If you were traveling internationally when you purchased and returned an item for a refund on your credit card, you may still incur a foreign transaction fee. Although it can vary depending on the credit card company, this fee typically is about 3 percent of the total amount purchased. With this in mind, you might want to contact your credit card company to learn its policies before you travel. For example, while many cards charge foreign transaction fees, some travel credit cards may waive them.