GCash Visa vs MariBank Mastercard for a US trip

Hi everyone! I will be traveling to the US this September. I’m trying to decide which of my two cards should be my primary card for the trip.

I currently have:

• GCash Visa Card
• MariBank Mastercard

I recently confirmed that GCash is currently back to 0% FX fees for international transactions, which makes the decision a little more interesting.

My trip will involve quite a lot of spending in the US, mainly:

• In-store shopping
• Restaurants and cafés
• Attractions and activities
• Transportation
• Stadium purchases
• Some online purchases such as tickets, reservations, etc.
• Possibly some ATM withdrawals

I’ll be using the cards mostly for in-store purchases, but I expect to have a reasonable amount of online spending as well.

Both cards are funded in PHP, and I would prefer to keep my money in PHP rather than converting a large amount to USD beforehand.

From what I understand so far:

GCash Visa

• Currently 0% FX fee
• Visa
• Convenient because I can keep my funds in PHP
• Seems potentially good for both in-store and online purchases

MariBank Mastercard

• 0% FX for overseas in-store transactions
• However, I understand there may be a fee for overseas online transactions
• No MariBank fee for international ATM withdrawals, although the US ATM itself may charge a fee

I’m less concerned about rewards/cashback and more interested in the actual total cost, exchange rate, convenience, reliability, and ATM experience.

For those who have actually used either card overseas, particularly in the US, which would you recommend as the primary card?

Would you personally:

1. Use GCash Visa as the main card and MariBank as backup?

2. Use MariBank as the main card and GCash for online purchases?

3. Split the spending between them?

4. Is there anything I’m overlooking regarding the actual FX rate, hidden fees, DCC, ATM charges, card acceptance, or transaction issues?

I’d especially appreciate recent 2026 real-world experiences, rather than older information, since the GCash FX fee seems to have changed recently.

Thanks in advance! I’m trying to figure this out before my September trip and would really appreciate experiences from people who have actually used these cards abroad.