tmiw

It really depends on what the T&C say for the cards in question. While it's possible that both the Chase and BofA cards have the same/similar wording with regard to foreign transactions, it's also possible that one uses a different method of calculating exchange rates than the latter.

photaco

Not really. The way Visa exchange rates work for Visa credit cards is quite solid. If you aren't charging/posting on Friday/Saturday/Sunday there's pretty much no doubt at all how it's going to work. (And "the weekend problem" might not even be possible on Visa cards - I may have seen it on my MasterCard whose issuer doesn't seem to process anything / update online accounts over the weekends, and it's not the MasterCard issuer mentioned by this)

zyxlsy

Second to that.

Visa and MC and Amex take care of the FX using their own system. I haven't seen any of my 20 cards from Chase, Citi, Barclay, Amex used rates other than the ones posted on their own websites.

The networks take the foreign amounts, exchange them to your home currency, and post them onto your banks.

One exception is that when I was still using my Chase United Club card, the rates would differ slightly from the Visa rates, while my CSP would strictly adhere to the Visa rates to the last digit. If I use the two cards one following the other, on the same machine, the rates would still differ. Still cannot figure why and I've cancelled the card already.

zyxlsy

Remember Amex switched conversion vendor in Aug? I just did two transactions in Sapporo back to back on the same machine, and the pending amounts show that Amex's 101.38 is slightly better than MC's 101.25.

Although only pending, not posted, they show that Amex's new conversion system still offers good rates on JPY to USD.

Will post the real rates when they are posted.

sfvoyage

I charged a transaction on my Chase Mileage Plus Visa card in GBP, which posted on June 26, 2016. The forex rate (GBP to USD) was substantially worse than my benchmarks:

visa 1.436642 (actual rate, same as Visa's online rate calculator)

mastercard 1.376046 (based on MC's online rate calculator)
xe.com 1.367535
oanda 1.3650
usforex 1.368045
x-rates 1.367535

I wish I had known about this thread previously... after glancing through the 27 pages, the consensus is that Visa rates are worse than MC's. I know that there was some Brexit-related volatility in the market, but I am still surprised by the huge discrepancy in this instance.

photaco

I never see pending charges in foreign currencies in my Amex account - how do you see yours?

zyxlsy

You can't in the app or on the website. The only way is to have the notification on, either through the app or ApplePay. Can't say about Android because I only use iPhone.

If you delete the notification, it's gone until it is posted.

zyxlsy

The results are here finally. Don't know why the transaction on Barclay can take two weeks to post. We all know JPY is declining, so maybe Barclay wanna save me some USD???

Because of the big gap in posting dates, the numbers don't matter much anymore.

A+: JPY 71280, USD 685.19, Rate 104.03, Oct 02 -> Oct 17
SPG: JPY 35640, USD 345.75, Rate 103.08, Oct 02 -> Oct 10

The pending rates are Amex 101.38 vs MC 101.25.

The only thing I deduce from this is that Amex doesn't use transaction dates for determining rates anymore. Maybe this is due to the switching of exchange vendors.

Need more transactions to verify whether Amex is still as good as MC for JPY/USD.

wco81

So I drew cash only once during a 2-week trip to Australia, taking out 100 AUD at SYD at an ANZ ATM.

I used my Schwab Investor Checking ATM card, which is suppose to rebate any ATM fees.

When I used the ATM, I think it said there would be a 2 AUD fee for the transaction.

So when I returned from my trip and checked, it appears to have gone through as a lump sum, no separate item for the fee. So it turned out to be $78 and change, which is a bit higher than the official FX rate that date (November 4 in Australia, which would have been Nov 3 afternoon in California).

Anyone else encounter this, a foreign ATM lumping in a fee with the withdrawn amount?

tmiw

I'm fairly sure that Mexican ATMs do that but I'd have to double-check my statements to be sure. FWIW I was reimbursed at the end of the month despite that (except for some sort of "insurance" fee I accidentally opted into the first time I used one).

wco81

Ah I just checked again and I did get a $1.54 ATM rebate at the end of the month.

I guess the ANZ ATM did itemize the ATM fee but Schwab just posted the raw amount initially.

asur

I've used ATMs all over the world and never seen Schwab not lump the amount withdrawn and the fee into a single transaction. Regardless, they'll reimburse the fee at the end of the month.

ProleOnParole

That's how it works in Thailand too, if I recall correctly.

wco81

Ah ok, a lot of the times, I don't encounter ATM fees at all.

I'm sure that will change, more banks will try to extract additional fees.

TravelinSperry

Yup, so far been quite impressed with Schwab. The ATM refunds are always there and seem correct. Really great debit card for travelers. Everyone should have one.