When I first acquired a Visa card through AAA, MBNA was the card issuer. I paid a 1% surcharge to Visa for foreign currency conversions.

Now that those dastardly deeders at the Bank of American have taken over MBNA, I got a notice in the mail a few days ago stating that the fee for foreign transactions was to be increased begining with my next statement.

Here is what the BOA nasty gram had to say:

Summary: We are incresing the Foreign Transaction Fee

Amendment: Effective for all Foreign Transdations that post to your account on or after May 1, 2007, we will assess a transaction fee (Finance Charge)equal to 2% of the US dollar amount of each such Foreign Transation. This fee will be in addition to any other applicable transaction fees.

Foreign transaction means any transactdion made in a foreign currency (including for example online purchases from foreign merchants.)

I was already paying 1% to Visa, so the added 2% means the total fee is 3%.

Let us hope that the greed bug does not bite Capital One! As far as I have been able to tell, Capital One charges no extra fees for foreign currency conversions.

Between those rascals who practice "dynamic currency exchange" and the banks that sock us with an extra markup for no service added, those of us who travel internationally have to watch it constantly.

BOA has become my pet peeve. I am slowly weaning myself away from BOA.

If anybody out there is a BOA executive, you can color me hostile. I want out!!

yeah, I posted this a few weeks ago. To add insult to injury, they've decided to raise my finance chg rate from around 7% to 18% (!!!???).

I have already received my new Capital One card and used it in Europe - no addl % added for foreign curr purchases. Sweet..!

Next move is cancelling the BOA/MBNA/AAA card.

I got that two, but I am not sure that means it is 3 pct instead of 2 pct total. That 1 pct Visa fee was already considered the "foreign transaction fee" in my previous agreement and on my bill. There was no other fee, in any case, and it is a foreign transaction fee, actually, as it is only applied to foreign purchases.

So, I'm not sure, but are you just assuming that it is a total of 3 pct, or did you call and they told you that? If so, I question that as they do not have any other "transaction fee" documented in my agreements for usage of the card. That 1 pct visa fee is not called a "transaction fee", at least never was before, in the terms. They do have transaction fees for cash advances, for example, and I think that's what they mean.

So, did either you or Travelnut really get confirmation as to what that means in total?

Oh well, it was a good run.

okay, I did actually just call them up and they did say it was a total of 3 pct. I was thinking it was only 2 pct because I thought the language would have obviously said something like -- the foreign transaction fee is now 3 pct -- if that was the case, to clearly notify customers.

Boy, was I wrong, I wish somebody would file a lawsuit against these folks. I don't understand how they can legally get away with not clearly notifying you what the total is, rather than making allusions that it is 2 pct "in addition to whatever transaction fees you have", which to me means concurrent, not a reference to some prior point in time. There is absolutely no excuse for writing a supposed legal document in terms like that, rather than just saying your total transaction fee will be 3 pct (or whatever).

well, the problem with these things is that no one at the card company cares. You get customer service agents and they don't care, when I try to call AAA to complain because supposedly I am their customer, they just route me to MBNA as they are the manager. MBNA doesn't care about me as a long-time AAA customer.

Anyway, I'm rather made at them now, that didn't help my blood pressure (especially the nonsensical statements the customer service agent gave me as to why this was necessary, when I've been a very good customer for many years), but all one can do is take your business elsewhere, I guess, which I am doing.

It is really odd to me that cards treat good customers so badly. This is supposed to be a competitive business. I read all the time about how you can (supposedly) call and get them to change penalities, interest rates, etc., just by asking. Well, I never carry a balance so don't care about those, but when I try to get them to budget on something like this (which really wouldn't cost them must of anything, as I don't use it abroad that often), I reach a stonewall.

I am really mad that they wrote it in such a obfuscatory manner, too, that is the worst. They don't do that with any other changes in terms, and I thought that legally, they would have to put down exactly what the full rate is, not just some vague language as being in addition to some other reference point it doesn't cite. I wish somebody would sue them.

Well, I thought you never even really know if what they are telling you is true, until you use the card. The customer service agent seemed adamant that it was a total of 3 pct now, even when I asked her 3 different ways as to the bottom line.

1 + 2 = 3

You need more verification than that?
I was already paying 1% and 2% more was added to what I was already paying.

I am not paying it because I will use my Capital One card when I am out of the US.
And I am using it more in the US.

I don't understand how they can charge a fee yet provide no service or value in relation to the charge.

Speaking of AAA, you can beat that 3%. Just buy a AAA Visa prepaid travel card. Then you pay 7% every time you make a purchase or withdraw funds from an ATM -- even though it is money you already paid for!!!

My HSBC Mastercard is also going from 1 to 3%.

They're all getting on the bandwagon ;-)

Thank you USAA Federal Savings Bank!
M

Other than Capitol One and USAA, about the only card issuers left that don't charge the extra 2% are credit unions.

Hi Christina,

My old Texas A&M MBNA card imposed the extra 2% fee last summer. I was most disappointed. We recently opened a Visa at our credit union. So far... no extra fees aside from the 1% imposed by Visa.
Interestingly, I once had a BOA representative tell me what customers like myself (never carry a balance...EVER, always pay on time) are actually not the customers they want. They want customers that carry a large balance and pay them a lot of interest (albeit on time).

right on, jack.

When B of A announced they would provide credit cards to persons without SS#, I called and cancelled. I told AAA if they started doing business with another bank, I would reconsider.

We only use Capitol One when we're overseas.