Originally Posted by Gargoyle
I just checked my Capital One Visa and Amex charges from Mid march, and compared them to the exchange rates for those days on
http://www.xe.com/ict/
Amex charged exactly 2% above the rate shown, Capital One came through within pennies of the exact rate- so neither padded the rate, but Amex bit 2% off of me. Next trip I'll just use Visa.
Just returned from China. There are greedy local bank that tack on 1% charge. Most of the charges are at an exhange rate of 8.25 while Bank of China and Shanghai Joint Silver Bank processed charges only give 8.15. Thus, if you use Citi AA or first usa United, the total cost to you may be as high as 5%... for mileage.