Not stupid at all. When I go overseas I usually have at least two ATM cards (at least one Cirrus and at least one Plus) and at least three credit cards (at least one Visa, one MC and one Amex) because you never know what's going to work when/where and it's good to have a combination of cards that are cheap (Schwab, CapOne) and cards that are backed by excellent customer service (Citi World MCs, Amex, etc.).

The FT wiki also lists some CU's that offer 0% FETF accounts/cards. Anyone have any experience with them? Seems like Stanford Credit Union and Addison Avenue have 0's across the board.

The CU's are harder to come by, and for a lot (not all) of them you have to have a relationship with certain companies. Again, it won't save you from being charged a usage fee by foreign ATM owners, and it's pretty much guaranteed that they won't have branches overseas.

I called BofA again yesterday to ask what the 1% fee is called, exactly, and when it is applied. The rep I got was pretty clueless, had to research every answer. The 1% fee is, as stated before, an "international transaction fee" and, according to her, is assessed ONLY at ATM machines, not at the counter. Then she said that a foreign currency exchange fee of 1% is also assessed at ATMs, but not at the counter. That adds up to a 2% fee at ATM's and 0% at the counter. Sounds fishy. Maybe I'll call again today just for the heck of it and see what answers I get.

Oh goody, one more card to add to the pile. But yes, the AmEx should always be included. They were priceless several years ago when I was 3000 miles from home and my wallet was stolen. They immediately sent money to me at my hotel, and *if I recall correctly*, there was no "cash advance" fee, just that amount charged to my card.

And I'll never forget the rep who gave outstanding service, kept asking me questions to make sure everything was being taken care of, even offered to call all my other credit card companies to notify them. (But I had to think about which cards I had with me at the time, and ended up on my laptop in the hotel lobby at 2 am looking up the contact number for every card. Lesson: now I put all the cards/account numbers with contact phone numbers - both domestic and foreign - on a piece of paper in my carry-on bag, in case I need to call them.

Edited to add: Now you know why I thought traveling with so many cards seemed stupid!

Would it be best not to write down the account numbers (potentially too accessible to a bad guy), since the card issuer can locate them from your Social Security number?

There is no need whatsoever to write down account numbers. Any CSR can locate the appropriate accounts by asking the appropriate personal questions (including the heralded SSN) when you call. More important: Add the overseas customer service numbers to your palm, blackberry, ipod etc. so that you have them handy if needed, and maybe send yourself an email (with scanned passports) so that you can access them from the internet in the event you lose everything.

Packing account #s and copies of cards in luggage is just like sending out an invitation to fraud. And don't forget to put your backup cards (and passports) in the hotel safe when not in use.

You're all right on about the acct. #'s. No more!

I already send myself emails with all my cc info, and I have scanned images of my passport, DL, and SS card on my laptop (another lesson learned when my wallet was stolen -- thank goodness my hubby had scanned images of all those things on his computer at home, and could send them to the hotel manager, who printed them out for me to use to get through airport security.) I don't usually have my laptop with me when I'm out and about but the iPod idea is great - thanks!

I've never traveled in Europe - do all hotels have a safe? I hate the thought of handing everything over to someone else...hmmm....are they really SAFE?

Just returned from a trip from Hong Kong and China

In HK, all the charges are in HK $, thus avoiding the 3% Dynamic exchange fee. The only one that charge Dynamic exchange fee is Bank of China subsidiary that process Visa CC transactions.

In China, things gets really bad. Each time I ask to be charged in RMB, it came out to be in US$. After protest, it still come up with a statement saying that I was offer to reject the US$ option (which I did not). The bank say all I have to do is to cross out the option line and I will be fine. When I came home and check my statements, it all had the 3% Dynamic Exchange rated added onto my Schwab Credit card.

It is a big scam by Bank of China.. Be careful when you use credit card in China

Just returned from a trip from Hong Kong and China

In HK, all the charges are in HK $, thus avoiding the 3% Dynamic exchange fee. The only one that charge Dynamic exchange fee is Bank of China subsidiary that process Visa CC transactions.

In China, things gets really bad. Each time I ask to be charged in RMB, it came out to be in US$. After protest, it still come up with a statement saying that I was offer to reject the US$ option (which I did not). The bank say all I have to do is to cross out the option line and I will be fine. When I came home and check my statements, it all had the 3% Dynamic Exchange rated added onto my Schwab Credit card.

It is a big scam by Bank of China.. Be careful when you use credit card in China

I was looking at my Chase United Airlines Visa statement the other day {I became a card member to get the 50,000 mile promo}. There is a transaction there from a store based in Germany where I regularly purchase stuff. No foreign exchange fee was tacked to my purchase.

This is not normally the case when I use Amex {Citibank version}, and my flexperks card. Those two cards always charge me a foreign exchange fee.

I wonder if there are others that have experienced the same.

It is highly likely that the merchant changes the CC processing company to a US based processor for all order with a shipping address in US.

Feel free to email me and I'll try to dig up the spreadsheet and letter I sent Schwab to get the fees reversed.

IMHO, all unauthorized "dynamic" forex charges and the total charge should be challenged as billing errors--in writing to the special billing error address (must be mailed in only) with proof of delivery.

I helped a friend with this and got a refund of the the charges in total.

The FIA people were thoroughly befuddled during my conversations with them about DCC. It took around 5 phone calls to get an address and a procedure in place. Apparently, there is a little know Visa regulation that permits card holders to dispute the DCC premium.

In the spreadsheet I sent them (which they approved), for each disputed transaction, I listed: local currency amount, what I was charged in USD, what I should have been charged in USD, and the difference.

In order to establish what I should have been charged, I figured out the exchange rate by looking at the non-DCC charges closest to the dates of the DCC purchases. I then labeled these as reference transactions.

I sent in receipts for about 1/3 of the disputed transactions.

I'm planning on using the same process when I return from my next trip to China.