honu

I've been reading all the threads I could find which deal with forex fees over the past few weeks, and I'm supremely confused. My Amtrak MC will be soon obsolete (assuming that MBNA/BofA add the 3% forex fee as of Oct. 1st), and I've yet to figure out which card I should switch to. We do a lot of forex transactions, so the difference between 3% and 1% or 0% is substantial. Ideally, I'd like a card that has no annual fee, charges no forex fee (or just 1%), and offers some sort of reward program (points, miles, cashback, you name it, I'll find a way to use them). So far, the only bank which seems to fit these requirements appears to be Capital One. Am I missing something? I don't think I qualify for one of the VISA/MC offered by military associations. I also checked the Juniper Bank Harvard Alumni Association MC. It appears that anyone can apply for it (even a UH-UCSC alumna like myself!) or am I wrong? Does anyone have any experience with this card or its reward program?

Joe1690

Well, MBNA does offer Amex credit cards like its MBNA Rewards card which only has a 1% foreign currency fee but I don't know if you want an Amex or not. You also could probably take your existing amtrak card and keep your credit history by changing to the MBNA Rewards card. It has worldpoints which obviously is crappy unless you charge a lot in which case you can get 1% back after you spend $25000 dollars. Plus if you have any dining or travel expenses through January 1, 2006 they are offering double points meaning that you could in theory reach 2% cashback on those particular purchases. Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

JC

canuck_in_pa

You may want to check out the Merril+ Visa. It's issued by MBNA. I couldn't find out any mention of a foreign conversion fee on the website.

It gives 1 of their miles per dollar spent. You can get additional benefits if you spend 20K or 50K. Those benefits are calendar year based.