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-   -   Best card for foreign exchange? (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milesbuzz/401958-best-card-foreign-exchange.html)

themicah Oct 25, 2006 6:32 am


Originally Posted by damonfu
Commerce Bank, which seems to be a Northeast/Mid-Atlantic bank, absorbs the 1% Visa fee, so charging on their card offers a commission-free foreign transaction.

This has been accurately reported on the wiki for several months now:

http://flyertalk.com/wiki/index.php/...reign_Exchange

damonfu Oct 25, 2006 8:05 am

he asked about a credit, not debit card. maybe you want to update the wiki

themicah Oct 25, 2006 9:12 am


Originally Posted by damonfu
he asked about a credit, not debit card. maybe you want to update the wiki

You're confirming that the Visa Platinum Credit Card form Commerce Bank eats Visa's 1%, right? I knew about the debit card (have used it myself on occasion), but never knew anybody with the credit card.

If so, that's great news. I think I'll stick with CapitalOne's 1% cash back for now, but it's great to know there's an alternative. Please confirm that this is the card you're talking about and either add it to the wiki yourself or, if you don't know how, ask and I'll be happy to update it.

themicah Oct 25, 2006 3:45 pm

Someone anonymous recently added a BMW Visa card to the wiki, claiming that it eats the Visa 1% forex fee. Can anyone confirm this?

arfgoblue Oct 25, 2006 3:53 pm

i have heard this; however, they are not accepting any new applicants at the bank so it is of no use anyway


Originally Posted by themicah
Someone anonymous recently added a BMW Visa card to the wiki, claiming that it eats the Visa 1% forex fee. Can anyone confirm this?


themicah Oct 25, 2006 4:12 pm


Originally Posted by arfgoblue
i have heard this; however, they are not accepting any new applicants at the bank so it is of no use anyway

Looks like they're accepting applications via the web:

http://fs.bmwusa.com/BmwFsPulp/CRCAR...rdBenefits.htm

Unless this is a different card?

arfgoblue Oct 25, 2006 5:56 pm


Originally Posted by themicah
Looks like they're accepting applications via the web:

http://fs.bmwusa.com/BmwFsPulp/CRCAR...rdBenefits.htm

Unless this is a different card?

i see you're talking about the credit card; i called about 3 months ago and confirmed there was no fee, but i was looking for banking products and they weren't accepting any new clients for that. looking at the web page, i still don't see any sort of solicitation for banking products.

btw, anyone have any experience with countrywide and whether they pass on the 1% visa/mc fee? thanks!

Dr_wanderlust Oct 25, 2006 11:27 pm

crap1
bmw
charles shwab

all eat the fee.


many credit unions have bettern foreign exchange fees rates that any of the major companies. mine is 1%.

jaynyc Oct 26, 2006 4:00 am

I received my banking statment from Chase (now JP Morgan Chase....plus Bank 1....plus, who knows what is next). At the top of page 1 right above my checking account info was: "REMINDER: When you travel, Chase will add three percent to the total amount of your debit card transactions (purchase and all cash transactions) converted by Visa from a foreign currency to US dollars"

That is the first time I have seen that appear on my banking statment.

drbond Oct 26, 2006 6:35 am


Originally Posted by Dr_wanderlust
crap1
bmw
charles shwab

all eat the fee.


many credit unions have bettern foreign exchange fees rates that any of the major companies. mine is 1%.

crap1 = depends on the card and when you got it and ranges from 0-2%
bmw = 0%
charles Schwab = 1% they are issued by fia

rrgg Oct 26, 2006 6:37 am


Originally Posted by drbond
crap1 = depends on the card and when you got it and ranges from 0-2%
bmw = 0%
charles Schwab = 1% they are issued by fia

To be precise, the low range on Capital One is -1%. They pay me 1% reward on my purchases AND eat the fees.

fun888 Oct 28, 2006 5:22 pm

Citi Charges
 

Originally Posted by milksheikh
From my Citibank statement issued today:

I can confirm that CITI ATM in Russia Moscow and Paris France, Hong Kong and China, all charges 1% handling fee on their ATM withdrawns. The CITI fee is listed separate item on the bank statement. There may be another VISa conversion charge (hinden 1%) since their exchange rate is lower than BofA.

CITI credit card and debit card charges 3% plus the Visa conversin fee

Seattle Flyer Oct 29, 2006 1:00 pm

Hsbc Mc
 
I use a HSBC master card. It has a 1% conversion fee with a 2% cash back rewards program. Thus I net a 1% reward on foreign purchases and 2% awards on domestic purchases. Works well for my needs, hope this helps someone.

themicah Oct 29, 2006 1:15 pm


Originally Posted by Seattle Flyer
I use a HSBC master card. It has a 1% conversion fee with a 2% cash back rewards program. Thus I net a 1% reward on foreign purchases and 2% awards on domestic purchases. Works well for my needs, hope this helps someone.

Which card? HSBC has tons of different credit cards with wildly varying policies.

busterbaxter Oct 30, 2006 12:03 pm

cit and non-Citi ATMs
 
I agree with you. I made several withdrawls in Citi-owned ATMs (those located inside a Citi branch) in Japan in the past. These showed up in my statement as "non-Citi ATMs". I emailed Citi and they assured me it didn't matter. Since my account comes with 5-6 free withdrawls in non-Citi ATMs, I didn't bother to investigate further.

With the changes starting on Dec 2, I wonder if this actually matters.


Originally Posted by Viajero Perpetuo
What I question about this claim is that IME, in deep South America, Citi has NEVER distinguished between Citi and non-Citi ATMs. In my most recent experiences of the past two years in Argentina and Chile, even when I use Citi ATMs, they always show up as Non-Citi ATM transactions on my statement. As a foreigner, I also know for a fact that Chile and Argentina Citibanks are for almost all consumer purposes separate, not the same or a part of Citibank North America operations in any form. For them to make this distinction in a month's time is unbelievable (to me).

I speculate that there is truth maybe mixed in with misinfo here and that the change might be related to POS transactions (MC/debit card) and not ATM cash transactions.

Of course, who really knows?



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