aBroadAbroad

I suppose it could have been related to that breach. If so, it's really quite shocking that 12 weeks have elapsed without any communication or corrective/preventive action by the issuer.

bfhu

Is the Schwab Visa Signature card a credit card or debit card? I have Schwab debit card. The reason why I applied for it several years ago is it does not charge Forex fees or ATM fees worldwide.

Happy

This thread started when there was still a Schwab Visa Signature Credit Card which has long gone - Schwab SOLD its credit card business to Bank of America over a year ago.

mia

I have edited to thread title to clarify that this discussion is about a discontinued card, and the generic Bank of American card to which accounts were converted.

rionio77

Oh how I miss this card!!!

So, have others been getting a letter stating a 3% FX transaction fee was being instated? I haven't gotten anything an wanted to check in on any other data points.

JEFFJAGUAR

Nobody to the best of my knowledge has gotten a letter indicating a 3% foreign transaction fee is being added.....apparently many have received a new card and a copy of the terms and conditions which do show a 3% foreign transaction fee but the card has always carried a 3% foreign tgransaction fee except for the fact that when the Schwab card was rolled into this card, Schwab cardholders were not subjected to this near criminal fee. Apparently that has not changed.

Happy

I have been receiving paper statements, and the new BofA replacement keeps the old Schwab card format.

So far no letter of notification but I do not use it overseas so dont have any idea whether it is still 0% forex fee.

aBroadAbroad

Have not received any new terms notices for a really long time. Also, just used ours for some hefty foreign purchases within the past two weeks -- no forex charges showing on the statements online.

lmwong1977

FYI: My card apparently was deactivated as I hadn't used it since December. I reactivated it for some of the bonus cash back categories and also used it for two UK charges this past quarter and the statement just closed. No forex charges for the two items charged in June from UK companies. So looks like the grandfather-ness of no forex still stays despite being deactivated.

I don't recall any letter from BOA, just the one from May about a change in overdraft protection if you have a checking account in OR or WA. But I do tend to throw those terms of agreement things away if I see nothing major in the cover letter, so maybe I did get it.

But this card is going back in the sock drawer as it just duplicates my freedom card 5% on restaurants this quarter. I have a no fee Cap One card with no forex as my backup if this needs to go on ice permanently for overseas charges.

HCA

Thanks for sharing "No forex charges" experience. I may just keep it as backup if one day I have to close other "No forex charges" cards.

Ronin226

Been using this card in Japan for the last few months. No forex fees at all and I get the 1% rebate as a monthly credit. Use this card overseas with confidence! They don't ever deny my international transactions either, which every other card has done to me more than once as a security measure.

aBroadAbroad

Count yourself lucky. I filed a detailed international travel notification before a recent trip. Attempted to use the card in China a few days later, charge transaction was denied at POS. By the time I received the fraud alert email notification more than 48 hours later, I had long since called to complain (loudly) about the pointlessness of filing a travel notification and had gotten the fraud alert released.

Funny, because I only even bothered with filing the initial notification because I was on the phone with them anyway, resolving an unrelated problem.


~mrs

Ronin226

Nothing is more annoying than this! I hate getting my card denied in another country where there is a language barrier AND I look like the cheap foreigner with a shady credit card. lol

silverforumsurf

It seems like the best substitute is the Capital One business 2% cash back or the Fidelity 2% amex.. any others that are straight 2% cash back?

JEFFJAGUAR

None that I know of. However, by combining cards, you can do better in some cases. Pen Fed FCU has a card that gives a straight 5% on all gasoline purchases no annual fee and 1% on everything else and applies the credit automatically every month.

The Schwab card's replacement gives 2% on groceries (a restriction each auarter) and an additional small amount if the bonus is deposited into a Bank of America checking account (1% on everything else with the bonus on all purchases, no annual fee and available with the emv chip (although unless you are grandfathered in from the Schwab card, you get nicked with a 3% foreign transaction fee negating the benefit of the emv chip). Also note the Fidelity card besides the inherent weakness of an Amex card outside the USA (good coverage but not great) they have a 1% foreign transaction fee.

Chase rewards each quarter as well as discover run though a list of situations where you get 5%. they are finishing a quarter where they gave 5% on all restaurant charges but again they have a 3% foreign transaction fee and no emv chip on the basic card.

So there is not one really great substitute for the Schwab card but with skillful matching and mixing, you can do okay with others.