Class Action Settlement re: improper exchange rate fees charged by credit card co's
 

Just received a mail regarding a class action settlement with credit card companies for overcharging on international exchange rates. Offers three options for settlement: a flat $25 refund for infrequent international travel, an unspecified refunt for around $2500 in purchases, and a more extensive refund where you break down your international purchases by year.

Anyone else get this? Is it legit?

I got one also. IIRC, there was something in the news about a class action suit months ago. They have to send a form to all cc holders.

Yes, it's legit. I received an initial mailing several months ago and had to submit a form then claiming the use of the cards in foreign locations. Now I also got the mailing you got and filed for option 1 electronically. Now waiting for my $25.

I almost threw it out thinking it was junk mail, but AFAIK its legit. And intriguing.
Do you gamble on the easy option #2 and hope for decent "average spending" or try #3 and find all those damn records.
Option #3 would take some amount of time, I just wonder if it would be worth it. I doubt I've spent > $15K over 10 years.
You only get to count Visa/MC/DC not AMEX and only foreign currency stuff, not hotels/airlines etc. booked in US$
And I was a starving student for many of those years :)
so probably #2 for me

I got the paperwork too.
$25...is it even worth the effort?

Got it too. It's legit. More details here, including the attorneys fee of appx $100M. :rolleyes:

i got it today after having filled out a form earlier this year. apparently i qualify for the Option 3 so i gotta wait a bit longer to see if i get my $

Can anyone give a ballpark estimate of option 3
 

So for a typical FT member who goes abroad 4-8 times a year what might they be looking at for a total payoff here? I realize I'm asking for a wild guess but your guess is surely better than mine.

No doubt a lot of work went into this on the part of the plaintiffs' attorneys. Seems like a reasonable return on their investment of time and money.

I got it too, and wondered about whether it was legit.

Pity I can't remember the CC# of the one I use abroad, since I changed it after some unauthorized transactions! Have to rack the brain a little....

We got them too. I'm thinking we spent at least 50K in the last ten years without even trying, so we're opting for option 2.

TH can probably even find most of her credit card bills to itemize.

If you are a member of the class and want an easy and relatively painless $25, take the first option. Otherwise, you essentially have three alternatives:

Been trying for a few days to find a human to talk to by phone or email to figure out how they do the average spending for the "how many days were you abroad" estimate. The legal docs mention using the "U.S. Department of Commerce annual Survey of International Air Travelers" but that's not freely available... any ideas?

Is there one coming for Amex? thats where I spend most of my moola overseas.

Where do you get a copy of this? I have been living in Europe for years and would love some money back on my US cards!

Did all of you just get these mailings?
Is it all mastercard and visas or just certain banks?

Thanks.

Ciao,
FH