If you read my previous piece on cross-border credit card fees in Hong Kong, you’ll know the standard play: most banks quietly clip you for around 1.95% on foreign transactions. Whether you’re shopping overseas, booking online in USD, or paying for a meal in Tokyo, those little fees add up fast.
So what if you want to avoid them?
The good news is there are a handful of cards in Hong Kong that don’t charge the foreign transaction fee.
For my current credit card strategy see my 2026 credit card stack.
Why FX Fees Hurt
A 1.95% fee doesn’t sound huge, but here’s the reality:
- Spend HK$10,000 abroad and you’ve just paid ~HK$195 in fees for nothing.
- Even small digital spends can trigger the fee — think Netflix, iHerb, Uber, or flight bookings.
Beating that 1.95% is the single biggest travel finance hack available to HK cardholders.
Credit Cards with No FX Fees
Right now, three Hong Kong credit cards stand out for waiving the 1.95% foreign transaction fee and the cross-border fees (CBF) I flagged in my previous article:
- Standard Chartered Smart Card – up to 1.2% cashback, but in most cases only 0.56%, since the higher rate applies only if you meet the minimum monthly spend..
- Mox Credit Card (Asia Miles option) - 1 Asia Mile per HK$4 if you hold HK$250k+ with Mox, or 1 per HK$8 if you don’t.
- BOC Taobao Card – 0% handling fee for spending at Taobao.
Always check the fine print, though — some of these offers are subject to promotional periods or conditions.
👉 If you haven’t already, you might want to first read my post on cross-border credit card fees in Hong Kong — it explains why avoiding both FX and CBF fees really matters when you’re spending abroad.
Multi-Currency Debit Cards as an Alternative
Not everyone wants to rely on credit cards abroad. If you’d prefer to spend what you actually have — or if you want a cheap way to withdraw cash overseas — consider multi-currency debit cards.
In Hong Kong, the main players are:
- HSBC – 0.4% cashback on each spend and access to HSBC’s global banking debit/ATM network
- Standard Chartered – 0.5% cashback on each spend (card is only available to Priority or Priority Private customers).
- Citibank – access to Citi’s global banking debit/ATM network.
A few quirks worth noting:
- ATM operator fees abroad – Even if your HK bank doesn’t charge you, the overseas ATM provider often will.
- FX margin – If you don’t preload the right currency, the bank may apply its own (not always favourable) exchange rate. Each bank has different rules on how the margin is set, so check the terms.
- Good for cash – Debit cards are particularly useful for withdrawing money abroad, where credit cards are weaker.
Other Cards Worth Mentioning
There are plenty of cards in Hong Kong that throw extra rewards, cashback, or bonus miles at you when you spend overseas. The catch: almost all of them still charge the 1.95% FX fee.
Sometimes the rewards outweigh the fee — especially for heavy mileage collectors — but that’s a different strategy. For this piece I’m sticking to the pure fee-free angle.
The Fine Print: Things Change
Promotions come and go. A card that proudly advertises 0% FX fees today might quietly revert back to charging you next year. Always check the Key Facts Statement, confirm whether the waiver is permanent or just a promo, and test with a small foreign spend before relying on it.
Watch Out for DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion)
Even if your card doesn’t charge FX fees, merchants and ATMs abroad will often ask if you want to pay in HKD instead of the local currency. This is called Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC). It sounds convenient, but it usually means you get hit with a poor exchange rate and extra charges. The golden rule when travelling: always choose to pay in the local currency.
The Bottom Line
- Most HK credit cards still hit you with ~1.95% on foreign currency spend.
- Three cards currently stand out for avoiding it (and also avoiding cross-border fees): SCB Smart Card, Mox Credit Card (Asia Miles option), and BOC Taobao Card.
- My personal choice is Mox — easy online application, everything managed in-app, and Asia Miles accumulate at a decent rate.
- For cashback fans, SCB Smart Card can work, but the real-world rate is often only 0.56%.
- For cash withdrawals, I recommend HSBC’s multi-currency debit card (especially if you’re Premier or higher, as you’ll avoid ATM withdrawal fees).
- Finally, wherever you travel, remember the golden rule: always pay in the local currency and avoid DCC.
Promotions shift, terms change. Always check before you fly.
For most travellers, the smartest play is to carry one no-FX credit card and one multi-currency debit card. That way you’ve got both bases covered.
👉 What about you — do you travel with a fee-free card, or do you accept the 1.95% and chase rewards instead?
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