I am traveling to Italy the end of this month. I have called all of my credit card companies:

BofA
Chase
Citibank
Wells Fargo

They all have a service fee of 3% and some have additional fees for using the card outside the US. I have no problem getting another card just for this trip if someone could recommend one that offers less fees.

Any suggestions?

Thanks
Ann

Any Mastercard or Visa - leave AmEx, Diners Club etc at home as they are a waste of space in most places

Hi Ann: I took three trips to Europe last spring and got a Capitol One Visa card just for these trips and plan to use it only overseas. It does not have an annual fee but most importantly does not charge a foreign transaction fee unlike my other credit cards. It was nice not to see those extra exchange rate fees on my bill when it came.

Supposedly, Capital One charges no or only a small charge. It might be too late to apply for a new card. Any new card may have a low limit for the first month or so. How much will you charge? $5000 at 3% would amount to $150. If you find a card that charges 1% you save $100. Not peanuts, but not excessive in light of the cost of the trip. I find that I spend about as much from ATM withdrawals as on a credit card.

AMEX is not a bad card to have. You can not use it at many small shops, but is accepted at nicer hotels and restaurants. They only charge 2% and give superior service and reporting.

Agree that Capital One is your best bet for purchases. However, if you plan to use ATMs, I would suggest a debit card. Using a credit card to withdraw cash it exorbitantly expensive, not only in fees but in some cases a change to a higher interest rate percentage. We use one from a local bank and one from a credit union we belong to.

Yes, Capitol One is the card we use in Europe. If and when they start charging fees we will find a new card. But we carry Visa and MC as back up. Plus, we each carry ATM cards with different pins.

has anyone checked the exchange rate Capital One uses versus other cards before blanketly endorsing them as the best.

No doubting it but wonder if anyone actually has checked to see if they use a similar exchange rate as others. If so a great deal.

yes, I've checked the Capital One conversion calculations many times as I have one of their cards, and there is nothing inflated about the exchange rate. It is virtually identical to the interbank rate I can find online for a specific date. There have been posts about this on here before when someone made allegations their exchange rate had the fee in it, with no evidence of that, but it doesn't.

I don't really understand the OP by saying all of those cards have a "service fee" of 3 pct and some have additional fees on top of that 3 pct for foreign transactions. What's that mean, surely they don't have 3 pct fees for all transactions. I thought all of those cards had a 3 pct fee on foreign transactions but not more fees on top of that (or below that) -- except maybe BofA, I don't know what they do as they seem very expensive.

Christina - that's what my dozen or so credit cards all have - flat 3% and no other fees... but some may i guess.

apirone,
Take a look at http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20050624b1.asp

Henry

Personally I prefer the double miles I frequently get on my 2% Amex Platinum than saving $100 dollars..which is peanuts when added in with your other expensives. Just my opinion

You make a very valid point gforaker. I may save $100 if I open a capital one but, why go through the hassel. Plus I don't like to show to much open credit on my report. I think I will just stick with the card with the lowest APR and pay the 3%.

Thanks
Ann

Whichever Visa or Mastercard you take (and I recommend taking one of each, if you have it), be sure to call them and tell them where you will be traveling and when. Most of the companies will stop accepting charges pretty quickly if they see a pattern that is out of the norm for you - it's a very good thing since it helps stop fraudulant use of your credit card, but's it's kind of irritating when you're in the middle of buying something. They always have a number to call so that the credit card agents can see you've "pre-approved" spending in locations outside your norm..... You must do that from your house (once again - fraud prevention).

I got the Capital One card for my trip to France in May - and mostly used it, although I always take back-up cards. I applied for the card online and received it in about week! If they start charging those 3% conversion fees, them I won't use it anymore. It's true that the 3% might not add up to much, but the point of it makes me mad!

Why does it make you mad? Doesn't the company you work for deserve to make a profit?

3% may not seem that significant, but it's why the bank CEO's yacht is bigger than my house.

I was definitely happy with using my Capital One is Europe 2 years ago. The bonus on mine was that there was no fee for cash withdrawals, which made getting cash very painless for a 3 week trip! However, I don't think it's widely available since I posted it here at the time and others were not able to receive the same offer. Worth checking into, though.

We also have Capital One. We used to use Amex everywhere, but found that many countries are accepting Amex less and less. Last year we went to Normandy and Paris for two weeks. Literally 3/4 of the time Amex was not accepted. Now the main card I use is the Capital One and I appreciate no fees and I don't have a problem with stores saying they don't accept it.

Disagree on AmEx. While it's not as widely accepted as Visa and MC most sizable places will take it - we always use it for hotels. And some places require it (to rent a car worth more than a certain $ value etc).

Diner's CLub is much less well accepted and Discovery is not accepted at all.

"And some places require it (to rent a car worth more than a certain $ value etc)."

Huh? Not unless you have a low limit on your Visa or MC.

I rarely use my AmEx (except for Costco), but I can't tell you often I see places in Europe refusing them and asking for a Visa or MC instead.