I have a NETBANK debit card - they use the x rate from VISA, but there are 0 add-ons, it's a straight currency conversion.

I just double-checked it.

Just returned from France/ Switzerland/ UK.

CapitalOne -- both MasterCard and Visa charged 0% over the Interbank rate. My ATM card appears to have charged a 1% fee in the UK, but 0% in France.

I do not know when CapitalOne Visa will start tacking on the Visa 1% surcharge which Visa made effective a few months ago. Apparently, not yet.

Has your statement issued yet? Don't be surprised to see the 1% tacked on there, as it seems to have migrated over the last few months on a lot of cards from being built into the individual transaction to the finance charges line at the end of the month.

Yes, Capital One Visa statement issued on July 2. Some transactions preceded that date. No charge. Just the straight interbank rate.

In first-world countries at least Amex's 2% over mid-market rates is worth considering if your only choice is a 3% or 4% card. However another card to add to the 1% list is AFBA. They were originally offered to military personnel but are available to all. Nice people to do business with on all counts.

Do you have a link? I don't seem to be eligible for USAA, since I was never in the military.

Don't be so sure you're ineligible. USAA's criteria are past and present military officers (NCO and up) and their present or former dependents. Check your family history. I'm a Vietnam-era war protester, but am USAA-eligible because of my father's time as a World War II B-26 pilot.

My visa is thru a credit union and they only pass on the 1% they are charged. I think you have better luck with credit cards thru credit unions..

i have a debit/atm mc from my credit union....my experience so far is:
during apr trip to south africa/swaziland, only found 1 bank [fnb] atm that i could get cash from....did 8 wd's, all seemed to be very close to the published rates, 4 had $1 fee, 4 had no fee..however, it wouldn't work in swaziland at fnb atm or in kruger at fnb mini atm's.

the card also works as a cc for purchases [but debits, no pin needed] on maestro network [which won't work on maestro logoed atm's w/pin xcept as stated above] & had no problem when used at multiple places. again, seemed to be close to published xchange rate in us papers.

i couldn't get cash at a citi bank atm at nagoya airport, did get some in barbados w/no fees [cirrus network].

recently, w rand @ 6.7 or so, i prepaid for hotels & kruger park for august trip & rate was 6.65 & 6.69, so obviously, no fee [1% would be .6 or so]...i'm quite pleased, but still want to get better atm access overseas. i don't plan to get miles on cc's on the next trip, can't see paying 3-4%..

Ok, now I'm thoroughly confused. I haven't received any communication from MBNA Amtrak MC about these changes, but I did use the card overseas (UK and Sweden) from 5/26 to 6/20. AFAIK, all my UK and Swedish charges up to 6/13 are less than 1% higher than the interbank rate as it appears at oanda.com. Not sure about charges later in June (I haven't received a printed statement yet), but, so far, I can't find a 3% surcharge (at most 1%, and sometimes even less than that). It's been years since I last used any other card for any travel expenses in currency other than USD (or AUD, for which I have a Oz-based card). I'll miss the MBNA Amtrak MC when the 3% charge finally applies, but I'm ready to drop it like a hot potato the minute it happens. But I what if find confusing is that, so far, it doesn't seem to have happened... I wonder if it is because the statement in question begins earlier than 5/25 (i.e., my next statement will show the charges). We'll see, I guess...

For UK residents, there's always Nationwide Building Society.
Both their Debit Cards and Credit Cards (VISA) do not have a foreign exchange fee or commission. Exchanges from one currency to another are undertaken at the exchange rate given by VISA at the time of purchase.

Thanks, all.

USAA is now open to the public. I called their 800 number, spoke to a real person, set up a membership account and got the 800 number for their banking/credit card division. I hope to finish this today in time for my August trip.

UPDATE:they called me back 10 minutes later to set up the credit card.

The banking/investment side of USAA has always been open to the public. You have to be a member (the military connection stuff) to buy insurance or to get a cash rewards cc. Non-members can get cc without cash reward.

I know this is rehashing of an old and possibly talked-to-death subject. But nobody seems to have mentioned Providian, which is providing 1% rate, just like cap1. I just got the card and was pleasantly surprised when I saw this terms.

I read somewhere (cc forum) that cap1 is going to be increasing rates soon, so don't hold your breath.

Providian plus my 2 mbna cards that are keeping to 1% are what I'm going to use overseas now. However, mainly merril lynch + card because providian doesn't offer rewards. Get a providian card for emergencies and for checking your credit report lol