BEC---i have no problem at all with capital waiving fees....they have done this for me on occasion, but not often...i think it depends on what is in their computer about you and your situation with them....

I have been reading all responses, but have to comment as I just received my Mastercard from Citi cards(Citibank?)statement with a finance charge for foreign transaction. I charged a rental car in Canada for $604 and the finance charge was $18.12.

Under the charge it states"your card provides the convenience of transacting in foreign currencies worldwide... Each purchase you make in a foreign currency is subject to a one time transaction fee." I tried to call and get the fee reversed, claiming I didn't know about it, but the customer service woman said it was a 3% fee charged by visa and mastercard. But according to the %s listed by "becalm", it is the bank charging.

in the end i think you will find it is visa/master charging 1% which is now standard and the bank charging 2%....look at the fine print they send you periodically or ask to speak to a supvr...

Lately, this fee seems to be more and more common. Not only the credit cards charge it, but my US Bank ATM card now chrges it. That's why I got an HSBC account to use for ATM transactions in foreign countries.

Hearsh, My maiden name is Bonnie Hearsh. Imagine my surprise when I was your name here. I assumed it was my sister, especially since she lives in northern CA and you seem familiar with that area. She assures me that she is not the initial poster. Assuming she is telling me the truth, who are you since you must be a relative? Please reply to me at [email protected].
Thanks, I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

My sister was not telling me the truth.

BTW, I juse rec'd a mailing from Capital One that say no fees (late fees, foreign transaction fees, exceeding credit line fees) with the Ultra Miles reward card.

Interesting subject.
I never paid much attention to this subject until I planned a trip OS.
I am an Aussie and it is nice to know that we are not the only ones being screwed by cedit card providers, banks etc. I don't mind paying for a service as long as I know the cost, but it seems only now they are being forced to disclose some of the fees involved.
Only after much asking of questions and reading of "fine print" have I discovered that most if not all money handlers are still making it difficult for the average consumer to find out what a service actually costs. Deception is the order of the day and the fees charged may now be itemised on your statement, but have a close look at the exchange rate on any particular day and see how it compares to the rate used by your bank etc to do the conversion [it is not hard to hide 1-2% in the conversion rate].
I think you will be very surprised, if not totally outraged.
At least now I have a rough idea how much I am going to be ripped off on my upcoming trip and maybe limit the pain.

I found out about this international transaction fee when I purchased an EasyJet flight from one European city to another and it showed up on my Bank of America credit card. I was astonished to be informed by two separate customer service agents that the three percent transaction fee was "government mandated." What a crock! I intend to cancel my card on the basis of that lie alone and get a new one before my trip.

If you live in California, NY, or Boston, you can stop by a First Republic Bank and open a ATM Rebate Checking Account. With this account, you can use any ATM worldwide, and FRB will reburse any ATM fees. You need $500 to open and keep a $2500 minimum balance. I am not sure how much they charge for currency conversion.

http://firstrepublic.com/dep/checking/atmrebate.html

As some already know I have been living in thailand for a couple of years and have been using citbank products for my online banking and I can tell you the 3% on ATM and credit card are killing me.

as far as ATM's and debt cards go. Do you get a break if you use a citicard on a (citibank) atm in thailand or are you charged the same if you go to thai farmers or whereever.

for some reason I have a negative view of capital one. it's just one of those gut feelings but if they "eat" all my charges then I'll check them out.

citibank has really started to lay on the charges for everything.

orgy, don't you have a local account? We only use our US account when we are in the US....we have our accounts in Japan for everyday use, and some offshores for a rainy day. Maybe you could explore one of the many offshore banking options for your transactions you now do with Citibank?

Lots of banks and credit unions offer rebates on ATM charges. What really eats your money is if your bank charges 3% on the exchange when you withdraw from an ATM. The bank I regulalrly use, US Bank just started charging that this year. That's why I opened an HSBC account - they say they don't charge on the exchange. The ATM fee is $1.50 per withdrawal. I will report back after my upcoming trip.

I have had an HSBC ATM card for many years and have never been charged any ATM fee anywhere in Europe or Japan.

I also got an HSBC credit card this past year and they only add the 1% transaction fee, much less than most cards. :)

Mara, thanks for that info. My expereince with HSBC on this trip will infleunce whether I try more of their financial services.

kathie, I asked my friend today who recently came back from Hong Kong. She also said HSBC didn't charge her for using HSBC ATM on HSBC ATM machines.

very good article about using credit/ATM/debit card when overseas: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...UG6DJJFQ51.DTL

If you live in the USA, you can open an online savings account that has 5.05% APY, which is better than most bank. No minimum, free ATM card, free ACH (Automated Clearing House) pushing or pulling money between HSBC and your checking accounts from other banks. The only downside is that it takes 3/4 business to complete the transfer.

http://www.hsbcdirect.com/

It's taken us a long time to figure this out: while our US Airways CREDIT card charges a fee (3%), our HSBC DEBIT card has no fee and I think they give us a decent foreign exchange rate. So now we get cash from ATM's as needed with our DEBIT card, instead of using traveler's checks or carrying a lot of cash. I suppose you could make the argument that using a CREDIT card gives you more protection if you need to dispute a transaction later on, so maybe paying the fee is the price for that!

j_4tay said:
....If you live in the USA, you can open an online [HSBC]savings account that has 5.05% APY....."

I am under the impression from reading these and other boards that ATM cards connected to savings accounts will often not work abroad. I have never tried it personally and my HSBC ATM card is connected to my checking as a primary. Also I have used many other banks ATM's and paid no fee.

Using an HSBC card in an HSBC ATM anywhere in the world will not generate an ATM fee. The charge is for using non-HSBC ATMs, apparently only when the non-HSBA ATM chrages a fee. No one I talked to at HSBC could give me a definitive answer on whether HSBC always charges $1.50 or whether I would only be charged if the non-HSBC ATM charged a fee.

I have been told by HSBC that the ATM card associated with their online savings account will work all over the world. The only problems I have heard of with ATM cards and savings accounts is when you have a linked checking and savings account and can withdraw from either one from a US ATM. In many countries, they do not give you that choice, so the money automatically comes from the checking account. I will soon be able to report back on my experience with the HSBC online savings account and foreign ATMs.