Best travel credit cards in the UK for 2026 and the two with no fees abroad

Trek Guide Lloyds Ultra is the best card to take abroad for most people: no foreign fee and 1% cashback in year one. Barclaycard Rewards is the other no-fee… By Bishnu Adhikari · Sep 27, 2026 Read the full story

For most UK travellers the Lloyds Ultra is the best card to take abroad: no foreign transaction fee, 1% cashback in the first year and the lowest representative rate here, at 14.9% APR variable. The Barclaycard Rewards is the other no-fee option, with… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

The four cards side by side

Two of the four charge nothing on foreign spending, and those two are the ones to take abroad. The table uses each issuer's own representative example. Your rate depends on your circumstances and may differ. Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

Why the non-sterling fee decides it

A 2.99% non-sterling fee costs &pound;29.90 on every &pound;1,000 you spend abroad, which is more than most cards earn back in rewards. Barclaycard's own help pages list a 2.99% non-sterling purchase fee and a 2.99% cash fee (&pound;2.99 minimum) on its cards… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

Lloyds Ultra, the best all-rounder abroad

The Ultra combines no foreign transaction fee with cashback and a low rate, which is a rare mix. Lloyds pays 1% cashback on all card purchases in the first year from account opening and 0.25% after that. There is no monthly account fee, and Lloyds charges no… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

Barclaycard Rewards, no fees abroad including cash

Barclaycard Rewards charges nothing abroad on purchases and shows a 0.00% fee on all cash withdrawals, with 0.25% cashback on everyday spending. Representative 28.9% APR variable, purchase rate 28.9% p.a. variable, based on a &pound;1,200 limit. The cashback… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

Barclaycard Avios, the free way to collect Avios

The Barclaycard Avios earns 1 Avios per pound with no monthly fee, and 5,000 bonus Avios if you are new to Barclaycard and spend &pound;1,000 in three months. Spend &pound;20,000 in 12 months and you can choose a British Airways cabin upgrade voucher or 7,000… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

Amex Preferred Rewards Gold, for lounge access

The Gold's real draw is four complimentary Priority Pass lounge visits a year and a free first year; after that it costs &pound;195. It earns 1 Membership Rewards point per pound, 2 on purchases made directly with airlines and 3 on American Express Travel… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

Taking a UK card to Nepal

In Nepal even the best no-fee card is a city tool: cards work at a small number of upmarket hotels, large agencies and perhaps one or two restaurants per city, usually with a 3—4% surcharge, and not at all on the trail. That is our own field reporting. Nepali… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

Keep reading

The four decisions that choose a card, with every comparison in one place. The card-machine question that costs travellers most. The four charges on a trip abroad, and how to dodge them. Where points genuinely beat paying cash. What card travel cover actually… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

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