My travel agent is working with local agents in Australia and tells me there is a 3% surcharge for using a charge card for hotels, airfare, etc. to allow for the exchange rate. Is this the norm? Can I expect to be charged 3% more everywhere in Australia if I use a charge card? Does this apply in NZ also?

Get another TA-you're being cheated.

We recently returned from 3 wks. in Aus. I used ATM machines and also charged numerous things. It wasn't until I got my bill from Bank of America for my VISA card that I saw a charge on it for "foreign currency conversion". I called BofA and was told there is a 3% fee charged by the credit card company for the conversion of foreign currency. Had I known that when I was there, I would have utilized the ATMs alot more and charged less. Also, if you look on the back of your credit card bill, it probably has a notice on it about the foreign currency conversion card (of course, whoever reads that stuff?!).

Hi,<BR>I guess it depends which bank issued your credit card. I primarily used American Express but in places where that wasn't accepted, I used a Visa. I did not pay a surcharge w/either card. In fact, I got a very favorable rate of exchange. I also used ATMs and never paid more than a flat US$2 to access my money. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check with your bank before going out of town.<BR><BR>Debbie<BR><BR>PS It's also a good idea to tell your bank and credit card companies when you travelling internationally. If you don't do a lot of travelling, it sometimes sends up red flags and they freeze your card. It happened to someone I know a couple of years back...

We recently returned from a 3 week Aussie adventure and just yesterday got our credit card statement.<BR><BR>We were not charged any extra surcharge for anything. In fact, exchange rates were better than what we expected.<BR><BR>We notified our credit card company (twice) in advance of our trip that we would be in Australia so they wouldn't freeze the card. They did it anyway. We were in Brisbane airport with $10 in our pocket, hungry kids and no money for cab fare to our hotel. Three different ATM's refused to give us money. After 45 minutes on the phone, we finally got through to MasterCard International who was able to put us through to a Capitol One operator. Cap One doesn't answer their phone in the middle of the night. Luckily, the MC Int'l operator knew a "secret" number to get through. Once we got through, the Cap One rep was able to remove the freeze on the card within 5 minutes and we were back on our way again.<BR><BR>My advice...<BR>1. Get a phone card and know how to use it to dial back to your home country.<BR>2. Have backup credit cards available. Call them and make sure they note the account that you are travelling overseas.<BR>3. Get a 24 hour number for your credit card company, both a Aussie number and a number in your home country.<BR>4. Don't do what I did and let yourself get low on cash.<BR><BR>Have a good trip!<BR><BR>John in Miami

mary:<BR>John in Miami gives you excellent advice. My wife and I travelled throughout Australia and New Zealand on two separate ocassions in the last 2 years. We used our GM Mastercard in both countries without incident. We notified Mastercard and gave them our itinerary before departure and enjoyed a wonderful trip. While abroad, we used ATM's to get cash and charged for restaurants and shopping. We suffered no surcharges or extra fees.<BR>John in Jackson, TN

I recently booked my trip to Australia using Australian companies and the prices were in AUD. I charged these on my credit card and when I received the bill, I noticed that the exchange rate was much worse than what I expected. It turns out they added in an extra 3% to the exchange rate as the service fee. It was not noted separately on the bill though. I had to do the math to figure out what exchange rate they used. <BR><BR>I plan on calling the different CC companies I have card with before I go over there to see if any of them offer better rates.<BR><BR>Thanks for the tip on notifying the CC company of international travel. I had no idea they would freeze the card.<BR><BR>Patrice

It is especially a good idea to notify your bank if you are using frequent flyer awards for free tickets.<BR><BR>We used reward tickets for flight to and from Australia/New Zealand. As soon as I bought domestic tckets within those counties I got a call from their security department.<BR><BR>They were concerned because they had no charge record of our buying tickets to get to Australia They were afraid someone else was using my card. Fortunately they called before freezing the card.

Hi. I recently read an article in the NY Times about this--maybe a month ago, in the travel section. Mastercard adds 3% to the exchange rate; American Express adds 1%. Depending on the bank you have your mastercard through, it may or may not pass on the whole extra charge--all the ones I checked out did. When we were in Australia, we were able to use the Amex just about everywhere. It's still cheaper to use the cards, though, than to get travelers' checks and exchange the money.

Hi Mary:<BR><BR>Most cards these days add the 3% surcharge. Since Mastercard/Visa really charges about 1%, the bank is keeping the rest. So it's not really Mastercard/Visa issuing the extra charges, but the BANK the credit card is issued from. That's important to note, because just because you have a mastercard/visa does not mean you will escape extra fees. Info can be found in the fine print of your CC contract, and if you use the card, you agree to the charge. Of course, who reads fine print these days?<BR><BR>Well, me, actually. When I came back last year from Oz, there were conversion charges littered all over my statement. I should have complained, but I didn't. I have heard stories where the charges were reversed, so it wouldn't have hurt to try. <BR><BR>Based on some research, I believe Capitol One and MBNA (I think that's the name) doesn't charge the extra percentage points for conversion. Also, for anyone with Bank of America using the Visa "check" card: A gold card, which is actually their standard card, will charge you 3%. A platinum check card will only charge you the 1% that Visa charges. There is some debate as to the wisdom of using these check cards abroad, but I have never had a problem. Probably the best thing you can do is find a real credit card that doesn't charge you the fees.<BR><BR>

I was in Melbourne a year ago. The bank charged me $7 to convert my USD to AUD. I used my debit/visa card once with no surcharge. The USD debited was about what I expected.<BR>Going again in December (can't wait) and ya'll have given me some great ideas. Thanks.