Choosing a Taiwanese Credit Card for Overseas Spending: The 1.5% Foreign Transaction Fee, DCC and How to Read Overseas Rewards Terms

To choose a credit card for overseas spending, start with some math: when you use a Taiwanese credit card abroad or pay in a foreign currency, you usually pay an extra 1.5% foreign transaction fee. So a card with 2% overseas rewards leaves you only about 0.5% after the fee, and with a card whose rewards are below 1.5%, spending abroad means losing money. When the card terminal asks whether you want to pay in NT dollars or the local currency, choose the local currency. If you choose NT dollars (DCC), the merchant’s side sets the exchange rate, the fee is still charged, and some cards don’t count the purchase toward overseas rewards.

So when comparing overseas rewards cards, don’t just look at the “up to X%” in the ads. What matters is the cap on the bonus, which tasks you have to complete, which countries and channels qualify (in person or online), and when the promotion ends. Below I use the official terms of five Taiwanese credit cards to show how to read them. This is not a ranking, and there is no “best card”, because the answer depends on where you go, how much you spend and whether you are willing to do the tasks.

This post is based on information from the banks’ and Visa’s official websites, checked on 17 October 2026. It is not financial advice and does not recommend any particular credit card. Card rewards and promotions change often, and most of these cards’ promotions run until the end of 2026. Before applying or spending, check the bank’s current announcements.

How the 1.5% foreign transaction fee is charged

Which transactions are charged

Taishin Bank’s fee notes define the scope: when the transaction currency is not NT dollars, or when you transact in NT dollars abroad (including refunds), including online transactions or those where the counterparty’s country is abroad, the amount is converted to NT dollars at the card network’s exchange rate on the settlement date, and a 1.5% fee is added.

So the 1.5% applies not only to card spending on trips abroad, but also to:

Paying in a foreign currency within Taiwan, for example when a website lets you choose to pay in US dollars.
Paying in NT dollars at a shop abroad (DCC, explained in the next section).
Paying on a website or app registered abroad, even if the page shows NT dollars.

What’s inside the 1.5%

Taishin’s cardholder rights notes state that the service fee rate the card networks charge Taishin is 1% of the transaction amount, which may change at any time. For the cardholder, what shows on the statement is the combined 1.5%.

DBS Bank gives an example in the promotion notes for its eco card (eco 永續卡): a purchase of USD 41.49 in the U.S. is converted to NT$1,316 on the statement, with a separate line, “foreign transaction fee / USA, NT$20.” Rewards are calculated on NT$1,316, and the fee line does not count as spending. The terms of the SinoPac DAWHO card and the Cathay United Bank CUBE card also exclude foreign transaction fees from rewards.

Which day’s exchange rate, and where to check it

Taishin says it uses the card network’s exchange rate on the settlement date, not the rate at the moment you pay. The cardholder bears any change in the exchange rate between the payment date and the settlement date.

To get an approximate rate before paying with a Visa card, you can use the exchange rate calculator on Visa’s website. The page describes it as a way to “learn the rate you may receive when paying with a Visa card while traveling internationally,” so it is only a reference. For cards on other networks, the exchange rate follows each network’s rules, and you can check with the issuing bank.

When the terminal asks “NT dollars or local currency”: what DCC is

DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion) is when a merchant or ATM abroad offers to convert the amount into NT dollars for you. Visa’s explanation page says that when a merchant offers DCC, you can choose to pay in your home currency, and the amount includes the exchange rate and additional fees.

Taishin’s rights notes spell out the cost of DCC more directly:

Exchange rate: the amount is converted to NT dollars at the rate the merchant offers at the time of the transaction.
Other fees: the merchant’s rate may include the merchant’s own handling or service fees.
The 1.5% still applies: if you pay in NT dollars, the transaction still goes through international clearing, and the 1.5% overseas transaction fee is still charged.

Another cost is rewards. The terms of Bank SinoPac’s DAWHO card exclude “dynamic foreign currency transactions (the merchant’s country is not Taiwan but the transaction is in NT dollars)” from overseas rewards, and the DBS eco card’s overseas bonus also requires that “the transaction currency is not NT dollars.” If you choose NT dollars, you still pay the fee, but your rewards may drop to the ordinary spending rate, or to nothing.

What to do when you’re offered DCC: Visa requires merchants and ATMs to show the amounts in both currencies, the exchange rate and any additional fees on the screen and the receipt, and to let you choose whether to accept or decline; they can’t decide for you. Visa also says declining DCC won’t affect your ability to pay by card or withdraw cash abroad. If you don’t see this information, or you feel pressured, Visa advises declining the conversion and reporting it to your issuing bank. In practice, choose the local currency on the terminal (for example yen or US dollars) and check the currency before you sign.

Paying in NT dollars on a foreign website can also incur the fee

This is the one people miss most often. The notes for Cathay United Bank’s CUBE card put it plainly: if the merchant is registered abroad, or the transaction currency is not NT dollars, the foreign transaction fee applies. And a website with a “tw” domain, or one with a branch in Taiwan, is not necessarily a domestic merchant.

