IIRC it's 1% in the exchange rate (via US $) and 2.99% FE fee - certainly not 3%.
For personal transactions, I use my Santander MC (0%) and Nationwide Visa (0% in Europe). (OK, my AmEx PP is grounded for the time being, just one Tesco shop from triggering the next 2-4-1, which I don't want to do until February.)