Counsellor

Just received my checking account statement, and a notice from my bank saying:

stimpy

Yikes! If this is legit, I hope the Well Signature card eats it like they do the currency exchange fee.

craz

OT: I called to cancel my Citi AA VISA yesterday and the guy I got asked why I wanted to cancel, not wanting to say well I got the 20k already and Citi cant take it back so why keep it.

I simply said since Citi decided to recoup its SubPrime losses by raising the fees for ForEx and that includes if the charges were in US$, that meant had I charged my recent just completed Hotel stay of $10k to my Citi card and not my Amex it would have cost me an extra $300.

He then went on to try and explain why Citi had to charge it as its not a non-profit. I said when Citi starts charging an extra 3% when I charge something here in the US I will understand it. He then saw he was out foxed.

I guess if enough people dont read the changes to their T&Cs Citi will make out like the Bandit they are. But thats still better then the people I see exchanging their Money (to/from US$) at the Amex offices I go to, man talk about getting ripped off!

themicah

As explained on the wiki, PIN-based point of sale transactions on US-issued debit/ATM cards generally do not work. In my experience, signature-based transactions on US-issued debit cards that have a Visa or MC logo work fine overseas, however. Most of us around here just don't bother with debit cards overseas because we prefer to dispute bad charges on a credit card rather than deal with reversing overdraft fees and whatnot on our bank accounts. Plus the rewards on credit cards are better and we get to keep the cash in our bank accounts (where it earns interest) for another month or so.

On the wiki, "confirmed" dates mean the cards have been actually used somewhere overseas on those dates and resulted in the fees listed on the wiki. For debit and credit cards, it means at point of sale. For ATM cards, it means at the ATM.

abouna

Anyone know if this would help avoid the foreign transactions fee:

I am going to Moscow in August and will be paying for our group's rooms at the Marriott there with my Chase Marriott CC. The total for the rooms will be about $15,000. In order to avoid the foreign transaction fee, do you think if I bought that amount in Marriott gift cards here and applied them to my bill when I get there I would have no balance? I would still get the same amount of points and possibly avoid the fee.

I did this before, but didn't pay much attention since it was a small amount.

FedUp2

Unfortunately the Gift Card route will not work because when the charge hits the card (i.e. when the terminal in Russia seeks an approval code), it would already include the 3% (or whatever) interchange fee.

Viajero Perpetuo

Well, the point of my post was that in recent back to back tests (2-3 minutes apart) with my MC/CIRRUS debit and my VISA/PLUS debit cards, MC/CIRRUS now consistently produces a better rate sometimes approaching 1% better than VISA/PLUS. I believe VISA/PLUS is now padding the rate when in the past this was not the case.

soitgoes

It sounds like an issue with Everbank, not with Visa/Plus per se. I'd escalate with in Everbank if I were you.
(I have a Plus ATM card and I find that I am charged the 1% that my credit union says I'm charged.)

Visa has an exchange rate calculator on their website:
http://corporate.visa.com/pd/consume...x_rates_us.jsp
It may or may not be helpful to you.

Viajero Perpetuo

Everbank charges 1% for themselves. THIS is specifically broken out in the statement. AGAIN, the issue is with VISA who sets the "interbank" rate for ATM transactions. Am I not being clear somehow?

My original request was to confirm this with others out there. Can someone run similar tests and report back?

BTW, Everbank has a don't care/not our problem attitude when you run into problems — a warning to others.

soitgoes

I don't have Everbank, but as I said, I have a Visa/Plus card and made a withdrawal internationally about a week ago. I checked it against xe.com, and I was charged the 1% that my credit union says they passed on.

Maybe Everbank's intermediary is tacking a fee on, even if Everbank itself is only adding 1%. And maybe Everbank is adding 1% to the Visa/Plus 1%. I don't know. I do know that my experience indicates it is not a problem present on all Visa/Plus cards.

EDIT: If you want to get to the bottom of this, complain to the banking regulators. Banks tend to jump when they get a complaint from their regulatory agency. The Office of Thrift Supervision is the regulator for Everbank.
http://www.ots.treas.gov/resultsort....8&dl=17&edit=1

mbreuer

I received a notice from Wachovia today - they are instituting a 1% foreign currency conversion fee above any existing fees. Now get this, it applies even if the transaction was in USD. Applies to any transaction made outside the US.

Dovster

That is one of the reasons that I use AMEX -- when I purchase my airplane tickets in Israel, the charge is in dollars. When I pay with my AMEX I not only avoid the conversion charges but also the 1% fee.

Counsellor

Yes, I've "migrated" my overseas dollar-denominated charges to my AMEX as well. Let's hope AMEX doesn't decide to impose a similar fee and lose their competitive advantage.

ajnaro

My pattern is:

US dollar purchases in the USA: AMEX or Diners (when AMEX isn't accepted or for car rentals);

US dollar purchases outside of the USA: AMEX or CapitalOne (also good for car rental insurance in countries such as Australia where Diners does not provide insurance);

Foreign currency purchases: CapitalOne.

As far as CapitalOne is concerned, it's fine, as long as it works. But CapitalOne is a very nervous organization and will decline a charge or even cancel an account for security reasons without the slightest regard for the client. CapitalOne couldn't care less if you're stuck overseas with no way to pay for expenses. For this reason, it is best to have some sort of backup.

dabo_gc

Hi, everyone.

I am a newbie and I am afraid that my opnion would be far out of your point.

FX rate is one of my concern but I always think what I can get from using the Credit Card. There are some cards which give me more than 2miles per US$1.oo. I don't know how much you think 1mile is worth, but for me it is worth more than 3cents.
Just like this. Brisbane - Tokyo ticket costs 60,000miles, if cash, it is around AU$5,000. so 1mile is worth roughly more than 8cents. If a card gives me 2miles per $1, it is same as 16% cash back.

So, my best oncern is rate of mile/money.

But it does'n mean I don't worry about FXrate. I found some local companies are offering credit cards for international buisinessmen who travel and spend a lot. And the FX rate is lower than normal credit card. So, I think you can find same one in your country, if you wish.

I'm not telling you the detail. 'Couse the cards are for local residents only. Yes, this is the problem. As you know, the most of credit card is issued only to the residents in the country, but I found in HongKong or Singapore they issue credit card to the foreign residents as well. I think It is worth for you to check it out. As you know, HK and Singapore are the center of money market in asia and very competitive.

I'm going to open an account with HSBC in singapore and get their Credit Card with currency of USdollar. The FXrate is so-so and 1mile per 0.66US dollar. Also, they don't charge to transfer money between singapore and your contry if you have an account in your country and handling both accounts is easy. Just like two saving accounts in your one internet bank account. That's why I chose HSBC. I couldn't find good credit card in Citibank Singapore. To open an account in singapore is easy, just visit your local HSBC branch in your country and ask for it.

I hope you understand my poor english.

Regards