This also affects rewards. The SinoPac DAWHO card’s overseas rewards cover only ordinary transactions where the merchant’s country is abroad and the currency is not NT dollars. The terms explicitly exclude:

Paying in NT dollars abroad, and paying in NT dollars on foreign hotel booking websites.
Online purchases (where the transaction location shows no country).
In-flight purchases, and transactions where the merchant’s country is blank.

In other words, an order paid in NT dollars on a foreign website may be charged the 1.5% and still earn no overseas rewards. If you often book hotels or subscribe to software on overseas websites, when you see “overseas rewards,” check whether the terms include online purchases or cover only “in-person” spending.

How to compare overseas rewards cards: net rewards, caps, tasks, channels

First, net rewards: the rewards rate minus 1.5%

The simplest formula is: net rewards ≈ overseas rewards rate − 1.5%.

Overseas rewards rate	After subtracting 1.5%
1%	about −0.5% (you lose money)
2%	about 0.5%
3%	about 1.5%
5%	about 3.5%

This is an estimate. Banks differ in what amount they calculate rewards on and how they round. DBS, for example, calculates on the converted purchase amount, excluding the fee.

Next, the cap: above it you drop back to the base rate

“Up to 5%” is often “1% base + 4% bonus,” and the bonus has a cap. Take the DBS eco card: its 4% overseas bonus is capped at 600 points per statement, which you use up at about NT$15,000 of in-person overseas spending. DBS’s own FAQ also works out an example: spend NT$25,000 on a trip to Japan, and the rewards are 15,000 × 5% + 10,000 × 1% = 850 points. The part above the cap earns only 1%, which after the 1.5% fee is a net cost.

Working backward from the cap to “how much you can spend before you hit it” is the fastest way to compare two cards:

Bonus cap ÷ bonus rewards rate = how much you can spend on the card before the bonus runs out.
If you expect to spend far more than that on a trip, look at what the spending above it earns.

Then the tasks: miss them and you don’t get the advertised number

High rewards often come with conditions, for example:

Paying your card bill by automatic debit from the bank’s own account, or switching to e-statements (the E.SUN Unicard, SinoPac DAWHO and Taishin Richart all have similar requirements).
Switching the benefits plan in the app every day (Cathay United CUBE, Taishin Richart).
Registering for a promotion, or meeting an asset or tier threshold (the E.SUN Unicard’s UP選 plan, Cathay United CUBE’s Level 3).

Finally, channels and countries

In person or online: “in-person overseas spending” usually excludes foreign websites.
Which countries: some bonuses apply only in listed countries. For example, the E.SUN Unicard’s “overseas in-person” category lists 18 countries and regions, and the DBS eco card lists countries including Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, the Americas and Europe.
Payment method: the DBS eco card’s overseas bonus requires paying in person at a local physical store with the physical card or Apple Pay / Samsung Pay; topping up e-money cards such as PASMO or SUICA in Japan doesn’t earn the bonus.
Exclusions: the E.SUN Unicard’s ordinary spending excludes “in-person transactions in the EU,” so check before going to Europe.

Terms of five Taiwanese credit cards for overseas spending compared (checked 2026-10-17)

The table below covers only the overseas-related rewards shown on each card’s official website on 17 October 2026. It is meant to show how to read the terms, not to serve as a list of recommendations. Most promotions run until 31 December 2026 and may change afterward; other benefits such as new-customer offers and co-branded merchants are not included.

Card	Overseas rewards (as the official site puts it)	Main conditions	Bonus cap	Online purchases
Cathay United Bank CUBE Card	“趣旅行” (travel) plan: 2% / 3% / 3.3% on in-person overseas spending (by Level 1 / 2 / 3); or “固定回饋” (fixed rewards) plan: 2.5% on in-person overseas spending	趣旅行 requires switching plans in the app; Level 2 requires paying the bill in the CUBE App or by automatic debit, Level 3 requires wealth management VIP status; 固定回饋 can be switched to once between 2026/8/3 and 12/31	Monthly cumulative designated spending is limited to that day’s credit limit plus NT$500,000	The plan says “in-person overseas spending”
E.SUN Unicard	“Overseas in-person” is one of the top 100 designated spending categories: 3% on the 簡單選 (Simple) plan, 4.5% on UP選 (including 1% ordinary spending rewards)	The 1% ordinary rate requires both e-statements and automatic debit from an E.SUN NT dollar account, otherwise 0.3%; UP選 requires 30,000 in spending last month and average assets of 300,000, or a subscription for 149 points	簡單選 bonus 1,000 points per month; UP選 5,000 points per month	Only “overseas in-person,” listing 18 countries and regions
SinoPac DAWHO Cash Back Card	2% overseas with no cap; 大戶Plus tier gets an extra 4% (up to 6%), 大戶 tier an extra 2.5%	The bonus requires automatic debit of the card bill from a DAWHO account and switching to e-statements or mobile statements; tiers follow the DAWHO tier system	大戶Plus NT$1,000 per month, 大戶 NT$400 per month	Excludes online purchases (where the transaction location shows no country) and paying in NT dollars abroad
DBS eco Card	1% in Taiwan and abroad with no cap; extra 4% (up to 5%) on in-person spending in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, the Americas and Europe	Pay with the physical card or Apple Pay / Samsung Pay at a local physical store, in a currency other than NT dollars, with a foreign transaction fee on the statement	Bonus 600 points per statement	Bonus only at physical stores
Taishin Richart Card	“玩旅刷” (travel) plan: 3.3%, including in-person and online overseas spending and transactions in European countries	Requires switching to 玩旅刷 in the Richart Life App; 3.3% only with automatic debit of the card bill from a Taishin account, otherwise up to 1.3%	The amount eligible for the bonus per statement is limited to the permanent credit limit plus NT$300,000	The plan explicitly includes online

