Originally Posted by
CJKatl
Used the card in Budapest and Amsterdam. Twenty-plus charges, no fee. My Capital One card has the same deal, and didn't add fees to the few charges I put on it while I was away.
Has anyone done the math to determine if it might be more cost-effective to cash advance from the Marriott Premier card when using foreign ATMs than to use a debit card? My bank (Wells) charges a 3% foreign transaction fee, plus an ATM fee and the other bank's ATM fee, which, in foreign countries, seems to be $5. Taking out $200 in cash costs $13.50. I'm too lazy to do the math, but if one pays off the card in full each month, is taking the cash advance better than using the ATM? Or does anyone know a bank that doesn't charge the foreign transaction fee on ATM use?
Cash advances on a credit card are never a good idea as they are treated like a loan and are charged a daily interest rate.
An ATM withdrawal likely will cost more b/c of transaction fees than using your Marriott Visa card as a credit card for regular credit card purchases -- not cash advances.. The daily interbank rates that are used for such withdrawals also are usually used for credit card transactions. However, the AMEX Platinum which also has no foreign transaction fees, I think uses a different rate.