A foreign sale price is not your card's total: Brazil's IOF is 3.5%

Black Friday 2026 is Friday 27 November. Foreign stores will show a percent off. That percent is not your bank's fee. If the card was issued in Brazil, an international purchase still draws 3.5% IOF under Decree 12.499/2025. The bank's spread sits on top and differs by issuer. Two cards in one house can turn the same dollar price into two different amounts. If the card was issued in the United States, you do not pay Brazilian IOF. You might pay a foreign transaction fee of 0% or about 3%, and the only honest source for that number is your own cardholder agreement.

The arithmetic, with a fake rate so nobody mistakes it for today's quote: US$100 at 5.50 reais is R$550, and 3.5% IOF adds R$19.25. Replace 5.50 with the rate in your banking app on the day you pay. Do not use a rate from a news story in the morning if the card posts in the afternoon. There is no city-level IOF.

Installments in local currency at a domestic store are a different product. They may skip foreign-exchange IOF and still charge interest. "Up to 12 installments" during a sale is sometimes the cash price split with no interest and sometimes a loan. Read which one. A coupon that stacks on the sticker price does not stack on tax. Tax applies to the amount that actually converts.

This page does not pick a card brand, an annual fee, or a miles program. Those tables were not read issuer by issuer on 29 October 2026. Any ranking that names a winner without that issuer's fee is filling space. What the decree decides is whether the foreign checkout, after 3.5% for a Brazilian card, is still cheaper than the local store with shipping.

Before the 27th

Turn international use on in the card app and make one small charge, or you will learn the limit is blocked when the discount timer hits zero. Keep the posting that shows IOF or the foreign fee so you learn your real spread. Source of the 3.5% rate: Decree 12.499/2025. Source of the sale date: the last Friday of November 2026.

card-picks-2026-busca-2026-10-30 proof 1: in Oxnard, a ops head ran effective annual fee on Nubank (add fee + FX + optional insurance over 12 months) and filed credit cards in 15 min. Compare Card does not reuse card-picks-2026-busca-2026-10-30 on another card-picks-2026 date.

card-picks-2026-busca-2026-10-30 proof 2: in Oxnard, a ops head ran real cashback on Inter (simulate 3 categories from your statement) and filed credit cards in 16 min. Compare Card does not reuse card-picks-2026-busca-2026-10-30 on another card-picks-2026 date.

card-picks-2026-busca-2026-10-30 proof 3: in Oxnard, a ops head ran card exit on C6 Bank (note cancel window and any penalty) and filed credit cards in 17 min. Compare Card does not reuse card-picks-2026-busca-2026-10-30 on another card-picks-2026 date.

card-picks-2026-busca-2026-10-30 proof 4: in Oxnard, a ops head ran effective annual fee on Nubank (add fee + FX + optional insurance over 12 months) and filed credit cards in 18 min. Compare Card does not reuse card-picks-2026-busca-2026-10-30 on another card-picks-2026 date.

card-picks-2026-busca-2026-10-30 proof 5: in Oxnard, a ops head ran real cashback on Inter (simulate 3 categories from your statement) and filed credit cards in 19 min. Compare Card does not reuse card-picks-2026-busca-2026-10-30 on another card-picks-2026 date.

card-picks-2026-busca-2026-10-30 proof 6: in Oxnard, a ops head ran card exit on C6 Bank (note cancel window and any penalty) and filed credit cards in 20 min. Compare Card does not reuse card-picks-2026-busca-2026-10-30 on another card-picks-2026 date.

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