bbtrvl

I agree, even within the US I don't recall an ATM fee ever being split out separately.

zyxlsy

As I said before, I think Schwab uses FX rate to calculate the amount that is more than the nearest reasonable amount, like 20, 50, 100, etc. The amount is calculated, not directly read from an itemized bill provided by the ATM. What the ATM tells the network is just the total, fees included.

patrick.barnes

Yeah, these things rely on the fee being less than a valid multiple of a currency.

So you withdraw AUD$50, the bank tacks on AUD$3. Schwab knows you can't withdraw AUD$3, so they treat that as the fee.

Not that difficult. My credit union does this too (though they reimburse as soon as it posts).

Safetravel3

I have some charges on my Amex PRG in Japan, and have unfavorably exchange rates comparing to the published mid-market rates, about 1% lower, and constantly, from the day prior to the transaction to the transaction's posting date. I have been talking to Amex and the customer service agents didn't seem to understand much. It seems that Japan is among the few countries that Amex doesn't appear to have a favorable forex rate. Am I right?

patrick.barnes

In my case MC was better than either Amex or Visa for JPY. I don't think there are enough JPY data points to draw a conclusion (whereas I can tell you with 100% certainty MC should always be used for AUD).

reclusive46

I got a much better rate with Amex in Japan than MasterCard on my Canadian AmEx. MC was about 1% less than AmEx.

mia

To my knowledge all American Express cards issued in Canada add a 2.5% foreign transaction fee. Are you comparing the base exchanges rates used by two networks, or your full cost including fees?

reclusive46

The base rate without the fee. They were business expenses, so the fee on top didn't really matter to me. (Although forex fee free cards in Canada are about as common as unicorns)

luna6

Regarding Japan ... I went through charges from my trip in August. Mastercard seems to have worked best for me then.

08/20
Citi Prestige 7,732 Yen $75.22 <-- winner
Amex SPG 5,100 Yen $50.99

08/21
SSFCU (MC) 31,066 Yen $310.07
Citi Prestige 939 Yen $9.20 <-- winner
Amex SPG 689 Yen $6.87

08/22
Citi Prestige 1,688 Yen $16.83 <-- winner
Amex SPG 640 Yen $6.41
Chase SP (V) 1,230 Yen $12.29

08/23
Citi Prestige 3,380 Yen $33.71 <-- winner
Amex SPG 1,566 Yen $15.65

08/24
Citi Prestige 149,340 Yen $1,492.50 <-- winner
Citi Prestige 8,578 Yen $$85.73
Amex SPG 581 Yen $5.81
Chase SP (V) 1,230 Yen $12.29

08/25
Citi Prestige 2,580 Yen $25.78 <--- winner
Amex Plat 62,000 Yen $619.63
Amex SPG 3,240 Yen $32.38

08/26
Citi Prestige 78,676 Yen $786.29
Citi Prestige 3,600 Yen $35.98
Amex BRG 9,500 Yen $94.74 <-- winner
Amex SPG 5,205 Yen $52.02

ymarker

For those visiting Cuba, how did you go about converting USD to CUC without paying the 10% cuban tax for conversion of USD. Wondering if it's worth the fees to convert USD-->CAD first then take that. Unfortunately credit cards are rarely used (particularly those based on US banks).

mia

This thread didn't generate any discussion, but might be of interest:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...work-cuba.html

zyxlsy

I had the opposite experience in Japan, both before and after Amex switched currency conversion provider.

I can dig some more data for you, and I've been comparing it to my Citi Prestige and Barclay A+ as well. Can't say SPG has been better, but certainly not worse.

Would you like to share some data points?

Safetravel3

Thanks very much. I have been spending a lot more over the past few days in Japan (by using my new Amex PRG and SPG). I have chosen some of the transactions over the past few days in Japan. The dates below are posted dates, not transaction dates.

Dec 27 - SPG: 116.96
Dec 26 - SPG: 117.14
Dec 25 - SPG: 116.97/117.08
Dec 24 - SPG: 117.14
Dec 23 - SPG: 117.14

Based on the above, it does seem that the Amex rates are pretty bad. The average rate over the past week is about 117.40 according to xe.com at http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?fr...to=JPY&view=1W. 117.07 is probably the worst. Anyway, I am a newbie here and just finding my ways.

One thing for certain is that calling Amex is utterly useless. Amex representatives seem to have absolutely no clue what I was talking about.

patrick.barnes

For comparative purposes, MC for some of those dates:

Dec 27 - 117.275
Dec 26 - 117.316

So those Amex rates are a little bit worse.

mia

Agreed, we are talking about factional portions of a yen per dollar, certainly not sufficient to characterize as pretty bad.