You will generally be fine with Mastercard in Europe. I think a total of three, or maybe four times now I have had restaurants deny MasterCard but asked for Visa which they accepted (there is at least one poster here who seems to think I am making this up; I assure you I am not). But those few times are from hundreds and hundreds of credit card usage in Europe. In fact, I've also had them deny either Visa or MasterCard and tell me they only accept American Express -- something even less common.

Some cards may still not charge even that 1% as your card does, but I suspect the days of their not charging are coming to a gradual end.

Mastercard is used throughout Europe, I always use my Capital One Mastercard there everywhere.

I think you could have been misinformed by that customer svc. agent, though, as I have a Cap One MC, and I am not assessed even the 1 pct MC fee. Maybe you have a different kind or something than I do, I don't know, but regardless, it must be spelled out in your written customer agreement, regardless of who is theoretically assessing it. If you have the card, you must have gotten the written agreement with it and it has a section on foreign charges. What does it say? If there is no section and it says nothing, then that means there is not charge, not even a one pct one.

I had an MBNA card (now Bank of America) that charged a 3% foreign transaction fee on every purchase. I just got a new Capitol One card for my most recent trip and it worked out very well. There was no foreign transaction fee and the exchange rate seemed about the same as the exchange rates I found online. My only complaint is that my monthly statement doesn't list the charge in the original currency or the exact exchange rate that was used; it only lists the amount in dollars. I can figure it out from my receipts, but it would be nice to have it on the statement. Otherwise, I was very happy with my choice.

Use this link and do the math to figure out exactly how much/extra you paid. http://www.oanda.com/convert/fxhistory ((b))

Thanks for the link, Budman. I hadn't found a site that gave me the exchange rate for a particular day so that was really handy.

It turns out that Capitol One was a decent deal, and certainly better than MBNA would have been. Following is my test case:

Nov 18 - 75.00 euro charge
$96.19 charge on credit card
= $1.2825/euro exchange rate

According to the site linked by Budman, the exchange rates for the day were:

Average (1 days): 1.27940
High: 1.28440
Low: 1.27620

If I had had to pay MBNA's 3% transaction fee, it would have cost an extra $2.89.

If Capitol One had used the lowest rate of the day, I would have only saved $0.475.

I'm glad I did that exercise. I am suspicious of credit card companies and even though I had thought Capitol One worked out well, it's nice to have it confirmed.

I should note that I used the "Interbank rate" on that conversion website.

My husband and I have both gotten the Capitol One No Hassle Card, each with our own account. We always take different cards so if one of us loses his/her cards, the other person has accounts we can use. We also call the credit card company before we leave to let them know we will be traveling outside the country. At that time I always recheck the fees they attach. This has led to several cards being left home and the procuring of the Capitol One Cards.

Thanks for your help, everyone. I'm glad to get up-to-date information, which is why I asked the question rather than rely on Fodor's somewhat unreliable search engine.

We use B of A, and I will double-check with them about using Barclays ATM machines. I'll also look into getting a credit union card.

Thanks again!

Lee Ann

I just used my Capital One No Hassle Rewards Mastercard abroad about 10 days ago, and just got the bill yesterday, amazingly, and that day was on it. There was absolutely no foreign transaction charge on it of any kind, not even a one pct charge for MC.

Slow_wanderer, I am wondering what kind of Capital One card you have that doesn't list the exchange rate on the bill. Mine does, it's right underneath each line item, under the name of the establishment. IN fact, I like it much better than my other credit card which doesn't list the exchange rate, you have to divide to figure it out. It is true Capital One doesn't list the original charge, only the USD billing amount, but it definitely lists the exact exchange rate used for every single charge and the original currency (eg, on item says "currency: PLN, exchange rate: .3143636). At least it does on my Capital One Mastercard bills.

Okay, I applied for a Capital One card today. I'm assuming it does not matter whether it's a VISA or a MC or whether it's designated as one of the "no hassle" ones, right? They had so many options, I picked the one best for me, hoping that the no exchange fee feature is universal to all Capital One cards...

I would think so, but since I only have one, I can't say for sure. Sometimes Visa and MC do have different incentives and terms for the companies that use them (Citibank switched my MC to a Visa without even asking me if it was okay, so I cancelled their card -- when I called to complain, they admitted that Citibank had better financial incentives from Visa than MC, and that's why they did it). Capital One fully discloses all terms on its website though, for every card, so you can read them to see. You have to go to the Learn More section next to a card, then click on the "important disclosures" thing towards the bottom of the next page -- the terms should come up and the Foreign Transaction Fee is specified (eg, the No Hassle Miles Visa Signature says "none" in that location).

Christina - Are you ready? I have a Capital One Platinum No Hassle Miles Visa Signature card. *wheeze* I don't think I've ever had a credit card with such a long name! I had been looking at my online statement and there was no exchange rate listed, but you've given me hope that when my paper statement arrives, it might be listed there. I'm sorry to hear that they don't list the charge in the original currency though. I wonder why not?

I tried a number of times to call Capital One customer service to find out if all cards are totally "fee free" for international charges. I also wanted to ask some questions about their FF miles, that I could not find on their website. After many calls, being put on hold many times for long periods, and never, ever reaching a human being, I decided that Captital One No Hassle is too much hassle for me.

Lee Ann,
The rich guy next door got there (or here) by not paying fees and interest charges.
Unfortunately, USAA Federal Savings Bank closed to all but full USAA members on 30 June.
No/low fee ATMs and CCs (USAA charges the 1% V/MC fee, but rebates 0.5-1.5%) are the way to go.
Also, be very aware of the "dynamic conversion" scam wherein a business converts your charge(s) to USDs from the local currency at a very unfavorable rate. Simply refuse to pay in USDs and demand local currency post(s).
M (SMdA, Gto.)

>>Also, be very aware of the "dynamic conversion" scam wherein a business converts your charge(s) to USDs from the local currency at a very unfavorable rate. Simply refuse to pay in USDs and demand local currency post(s).<<

Thanks for reminding me about this, Mike.

Lee Ann