I just got back last night from another Italy trip, and checked my on-line Capital One statement this morning. they're still converting Euro/Dollar at straight inter-bank rates with 0% additional. Same thing I saw a month ago.
One purchase

Seems like they might be the only one not penalizing us for Euro purchases. A purchase on June 2 of 45 Euro was billed at USD 55.12, or about 1.225. A purchase the next day was exchanged at around 1.228.

Do you have MC or VISA branded Capital One CC ?
MC branded should be free till October 1st; VISA should be 1%.

Let's face it: we're screwed on this. There's essentially NO way to avoid the ripoff fees (20 pages of discussion....) ----ANYBODY with CONCRETE suggestions for a Credit Union Card anybody can get without the fees can chime in right here, rather than supply generalities--- and we're going to have to crank up the outrage if we want to get this reversed..........

What we've seen in the press (all over this issue) has been ineffective in shaming them into competing on this fee: they're clearly all *colluding* and grabbing the cash they can get...... WE NEED A CARD WHICH EVERYONE CAN GET WHICH DOESN'T CHARGE THIS FEE. THEN WE NEED TO GET ONE, EN MASSE. That's the only way to break new ground on this issue.

C'mon: somebody out there at a University: you've got a credit union that welcomes members, which doesn't charge the fee,right? Can you name one, so we can avoid this fee????? ANYONE???????

Is your issue with paying any fee or anything above 1%? Because you've been paying 1% for a long time now, and I anticipate in the future, there will be very few banks or credit unions offering a 0% rate (simply because they still have to pay currency conversion charges to Visa/MC so presumably will at least pass the costs on). For now, Capital One MC is at 0%. Target Visa is at 1%. Some MBNA cards (e.g., AAA) are still 0%/1%.

The issue with credit unions is that they must have eligibility restrictions. So you won't really find a credit union that will take anyone. I think the closest you'll find is the Pentagon FCU which has very lax restrictions. #10 on the possible eligibility requirements is to join the National Military Family Association ($20/yr). I don't know what their forex policy is though.

My complaint is simply the "additional" unearned fees these pikers have decided we can be stuck with. So, no, the original 1% fee, which has been in place for many years, isn't the problem. This new fee is nothing but a ripoff. And all the widely-available cards (MBNA Amtrak, Diners, etc.) that hadn't adopted the ripoff have now fallen in line. All I've heard here is relatively nonspecific recommendations; that's my complaint.

Not being one to just complain, I DID CONTACT MY OWN ALMA MATER'S CREDIT UNION to determine their policy and intent. *SO* for the use of all FlyerTalkers who might have at one time worked for, attended, (graduated?), lived near, or known some family member who has some relationship with MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY (this group is a few million people; it's a big place), the MSU Federal Credit Union, which is one of the nation's large credit unions, offers VISA cards without anything but the 1% Visa fee.

I reprint below my edited contact:
-------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. SST:

Thank you for your e-mail. MSUFCU has no plans to do more than pass the
Visa fee on to users. We actually take great pride in the fact that we do
not charge an additional percentage as many financial institutions are
doing.

You can apply for a Visa Credit card by calling our Loan Department at
800-678-4968.

If you have any further questions or if there is anything else we can do for
you please let us know. Thank you and have a great day!

Sincerely,

(Loan Officer, MSUFCU)
---------------------------------------------------------

I will be calling them later this morning and getting a card, and MBNA's card can be relinquished.

I CHALLENGE OTHERS WHO HAVE THIS TYPE OF SPECIFIC ADVICE AND CAN BACK IT UP WITH REPRINTED DOCUMENTATION TO SHARE IT HERE, SO THAT NO FLYERTALKER NEED PAY THE RIPOFF 2% ADD-ON FEE. WE MAY ALL HAVE AN OPTION. WE NEED TO EMPOWER OUR FRIENDS. I guess I'd say "Friends don't let friends give away money to big banks acting as monopolists".

(If it's too much trouble for you to get yet another card, or you value your points over your money, that's perfectly OK, and rational I guess. But let's give people the specific tools they need to fight this. Like airline fare-hikes, collusion is rampant, but many attempts fail because the intended victims won't buy the goods, and if one company or another cracks, we can go back to earning overseas points without getting charged 2% to do so. But they won't bend if you just accept it and pay.)

[Edited to say: "No, I'm not in any way connected with MSUFCU other than being a member with a pint-sized account I've had open for 20 years"]

Miles One Capital One Visa. They did straight euro-dollar conversions on last weeks purchases in Italy, no added 1% fee.

The MSUFCU Visa card above I just was granted offered me no annual fee, a 0.5% purchase rebate (so there's my points, I guess), 11% APR, and a credit line of $33,000. I could have taken a no-rebate 8.9% card instead, but I pay the balance of my foreign purchases off upon receipt each time, so that's better for me. They faxed me an app, signed and faxed back, should have the card in a few days.

There: concrete advice on how to avoid the ripoff. Hope others post, too, so many can benefit....

I called about getting a Capital One card for my upcomming trip to Europe in August and September. The rep told me that although the bank does not currently add a charge to its foreign currency conversions, it plans to in the near future, and it looks like it will be the same 3% everyone else is charging. Cardholders will be notified of change in terms and conditions by mail.

Sigh. I hope this is delayed until after September.

Greed runs rampant in the banking industry.

USAA banking is available to anyone, not just USAA members. (I've been with USAA since '68.)

I've used the USAA ATM card in several countries, and have never paid a fee.

The USAA MC has no additional fees for foreign transactions. They have a miles/points card, or, if you qualify for USAA membership, you can get up to 1.5% cash back.

To top it off, USAA has exemplary customer service.

Seriously, I hope they don't change it. it seems like they are one of the few companies that don't charge the fee and I only use their card when travelling overseas. I had also called them recently and was told that they were planning to add a fee but that the rep didn't think it would be over 1% as forex fees weren't a main part of their revenue.

As of now, Capital One is not charging any surcharge (that means 0 -- 0%) on top of the straight interbank rate. That appears to be for both MasterCard and Visa. I suspect that Capital One will apply a 1% surcharge for Visa shortly, and in October, a 1% surcharge for MasterCard, but as of June, 2005, no surcharge is being added.

Looks like we are left with fewer and fewer choices. Keeping my AAA card in the drawer now. Will hv to look into getting a USAA card.

I got a nice little surprise from Citibank. The tacked on a $13 service fee for my foreign exchange.

$13 fee! will hv to leave my citi card in the drawer as well for my upcoming trip.

travel was this for atm/debit or credit?

i was told that its 3% screw fee on credit card, and 1% fee on atm withdrawls.