A few differences you can see from the table:

The caps vary widely: the high bonuses on the DBS eco and SinoPac DAWHO cards have clear point or amount caps, which you hit at roughly NT$15,000 to NT$25,000 of spending. The caps on the Cathay United CUBE and Taishin Richart cards are based on your credit limit, which ordinary travel spending is unlikely to reach.
Online purchases are the dividing line: in the table, only the Taishin Richart plan explicitly includes online spending. The overseas bonuses on the others are written for in-person spending, or exclude online purchases with no clear transaction location.
The tasks almost always tie you to an account: most high rewards require paying the card bill by automatic debit from an account at the same bank, so if you don’t have an account there, you’ll need to open one.

Checklist for reading the terms

Before applying or traveling, go through the “notes” on the official website item by item:

Is the overseas rewards rate the base rate or a bonus? Does the bonus have a cap, and is the cap per month or per statement cycle?
Are the net rewards positive? Subtract 1.5% from the rewards rate, and include the spending above the cap.
What tasks are required? Automatic debit, e-statements, registration, switching plans every day, asset thresholds.
Which countries qualify, and in person or online? Are the EU, NT dollar transactions, online purchases with no clear location, or e-money top-ups excluded?
When does the promotion end? For the five cards in this post, most overseas-related promotions are listed as running until 31 December 2026.
How are the rewards paid? Cash, points or statement credit; how long points last before expiring, and which account they go into.

At the moment you pay, remember just one thing: pay in the local currency.

Beyond card spending: currency exchange, overseas accounts and local cards

The 1.5% is a cost you pay on every card purchase abroad. If you don’t just use your card on trips but regularly have foreign currency expenses, you can compare other tools as well:

Overseas bank accounts: if you need to receive or spend Hong Kong dollars or US dollars, see “Opening a Hong Kong Bank Account as a Taiwanese” for which Hong Kong banks Taiwanese can open accounts with, and their requirements and fees.
Getting a local card if you live abroad long term: I applied for an RMB credit card from China CITIC Bank in Beijing. How the application went for someone from outside the mainland, and the conditions, are in “Getting a China CITIC Bank Marriott Credit Card as a Taiwanese in Beijing.”

FAQ

How much do Taiwanese credit cards charge for spending abroad?

Taking Taishin's fee notes as an example, a foreign currency transaction, or a transaction in NT dollars abroad, is converted at the exchange rate on the settlement date and then charged an extra 1.5%, of which 1% is the service fee the card network charges the bank. DBS's example is a purchase in the U.S. converted to NT$1,316, with a separate foreign transaction fee of NT$20.

Is it cheaper to pay in NT dollars when using my card abroad?

Usually not. Choosing NT dollars is DCC (dynamic currency conversion): the merchant's side sets the exchange rate, which may include extra fees, and Taishin says paying in NT dollars still incurs the 1.5% foreign transaction fee. The overseas rewards terms of the SinoPac DAWHO card and the DBS eco card also exclude transactions paid in NT dollars abroad.

Do I still pay a foreign transaction fee when paying in NT dollars on a foreign website?

You may. Taishin and Cathay United Bank both state that a transaction with a merchant registered abroad is charged the foreign transaction fee even if you pay in NT dollars. Cathay United also warns that a site with a tw domain, or one with a branch in Taiwan, is not necessarily a domestic merchant.

With a card that gives 2% overseas rewards, how much do I actually get after the fee?

About 0.5%. The foreign transaction fee is 1.5%, so 2% rewards minus 1.5% leaves about 0.5% in net rewards; with a card whose rewards rate is below 1.5%, spending abroad is a net cost. Banks differ in what amount they calculate rewards on and how they round, so this is an estimate.

Which day's exchange rate is used for card spending abroad?

According to Taishin, the card network's exchange rate on the settlement date is used to convert to NT dollars, not the rate at the moment you pay, and the cardholder bears the exchange rate risk. Visa's website has an exchange rate calculator you can use to check the approximate rate in advance.

What are the most important terms of an overseas rewards card?

Look at four things: the cap on bonus rewards, the tasks you must complete (such as automatic payment, e-statements or switching plans), the countries and channels that qualify (in person or online), and the promotion period. For example, the DBS eco card's 4% bonus is capped at 600 points per statement, which you reach at about NT$15,000 of in-person overseas spending.