VERY intersting.

Three questions:
1) Are these April/October 2005?
2) What were the rules prior to these dates?
3) Where does this information come from, and why isn't it easily available?

1) Yes.

2) Prior to this year, VISA and MC each charged a 1% "conversion fee" that was generally hidden in the total amount that appeared on your credit card statement. After cardholders filed class action lawsuits against VISA/MC for non-disclosure, they decided it was easier to settle and re-characterize the "conversion fee" as a "transaction fee" that is charged to the issuer. As a result, VISA/MC probably will shield themselver from future cardholder lawsuits on this fee.

3) Don't understand this question. The info regarding VISA/MC new fees was printed in today's WSJ (see link above). The info on each bank's policy has to be obtained from each bank individually.

The end result is that you will still be paying at least 1% on all transactions outside your home country, it will just be called something other than a "conversion fee" and will be passed on from VISA/MC to the issuer, who will then pass on the fee to you.

Therefore, I guess that all Capital One MCs and a select few MBNA MCs will be 0% until Oct 1, 2005.

MBNA Now 3% transaction fee as of May 25, 2005
 

JUST got a notice from MBNA and they are now going to charge 3% transaction fee on foreign transactions (read profiteering) starting May 25, 2005.

Lots of other nasty changes as well including a 24.99% APR riase if you miss (or are late) one payment (default) without any notice to you RETROACTIVE TO THE FIRST DAY OF THE BILLING CYCLE.

I'm destroying my MBNA card and cancelling.

Was gonna ditch my new MBNA Amtrak card, till I got this email from them, where they are giving away an extra 5000 pts as follows;

200 for clicking on and registering for the 5th Anniversity Promo
2400 for charging $3000 on the Amtrak card bet 4/15 & 6/30 (the transaction date has to be from 4/15 I had a $1000 on the 14th that posted on the 17th, was told it wont count as the transaction date wasnt on or after the 15th)

2400 for using 3 of their listed partners

so I guess Ill keep the card until that extra 5000 pts comes thru

Hope you like CO or riding slow trains since that's about all those points will get you.

You got it going to CO.

Wait just found their Member book. Seems that one can transfer 5000 into 10,000 Hilton Pts. So my 10,000 = 20,000 HH which is 3 nights at Op Level Hamptons thats worth around $275 to $300 alot better value than CO miles. Or for 10,000 a Cat1 night at SPG

Looks as if HH is the best bang for the points. Of cause if I was spending the $10,000 Id be better off spending it on the HH or SPG AMEX. But in this case 5000 of the 10,000 pts are bonus pts, as was the 1st 1000 pts I got. Then theres 650 coming in from a Hertz rental. So maybe Ill be charging all of $3000 so 20,000 HH or even 10,000 CO for $3000 in charges isnt bad at all.

After that it doesnt pay to use the card. I wanted it for my overseas charging but the 3% fee KOs that so need to keep the card unless somehow the 3% fee doesnt go into being.

So, after all of this discussion, we find that most credit card providers don't know there own fees well at all. And that Visa and MasterCard each charge 1% for foreign exchange conversion. And there is a growing trend for card provideing banks to tag on an additional 2% fee.

But are there any banks left that absorb the 1% Visa or MasterCard fee? Some used to, but not sure any more.

Can we list the best cards, with fees, and why they are best?

What bank ever absorbed the MC/VISA 1% fee ?

Changes to the credit card fees for foreign transactions are explained in this 4/22/05 USA article....

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/...ard-fees_x.htm

Thanks for that. Oh well, the MBNA deal couldn't last forever...

Right! But it CAN last for one more year, depending on your spending patterns, credit rating, etc. The MBNA AMEX cards are maintaing the 1% foreign currency fee. The card comes in a Platinum variety, with no fee for one year, and a point system that yields 1.5 to 2.5 points per dollar with a 0.5 US cent to 1 US cent cash rebate per point (depending on spending levels). So, it is possible that this card could yield about 2% for one year. After that, perhaps the dust will have settled and better deals will have become available.

On Thursday I charged CAD$34.25 to my Amex. Today (Sunday) it posted as US$28.29. Oanda.com says that at today's interbank rate it = $27.73, at Thu.'s interbank = $27.62. Sounds like interbank + 2%.

Remember that Visa or MC and the Issuing Bank EACH get a cut, while Amex issues its own cards directly, so only one cut :) . However, few European merchants accept Amex.

USA Today article
Based on the chart, MBNA is now the worst of the bunch.

Per their example :
"For example, an unwitting vacationer renting a car from Hertz in Europe this summer and paying in dollars with an MBNA-issued Visa card would wind up paying 5.5% on the rental: 2.5% to Hertz and 3% to MBNA, which charges the bank's own 2% fee plus Visa's 1% foreign transaction fee."

Every other CC issuer on that list is better in the above situation.