[QUOTE=moondog;13283130]Guessing as an alternative to FIA Schwab. So no foreign transaction fee on Cap one? (none at all, including the 1% mc and visa fee. )

The Fidelity smartcash account is also great. I used it all over the EU.

Cap One Rewards MC not ok? I am looking into the Capital One No Hassle Cash Rewards and that one is a MC.

Pentagon is not as good as it used to be. New ATM fees. Wiki needs to be updated.

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Source: https://www.penfed.org/productsAndRates/serviceFees.asp

You are welcome to update it.

PenFed was popular for Visa ForEx, not for ATM usage. It is true that the 1% has gone to 2% and has been reported before. You do get 1.25% cash back on each purchase, though.

[QUOTE=learningtime;13283432]Capital One is still good. No fees. BUT, you have to call them before you go because they'll block overseas charges otherwise.

Also got the Cap One direct banking account recently specifically to avoid ATM fees overseas, beacuse you can get cash fee-free. (Or so they say...) Trying it out on my next trip to Stockholm.

I just went in to apply for the Schwab card and it basically shows the following on the Fee Disclosure under Terms and Conditions:

• Foreign Transactions REMOVE_THIS_ROW Transactions made in a foreign currency and transactions made in U.S. Dollars that are processed outside the United States:
0% of the U.S. Dollar amount of each transaction. This fee will be in addition to any other applicable fee.

This leads me to believe that this benefit will soon be taken away from its card holders! I wonder how long before they do though!

This is what the Disclosure looks like -> https://wwwa.applyonlinenow.com/USCC...=ECOMM&env=prd

Discussed right here about a month ago; most people didn't seem too concerned, iirc.

Sorry, my bad! I did search for the phrase on Google but failed to do so on here assuming that Google would cover FT as well. I was not concerned either and hence went ahead and applied. The thing said check back in 3 days so I am not too hopeful about getting the card.

[QUOTE=dagnyt;13359937]penfed now has a "promise" visa with truly no forex (no other types of fees either). though not as good as schwab, (the promise visa earns no rewards), it does work out to be 0.75% better when using it overseas than their regular card (which is 1.25% cash back against 2% forex). i just switched my penfed visa to their promise visa but don't intend to use it much as my schwab card is seeing all the action currently. i just wanted another 0% forex back-up in case i need it.

again, the schwab beats the penfed promise card hands down, but for those who are not able to get schwab and don't like cap one, the penfed promise visa is another option.

one other 0% forex option (i haven't seen discussed here) is the ubs premier level signature visa. it requires that you have a ubs account and the annual fee is $350. it seems they are competing with the citi chairman amex.

Both MC and Visa has system charges of 1%, American Express is currently 2.7%. However, the actual settlement rate differs markedly country by country. American Express settles, allegedly, once per day at a wholesale rate in each currency. Visa and MC procedures vary by currency.

A couple of years ago in a controlled experiment the net cost of the FX transaction tended to slightly favor American Express in Euro and most Asian Currencies. Latin American varied widely, but slightly favored Visa in several countries.

For the issuers that tack on their own supplements to MC and V rates any other card is normally better. Remember the American Express 2.7% is not the equivalent of 2.7% added to a MC or V due to the added 1% by MC and V, and the difference in settlement procedures.

Netting all that, the actual typical difference between the three in cost to the consumer is not much different unless your bank adds charges above the MC and V rates. More and more will be doing that this year as other sources of extra fees become more restricted by regulation.

Watch very carefully for over-the-limit, cash advance and late payment fees. They'll eat any reduced FX rates very quickly. If you take cash take it from an ATM that has no interbank fees for your debit card. There are country-specific indices of fee-free ATM's.

I know there has been some talk about the end of the Schwab Visa cc offer and wanted to give an update based on my experience. I've been perusing this thread trying to decide between Schwab and Fidelity and decided to call my local Schwab office in California today to see whether it was faster to apply for the Schwab Visa cc in person or online.

The employee I spoke with at my local branch said that it was announced today that Schwab will no longer be offering the Invest First Visa cc to new applicants after March 31, 2010.

Upon hearing this, I filled out the online application immediately, then called back and was transferred to someone else who confirmed all my personal information, and finally spoke to the credit analyst dept, who told me I had been approved for the card. Interestingly, the credit analyst said she wasn't aware of when the cutoff date would be for this card.

It was my understanding based on my conversation with the first employee that current cardholders will not experience any changes with the card's benefits, just that the card will be closed to new applicants as of March 31st.

Not sure if this has been suggested but the LH Miles and More card gets points and has no Forex fee. In fact the bank even eats the 1% fee that Mastercharge charges so you get darn near the wholesale rate. Plus you get points.

They don't advertise it but there is a no fee version of the card but it only earns half the miles. Still good for those M&M members out there.

Also be aware that both the Visa and MC rules require banks displaying their logo to do a counter cash advance. Not all banks follow this and I've been refused on occasion but unlike and ATM transaction there is no fee (Its not permitted) and you get the actual wholesale rate with no commission.

I've made large withdrawals using this technique, including at bank tellers right in the airport and the rate was spot on. Far and away the best way to do things if you have a debit card.

Is this the US Barclays M&M card or the German M&M card?

The US Barclays M & M Card.