just made 2 calls;

1st MBNA - I have an Amtrak Plat MC , was told that there wasnt a 3% fee for FEX and that my card wouldnt be having it

2nd - Banc One- I have a Marriott Rewards VISA Biz card , was told that any time anywhere that a charge comes in, in US$ that there is No extra fee involved.

I know the reps can be wrong but I asked each to Please document my acct accordingly, I guess Ill see if it hits the fan,the MR visa goes bye-bye anyway in Aug and is used for Marriott stays Only.

OK... this is about to drive me up the walls, upon hearing conflicting news. I just made a call about a couple of hours ago to MBNA. I have the Amtrak MC as well. I was informed the Amtrak MC will have a 3% fee for foreign currency exchange, effective May 25. As a matter of fact, according to her, all MBNA cards (MC or Visa) will have a 3% fee after May 25.
True or not, I will be shopping for a new 1% card. I may need to look at what's going to be in my wallet from now on... I suppose the Capital One Go Miles Visa ...

I called MBNA Quantum and they told me the same thing today. To make matters worse, the rep said that the charge will be a separate line item on the bill, which will make it a giant PITA to get reimbursed when traveling on business.

Is every FT'er on hold with MBNA? I waited 12 minutes and got a nice young man who ran off to do extensive research. Here is the good and bad news:

1. Visa is indeed no longer charging the 1% to the consumer. However, they will be billing the credit card issuers for it!
2. This fee will be presented as a separate line item as noted above. So your charge itself will be at the wholesale rate with the separate fee billed separately.
3. Moreover, the separate fee will be 1% on cards that haven't tacked on extra yet. Many cards, the one whose holders have already received letters, will pay 3% (2% more than previously) beginning 5/25.
4. Because they issue so many cards, MBNA has not yet sent all the letters yet or even planned when to raise the fee on some. I did not receive a letter on my personal Goldpoints card and they do not have any present schedule as to when that fee will rise. I did receive a letter on my business card which I have already cancelled.
5. When you do get your letter, it will indicate at least 60 days until the higher fee is effective.

I just got back from Japan and all my charges went through at what appears to be the wholesale rate for the day with nothing tacked on.

If VISA is really still going to charge 1% to the card issuer (MBNA, Capitol One, etc), will Capital One be eating the 1% from VISA ?

I think the MBNA rep is wrong and VISA is charging no one the 1% fee anymore. Of course they will choose less favorable exchange rates to make up the difference, but that cannot be avoided without just paying cash.

Is the Capital One card 1% or 0% FEX fee? Also, do you think Capital One will be hiking their fees in the near future as well?

Unfortunately, the story seems to be true. From the April 10 Chicago Tribune (login details via bugmenot):

Do these fees also apply to the use of each banks debit cards for purchases? What are the fees for getting cash from an ATM in a foreign country in addition to the ATM fee from the bank owning the machine?

Japan is not ATM friendly but I did find one machine at Narita that gave me yen. No fee from them but my bank always charges $3.50. Exchange rate was 1% lower than I got using my credit card so I don't know if that was a buried "fee" by the Japanese bank or my bank. I was displeased at the exchange rate but fortunately did not need to make any further withdrawals as the CC rate was so good and we were mostly on awards anyway.

The obvious fees are:

The fee your bank will charge you for not using one of their ATMs

The fee the bank that owns the ATM will charge you for using their ATM

There are may be other fees, depending on your bank and the type of account you have.

99% of ATMs in Europe do not assess a surcharge of their own for American cardholders. The fee you really have to worry about is the fee your bank will charge you for using a foreign ATM, which in the case of Bank of America and Wells Fargo is as much as $5.

I actually think it is illegal in most of the world for the ATM owner to charge a service fee.

I just phoned Capital One and one agent told they charge 1%. She then gave me a number for their international desk, where I was told they charge 0% surcharge.

I then tried to find out how I can learn the exchange rates that Visa is using, and could not get the agent to understand me. He kept saying that I can call the issuing bank to find out the rate I was charged on a past transaction, and I kept saying I want to know either the rate they are charging today, or know a way on any given day that I can learn the rate for that day. I finally found out that they have a foreign exchange desk which operates 9am to 8pm M-F eastern time; he said only the issuing bank is allowed to call that number, which is 866-299-3671 :) . That number (on weekends) gives a tape recorded message which seems to indicate that they will tell us the current rates they charge. I want to see how their rates compare to the rates I get through AMEX or wire transfers.

Amex told me they charge 2%
Donuteric posted a link here to an Amex online conversion chart at:
http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic...mericanexpress
But, is that the rate they use for card purchases, or do they pad the rate? I want to compare any padding they do to any that CapitalOne does to see who really gives a better exchange.

gargoyle - they pad -- yes they do - i can post my last hotel charge that i booked from the us... let me know and i will get the details

What I find interesting is that none of my American credit cards show the amount of the purchase in the original currency.

This is not true on my German MasterCharge or my Israeli Visa. They always show the original amount and the conversion rate.