Credit card rates in foreign countries

Going to Tahiti July 12 for 10 day PG and for some unknown reason (how did they know I was going) received this today from my lbank.

"We charge you a Currency Conversion of 2.00% and a Cross-Border Transaction fee of 8.00%"

It looks to me like 2% plus 8% plus the Master Card 's 18% could equel

28%.

Has any one else have any input on this.:confused:

I think the 18% you refer to is interest, which doesn't really have anything to do with the currency conversion rate. Instead, they will charge you 10% or $10 on every $100 for your charges. The interest rate will only kick in if you don't pay off the amount within the month.

You might want to consider just changing currency there. The exchange place in the airport is open whenever there are flights.

My DH looked into all credit card options extensively before our World Cruise and found that Capital One was the BEST for using out of the USA for conversion rate, fees etc. (but at home we use American Express almost exclusively and a Chase Visa from time to time).

Old Doc:

I was recently in Canada (April '06). I have Citibank Mastercard. They state on the statement there is a "one time fee" for foreign transactions...From the charges I had done it appears to be approx. 3%.

The ATM charged a flat fee of $3-4 (for cash).

If you find anything else let us know! We'll be on the 7/12 PG also!

Carol

Petlover is absolutely right. Last year I traveled to Spain and used my Visa card. When the charges came I was shocked to see a 3% tacked on to every single foreign currency charge I made while abroad! As I'm getting ready to go back to Europe this summer I also did some research and found out the same as Petlover's husband: that Capitol One is the best card in terms of conversion and fees. We are in the process of getting a Capitol One card which we'll use for our trip in Europe.

I am shocked. In all my years of travelling, I have never had a credit card charge me for purchases in a foreign country. If I received money from an ATM in a local currency, yes, but never for a straight purchase.

Is this something new, or just certain companies? Or did I misunderstand what was being posted?

Several years ago, almost all credit card companies began charging a fee (usually 2-3%) for foreign currency conversion on all foreign purchases. As has been said, Capital One is one of the few credit card companies that thus far does not charge that fee.

Just curious why you need to change money, I've been in Tahiti three times and never had need to exchange money.

 

I am shocked. In all my years of travelling, I have never had a credit card charge me for purchases in a foreign country

Homelover,

Like most of us you just didn't realize you were being charged. They do a good job of hiding it!

I am shocked. In all my years of travelling, I have never had a credit card charge me for purchases in a foreign country. If I received money from an ATM in a local currency, yes, but never for a straight purchase.

Is this something new, or just certain companies? Or did I misunderstand what was being posted?

I don't remember the details but apparently most CC companies where charging this fee but it was bundled with the exchange rate so you wouldn't know about it ( it just looked like the exchange rate they were using was really crummy). A couple of years ago there was some sort of class action lawsuit and the results were ( among other things) that the CC companies charging this fee were mandated to separate the 2-3% fee from the exchange rate. So now it sticks out like a sore thumb!!

Marcie, I actually convert and write down any purchases on the day I buy, and check it against the cc statement. In Europe, it has always been lower! Maybe my credit card wasn't charging at that time. I will have to call to see what their policy is...I wrote to Citibank and they confirmed the fees! How times have changed.

Dreps, I just spoke to Capital One. You are correct...they as a cc company do not charge a fee for foreign purchases. However, after grilling them a little more (and calling Master card), there is a 1% fee charged by Master Card that they must impose. So it seems that Visa and Master card have their fees and then the banks or companies that issue those cc have an option of adding their own surcharge.

We have a CapitalOne card that we use ONLY for purchases in foreign countries. The 1% fee is built into the currency conversion rate; you won't see it as a separate charge. But unlike other CC companies (Citi, Chase, MBNA, etc), CapitalOne does NOT sock you with an additional 3% or so fee on every purchase.

In 2005 most credit card companies began charging a 3% conversion charge for foreign exchanges. I have never before heard of a cross-border transaction fee. I sure would not use that card out of the country.

Prior to our trip to FP in 2004 I checked our credit card companies and found the one that charged nothing extra for foreign exchange and used it in FP. On that same telephone call I notified them of the dates we would be traveling out of country. We had no trouble with the card. At a pearl shop we witnessed another couple having a hassle with their cc company over the telephone attempting to prove that they were the legitimate holders of the card. So it is prudent to notify your cc company ahead of time. Our son had his card denied recently during a business trip to Japan because he had not thought to notify them. He finally found a time that banking hours there overlapped with a time he could phone the states and got it straightened out.

In 2005 even though our favorable cc had sent the letter about the new rates we found no extra charges on our bill. When we calculated the conversion from CPF to dollars for the dates that we charged our posted charges came out almost exactly.