Six Credit Cards With 0% Forex Fee Tested:

1) Capital One No Hassles Cash Visa Signature
2) Charles Schwab Invest First Visa Signature
3) Citibank Chairman Amex
4) Pentagon Federal Credit Union Premium Travel Rewards Amex
5) Pentagon Federal Credit Union Promise Visa
6) Stanford Federal Credit Union Visa

Six separate and identical purchases made for AU$10.77 on the afternoon of August 04, 2010 (Australian East Coast Time) at Woolworth’s in Potts Point (Sydney). All purchases made within a two minute period.

OANDA Daily Market Exchange Rates for AU$10.77 on different dates:
August 04, 2010:
OANDA Min Market Rate (0.90703) x (AU$10.77) = US$9.77
OANDA Max Market Rate (0.91500) x (AU$10.77) = US$9.86

August 05, 2010:
OANDA Min Market Rate (0.90942) x (AU$10.77) = US$9.79
OANDA Max Market Rate (0.91836) x (AU$10.77) = US$9.89

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RESULTS:

Capital One No Hassles Cash Visa Signature
Transaction Date: August 04, 2010
Posting Date: August 05, 2010
Actual Charge Listed on Statement: US$9.87

Charles Schwab Invest First Visa Signature
Transaction Date: August 04, 2010
Posting Date: August 05, 2010
Actual Charge Listed on Statement: US$9.87

Citibank Chairman American Express
Transaction Date: August 04, 2010
Posting Date: August 04, 2010
Actual Charge Listed on Statement: US$9.84

Pentagon Federal Credit Union Premium Travel Rewards Amex:
Transaction Date: August 04, 2010
Posting Date: August 05, 2010
Actual Charge Listed on Statement: US$9.94

Pentagon Federal Credit Union Promise Visa:
Transaction Date: August 04, 2010
Posting Date: August 05, 2010
Actual Charge Listed on Statement: US$9.87

Stanford Federal Credit Union Visa:
Transaction Date: August 04, 2010
Posting Date: August 05, 2010
Actual Charge Listed on Statement: US$9.87

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Notes:
It took me over 10 minutes on the phone with Capital One to get a travel auth posted prior to making this test. I never call ahead for any of my other 0% forex cards for any of my travels. This is one reason why I seldom use the Cap One card.

I conducted a similar test a bit more than a year ago (see my post in this same thread from April 2009) and the card with the best exchange rate then, as it is now, was the Citibank Chairman Amex. Although it has a $500 annual fee, I have nothing but wonderful things to say about the service on this card. It is truly exceptional.

I was surprised that the Pentagon Federal Amex came through with the worst exchange rate. It was also surprising to me that all four of the Visa cards posted the exact same exchange rate. I wish that I had had a 0% MC to test (but the only one I know about is from Capital One and I don't want any more of their cards). Rumor has it that MC offers the best foreign exchange rate (compared with Visa and Amex).

Considering how tightly the cards' rates fall between the Min and Max Market Exchange Rates for the posting date of the charges, I think that it's safe to say that all of the cards I tested are truly 0% forex cards. This is in response to the insistent but unproven assumption that one member makes in this thread that all 0% forex cards include a hidden 1% surcharge from the card issuer (i.e. Visa, MC). I believe his/her information to be incorrect. With the possible exception of the Pentagon Federal Premium Travel Rewards Amex, all of the results from both of my tests (the one from April of 2009 and this most recent one) are consistent with the conclusion that these cards' claims that they are 0% forex cards are entirely accurate.