I had thought ATM transactions were part of the 6 withdrawals. Thanks for the correction!

Thank you... hmm... maybe it is time to get my first CRAP1 card...

[time pass...]

On a second thought, i probably will only spend about $10k on credit card oversea this year, so get a CRAP1 will save me 1% (considering 2% cashback vs. 1%), which is $100. I guess I should continue staying away from it.

The way I see it: if you use Household you will pay approximately $100 net (pay $300 forex fee; get $200 rebate); if you use CAP1 you will receive approximately $125 net (pay $0 forex fee; get $125 rebate). The difference is $225. Whether it's worth $225 to have to put with CAP1's lousy customer service is your call.

I just returned from Argentina and checked each Cap1 charge against XE. For my charges, it does not appear that 1% was added to the exchange rate.

Could the difference here be a CapOne Visa vs. CapOne MC issue?

It could be. But I suspect it's a volatility in the FX markets issue. Currency markets are moving so much these days that unless you run a lot of big transactions on different cards on the same day it's very hard to tell for sure whether a card is 0% or 1%. See my real-world testing post above.

I hardly notice the 1% charge, if it is actually applied. It's hard to keep track of the currency markets, so I just cross fingers and forget about it, when it's covered by 1% cashback.

Best card for foreign exchange?
 

I have been using Visa CC, offered to me by my credit union, and they told me that currency conversion fee is 0. Yet, I was still charged with 1. When I asked my credit union, about that, they said that it has nothing to do with them; Visa itself is charging these transactions. I even managed to get that 1, since I said that there was no information regarding that hidden fee. As far as I know that fee could go up to 3 in some cases. For now, Ill stick to my Visa.^
------------------------
Shakira Janet

Guaranteed ROI

I've had Fidelity accounts for 30 years, but never thought of them in this context, i.e., a source for cash per ATMs, especially outside the US. Since it looks like a linked Gold Visa ATM/debit card gives me another way to access my Fidelity funds and when used to get foreign currency outside the US with a 1% exchange fee rather than as much as 3% with other cards, I guess I'll get one. No downside other than another piece of plastic to add to the great many I carry about, right (e.g., an ATM/debit card does not reflect on credit reports)?

It is really obnoxious to be hit with a 3% foreign exchange fee when using a credit or charge card, but truth is that I don't have occasion to charge that much outside the US that the added expense is all that great. And since when I use a CC, I am always getting miles or points which have real value and offset that 3%, reducing it to around 1% net cost. Also, using the CC notwithstanding that obnoxious fee that will be imposed, I get the other benefits of CC transactions, e.g., don't have to carry as much cash with me, get the float on paying bill, possibility of disputing something through the CC issuer, and have a record of spending. (Yeah, I'm just talking to myself here, going throught the pluses and minuses of doing with a low-fee ATM/debt card versus CC.)

Do most ATM/debit cards have low foreign exchange fees like the Fidelity one with its 1% rate, or is Fidelity something of an exception? (I think I may see a 0% with my regular bank ATM card, but need to confirm that before we travel next month.)

Where does one see the exchange rate the CCs use when calculating the amount charged in $USD? Is it a rate published in the Wall Street Journal or elsewhere? I suppose we would get the less favorable side of the buy/sell quote, but that is usually a very, very small spread, one that would make a negligible difference on all but mega-transactions. Do they take the rate that the currency closes at on some market?

(Perhaps my questions have been answered before in the course of this thread, but can't go through >1400 posts and think it would be hard to get at through a search. Thanks.)

That's why we have the Wiki:
http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php...reign_Exchange

Thanks.^ Wasn't aware of this resource. Looks good, will plunge into it.

(BTW, checked with my own bank, which reimburses us for all ATM fees charged us when we use other banks' ATMs. Learned that when we use our ATM outside the country to withdraw in foreign currency, we pay 1% to Visa and 1% to our own bank, that is 2% total. Not sure why/how Visa is in the picture, since they aren't named anywhere on my ATM card, which shows my own bank's name and the of Allpoint, Cirrus [has those MC intersecting circles], NYCE, and Star, but they are there for a piece of the action. So, I guess I will be choosing between Fidelity at 1% and my bank at 2% versus Visa credit card at what I believe is 3%. Then with no advantage to my bank's ATM card other than the reimbursement of other banks' ATM fees, which most foreign banks have not charged me anyway, I expect the choice will come down to Fidelity for cash at 1% vigorish versus credit card charges at 3% vigorish, with advantages of credit card over cash.)

As part of Citibank's ongoing campaign to confuse its customers, it appears that in the last couple of months Citi, in its Citigold accounts, has stopped charging forex and foreign ATM fees on overseas ATM withdrawals.

I had read about this somewhere, and, on a recent trip to Europe, it, after reviewing my recent statement, appears to be true.

I had no ATM forex charges and other ATM fees on around a dozen withdrawals in Euros and Turkish Lira--except for a 31 cent charge at an ATM at the Madrid airport. Still trying to understand that one.

Anyone else have more info on this. I note that the Wiki does not presently reflect this change re Citigold.

A program trying to slip a true "enhancement" to benefits past us unnoticed?! That would certainly be a new one.

CapitalOne -- leave home with something else
 

I have been away from home for a few weeks. I notified CapitalOne before I left and have been using the card regularly without incident. Two days ago, a purchase for around USD 100 in a local supermarket overseas was declined without warning, leaving me with a cart full of groceries at the check out. When I called, the representative said something like ‘we just wanted to check on you’ and offered no apology for the incident. So, although you may take CapitalOne with you when you leave home, you’d better also take some other card for use when their humor turns sour. The fact of the matter is that CapitalOne is not reliable. Although it offers the best terms for foreign exchange, you really can’t count on it.

I have been using the cards for 10 years and they have always been reliable for me (though I rarely travel internationally more than once a year). Citi, Chase and the others which charge ridiculous fees have been less reliable. of course, YMMV