Hey folks, I’m curious about the Scapia Credit Card for international use. Does anyone know the exact forex markup rate they charge on transactions made abroad? Is it lower compared to regular credit cards or around the standard 3.5%? Any real user insights on hidden charges would help.
I used the Scapia Credit Card on two trips abroad last year Dubai and then Europe and honestly, their international charges were way better than what I was expecting. Scapia only hits you with around 2% forex markup which is definitely cheaper than most regular cards which was awesome since I was used to getting screwed with 3.5% on my HDFC card.
Every so often Scapia would send random international deals (lower forex rates or bonus stuff) during certain times, but that basic 2% rate pretty much stayed the same while I was traveling.
What I actually paid while spending abroad | What Scapia charged | Compared to my other cards | My real experience using it overseas |
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Eating out (Restaurants, street food, whatever) | Just 2% markup | Way cheaper than HDFC’s 3.5% | Saved a bunch of money on food in Dubai |
Hotel stuff (Rooms, room service, hotel bills) | 2% markup | Much better than other banks | Felt good not getting ripped off on expensive hotels |
Getting cash (ATM withdrawals for local money) | 2% + ₹200 fee | Similar flat fee everywhere | The ₹200 sucked but at least markup was lower |
Online shopping (Buying stuff from foreign sites) | 2% markup | Definitely cheaper | Bought random stuff online, saved on conversion |
Getting around (Taxis, metro, local transport) | 2% markup | Better than most cards | Used it everywhere, those small savings added up |
Cool shit I found out about using Scapia internationally:
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No surprise charges beyond that 2% exactly what they promised, nothing extra.
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Card worked fine pretty much everywhere I tried to use it, no random rejections.
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Their app showed live exchange rates which was actually useful for tracking my spending.
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Customer support didn’t completely suck when I had problems abroad, unlike some other cards.
So in short: Scapia charges 2% forex markup which beats the usual 3.5% bullshit definitely one of the better choices for traveling abroad, plus no sneaky hidden fees that other cards love to surprise you with later.