Best for what, reaming its customers?

I know many people who have canceled AMEX due to horrendous customer service issues. The annual fees are just the tip of the iceberg. http://amexsux.com

I've used CapOne for 11 years traveling internationally and never had an issue or a declined transaction.

Looking forward to conducting a head-to-head between CapOne and Chase BA in Mexico next week. :)

This is the number one reason I keep a Centurion card. I get excellent customer service from Amex. Better than any of my Visa cards, including the Signature card. I can't account for the Platinum, Gold or Green.

What a great thread. Took me a while to get through many of the key posts, but so worth it!

Thanks to FT, I plan to have 2-3 international trips per year now, and realized I needed a 0% Forex card, and one with no annual fee since the only time it will get use is when I'm out of country... No need to go anywhere else, FT has all the answers!

Applied for a Capital One Visa Cash Rewards card, instant online approval with a $3k line, a bit smaller than I had hoped for, but should be sufficient to cover each trip in their entirety.

Also just approved for a Cap One VentureOne (1.25% cash back, no annual fee) for my international purchases. Approved instantly for $5k. This will probably become my primary card (since I live overseas for work) -- still waiting to see what the PenFed Amex deal will look like after the current promo ends.

For folks who have a premier banking relationship with Bank of America, there are no ATM or foreign exchange fees for withdrawing cash or using their debit card. HSBC promises the same for their Premier customer, but here are the results of a test I did in China earlier this month:

I did two sets of simultaneous transactions at the same time, one with HSBC and another with Bank of America, to see if there were “hidden” charges. Here are the results:

First transaction: Credit card purchase of 800 yuan: HSBC statement shows $120.44, Bank of America $120.38. Very close.

Second transaction: ATM withdrawal at HSBC-owned ATM machine of 2500 yuan: HSBC account shows a debit of $378.90, Bank of America $376.15. This surprised me. Maybe HSBC is using a different conversion rate?

I live near Stanford and got the Stanford FCU ATM card because of its low costs a few years ago. Then they sent a notice that to use the card on international trips, it would be necessary to call them before EACH trip and tell them about my intentions. I asked for blanket permission and they denied it, so I closed the account.

If this policy is still in effect, it's a major pain, enough for me to continue to avoid them. I don't know if this applies to credit or pure debit cards as well.

HSBC was using a different rate depends on when the transaction posted.

Both transactions posted on the same date. Also, I selected China for my experiment because the rates are closely controlled by the government and do not fluctuate a lot.

i do not know if this policy is still in effect but i have never called to alert them prior to travelling. i have used both their cards (atm and visa (credit)) in multiple foreign countries but have not relied heavily on them (only 5-10 purchases). i rely on my formerly-known-as-schwab card for most purchases. stanford fcu has not yet declined a transaction nor called me to verify charges.

I've been a premier customer for years. Thanks for bringing this up to my attention. How does it compare to Schwab?

HSBC's foreign exchange rates are not as good as other banks. That's the reason you see the difference. Question for your ATM withdrawal. Did you withdraw 2500 Yuan from the same HSBC ATM using HSBC ATM card first and then BofA ATM card next? Have you tried to withdraw cash from the China Construction Bank ATM using your BofA ATM card?

iPhone App
 

I developed an iPhone app called Wallet Dilemma that helps you compare your credit cards for foreign transactions.

It pulls the exchange rates directly from Visa, MasterCard and American Express and has a database with 100+ cards from 40+banks in the US!

No more hidden fees, no more guessing, know exactly how much will be debited from your account!

You can check out Wallet Dilemma in the App Store : http://bit.ly/WDilemma

Yes. Same HSBC machine, first HSBC card and then BofA card. So HSBC makes money on the exchange rates...But the credit card rates were similar (perhaps because it is visa/mastercard that determine the rates).

Should be the same since BofA does not charge any fees - and seems to give better rates than HSBC ! This is my preferred card now.

While (on the surface) this appears to be a very useful app, is it appropriate to be hawking a product here that you are selling?

[QUOTE=nilsou]I developed an iPhone app called Wallet Dilemma that helps you compare your credit cards for foreign transactions. [QUOTE]