Recent article on smartertravel.com, link here. Same basic suggestions as made here on FT.

I have a Target Visa card that--like MBNA--doesn't charge anything beyond the 1% Visa FX fee. Every $1 I spend earns a point and every 1000 points earns a 10% off coupon for Target, which is pretty valuable if you go on a big shopping spree at Target every now and then. Not sure if Visa is dropping the 1% fee like MC or not, though.

I recently went to London and used MBNA Amtrak VISA and Starwood Optima for most purchases. For cash withdrawals I used my Etrade ATM card since it does not impose ATM fees. I need to sit and analyze my charges to see where I got the best rates but I do have one question--the exchange rate applied is the one on the day the trasaction was posted not when the transaction occured,since there could be some lag time right ?

MBNA's Fidelity, has a cap of $1500 cash rewards per year, past $100,000, look for another card. At the end of every quarter, if over 50 points has been accumulated, then the points are swept into your brokerage account.
AMEX has been known to pad their foreign currency exchange rates.

Sorry, but this is all very confusing to me! I have a MBNA Royal Caribbean Visa card. Would that get the same foreign ex. rate, and % fees as any MBNA mastercard or visa card? Also, is it correct that you never use visa card at ATM machine for cash, just for purchases at stores and restaurants? I am traveling to Italy and don't want to pay any more than I have to! Thanks

Capital One 1 %
 

All Capital one cards charge the basic 1% visa/mc imposed forex fee.
I typically use my cap one card or my AAA MBNA one.

I avoid using Amex overseas as I remember reading that they have 3% fee.

I use a MBNA Quantum Worldpoints card when I travel. The MBNA Fidelity Investment Rewards is a very good deal with the 1.5% rebate. Its tempting but I don't need another CC at this very moment.

Thanks
 

Thanks to all the contributors on this thread.

I started checking all my cards....turns out my best bet from my array is my BankOne Visa debit card, charging only 1%.....I never would have thought to check had it not been for this thread and would have thoughtlessly used a credit card. Now, I only have to worry about ATM fees--but my account has fee-free ATM use--so I only have to worry about "the other end."

This is why I love Flyertalk :)

You might call MBNA to double-check, but I'm pretty sure that all MBNA Visa or MC cards (regardless of branding) only charge the 1%.


You should never use your Visa credit card at an ATM machine. Most credit cards charge a 3% cash advance fee on top of any foreign exchange fees, and some credit card issuers will start charging you interest on cash advances right away (no grace period).

That said, Visa and Mastercard branded ATM cards (i.e., debit cards linked directly to your checking account) usually work well at foreign ATM's. Call your bank to double-check the fees associated with your card, but unless they charge you a foreign ATM transaction fee, using your ATM card to get foreign cash is often the cheapest way to do it. Most non-Visa/MC ATM cards (Star, Plus, NYCE, etc.) will not work overseas.

AMEX purports to charge only a 2% ForEx conversion fee. For the most part, this seems to be correct, but sometimes they either use the wrong exchange rate, or pad the conversion fee.

Every time I catch this, I call them to protest (as I just did today), and they credit back the excess they had charged. You simply have to watch your credit card bills (good advice no matter which card you use).

So let me get this straight - you use a card from a company that has attempted to defraud you by using the wrong exchange rate or an excess conversion fee? Why didn't you cut up your card or fire them immediately? :confused:

Never use Amex - ever. They do not use the interbank rate and they won't stand by you in the event of merchant disputes. See Amexsux

My State Farm VISA arrived in the mail today. Thankyou for the recommendation. Pretty painless to apply on line, and the 1% foreign conversion rate is spelled out in the terms as such. I tend not to charge a lot out of the country right now, but saving $2 on each $100 is enough for me to have this card when I am gone. If the dollar regains ground, there will be some serious charges on it down the line.

My homeowner's insurance is with State Farm, though I went and opened a checking account with them, too, as they offer 5 no-charge transactions a month at any bank, where my current bank charges $1.25 plus 2% when I'm out of the country. The 2% was something I just noticed this year (don't think they charged that before just for getting cash at an ATM outside the U.S.). They paid a better interest rate on interest checking, too. If it works out as good as it sounds, I'll close my local bank account entirely.

"defraud" is a term of art (and if applied to a natural person instead of a juridical one, actionable to boot).

I try never to attribute to malice what can adequately be explained as stupidity (or incompetence, or even human error).

I have both Cap One mastercard (cash back if you want to take it that way) $19 a year, and a MBNA ebay anything points free mastercard (get anything points when you charge stuff). They are both supposed to charge 1% (vs the milage cards that charge 3%).

I also learned about the paypal debit card on a different thread. They only charge $1 for foreign ATM withdrawals (it's a free card) and I just upgraded to a free card that can be used as a debit or credit. If you use it as a credit card they give you 1.5% cash back on purchases.

My regular bank is Wells Fargo, but I keep transferring $$ out because paypal pays such a good money market rate (2.5%ish)

TTFN

Got a letter from Citibank yesterday advising that they will be adding 3% to charges in foreign currency