by email. The best card to pay with is any US card that has no foreign transaction fee — and the odds are good that something already in your wallet qualifies. There is no single product you have to chase; the no-fee feature is the whole answer.

Check your current card first. If it has no foreign transaction fee, use it and pay the exact USD price. If it charges one and you have a travel or premium card handy, switch to that. If you do not, paying about $2.40 extra on the Tourist eVisa is small and entirely your bank's charge, not ours — and well worth it if a new card is not warranted for the rest of your trip.

Next steps and related reading for Americans: apply for your Cambodia eVisa when you are ready to pay, read the mechanics in our Cambodia eVisa foreign transaction fees guide, compare every accepted card and wallet in the Cambodia eVisa payment methods for Americans guide, and bookmark the Cambodia visa for United States citizens hub as your single reference for everything else.