Credit card fees using abroad.

[Pooh_Friend#1]

I always use my American Express and have never been charged a fee to use it. We have been to St. Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, Aruba, Mexico, Bahamas, St. Maarten.

 

[jsmith]

for the orginal poster-you avoid fees by not using those cards-thats pretty simple-get cash. We used our USAA and WellsFargo ATM cards-WellsFargo charges a currency conversion fee-USAA does not-but the only credit card we used was to back our shipboard account.

 

[Ava]

Visa and Mastercard charges the CC a fee of 3 or 4% for purchases. In the US the vender pays this charge but outside the US it is passed onto the purchaser. So you will pay this 3 or 4% in addition to the normal money conversion fees that they charge. I have a Bank of America card (that i hate with a vengeance) and a Capital One credit card. I use the BOA for US purchases and my Capital One for anything outside the US (plus for huge purchases as they never give me any issues). Capital One gets charged the fees but instead of passing them on they just eat them as an encouragement to use their card. So if you plan to travel outside the US get a capital one card. The commercials are funny but it really is the best card i have ever used.

This is really good to know. Next time I plan to travel outside the US I'll look into getting a Capital One card first.

I traveled all over Europe about 7 years ago and just used my ATM card to get cash. Never had any problems, and we went through 10 different countries. Most of the countries used the Euro, so I'd just get a few hundred EU at a time from the ATM and when I ran low I'd get out more. My bank (then Commerce Bank, now TD Bank) doesn't charge any fees to use a foreign ATM, so I just had to pay whatever fee the ATM charged (the normal few $ per withdrawal). I was also told at the time that you get a better exchange rate withdrawing cash from an ATM than by using a CC or exchanging cash/traveler's checks at a bank. We were traveling for 6 weeks so I wouldn't have wanted to have that much in cash or traveler's checks on me at one time any way.

 

[cseca]

Most banks will charge you Foreign Transaction Fee (FTF).
Here's a link I found, not sure how updated it is.
http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/foreign-exchange-fees-going-up-1267.php

Capital One credit card and HSBC premier world master card are the one 2 cards out there without any FTF.

Check your current bank, I was able to find that our bank has $0 charge (they would even pay us back for all ATM fees charged to us) for international ATM transaction IF we have a specific checking acct. I switched our over before we travel so we could take out cash without additional charge.
But they still charge regular FTF for all credit card/debit card purchases.

 

[Tanzanite]

very glad that I read this post.. I'm going to call my cc's tomorrow and see which one charges the lowest fees! I'm going on a cruise and this did not even cross my mind.

It adds up very quick when you start charging little here little there. I forgot to check last year i used cards in Europe but think it was 2% not 3% like this year.

 

[WheelCEO]

I called up my 3 credit cards today: disney visa, visa blackcard, amex plum.. and all 3 charge fees ranging from 2.75%-3%, for anyone that may have the same and are wondering.

 

[eliza61]

Thanks everyone i have an American express will call to see if its free .

Please also ask them what type of American express card do you need. Is it a gold card, platinium ? I went to France this summer and the American express green card most assurdely charges you a fee.
So I'm interested in knowing also.

 

[eliza61]

Just spoke with Ricky at American Express and Janice at American Express international.
As of 8/4/10 All American Express cards charge a 2.7% Foreign currency charge. I asked if any of the AE cards (gold, platinum) waved this fee. Both said no. Ricky did say he was not aware of a wavering the fee.

They did say there was a possibility that if the charge was already in US dollars there might not have been a fee.

 

[taitai]

Don't let people charge you in US Dollars. When they do that, the conversion rate they uses STINKS. It adds so many extra points. You are much better just paying in the local currency and taking the conversion fee hit from your Credit Card issuer.

We have traveled, quite literally, all over the world. What works best for us is to use credit cards for big purchases (hotel bills, furniture, whatever) and then pull large chunks of cash out of the ATM for everything else. Lots of seasoned travelers swear by the Capital One card.

Just let your bank and credit card companies know ahead of time that you are traveling so they don't freeze your account for strange purchases. Also, call your bank and get your ATM withdrawl limit temporarily increased so you can pull more cash out the ATMs each day.

Have a great trip

 

[MaryKLady]

I just had to do this research at work. We buy parts from over seas every once in a while and when you spend many thousands of dollars it REALLY adds up. We were getting killed using the cc we had. The other posters are right...the only company I found who doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee is Capitol One.

 

[TDC Nala]

Chase Visa (if you have a Disney visa) charges a 3% fee.

I used a preloaded Visa debit card purchased through AAA.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

If you are eligible the USAA Credit Cards do not charge you the transaction fee. And they have OUTSTANDING customer service (something I cannot say for Capital One)

 

[taitai]

Chase Visa (if you have a Disney visa) charges a 3% fee.

I used a preloaded Visa debit card purchased through AAA.

Try at all costs to avoid those prepaid cards. They have so many crazy fees associated with them. You are better off, financially, to just use your regular credit card. Plus, there are lots of places that won't take the prepaid cards, they put holds for significantly more than the amount for restaurants and the like. Just a massive waste of money.