HowardR

Here's another vote for the Amex card. Sure, it's not accepted as widely as Visa or MasterCard. Still, it's a lot more than "comparatively few," especially in the major cities. In four trips to Europe since 1999, I've only found maybe a dozen establishments that didn't accept Amex.

bob_brown

I am hoping that the AAA Visa card continues to offer the "no 3% clip off" for using the card outside of the US. I saw above where it did not on a recent trip, nor have I received any notification to the contrary.

I hope the same rate situation continues to be true of Capital One. My gripe with them is the little bitty credit limit they allow me to have. I asked them to increase it and they said no.

I told them I had 4 times their limit with two other issuers, but that cut no ice. I refuse to use Bank of America overseas since it started zapping me with the 3% unless absolutely forced to do so.

Fortunately my AAA card will be the workhorse on my next trip, as long as AAA does not up the rates. Now that BOA owns MBNA, I look for an increase any day now. Of course, AAA could always switch banks.

Anybody got a hint on how I can convince the stubborn types at Capitol One to up my limit?

surfmom

btw, Target Visa is another one that only charges the 1% (like Capital One).

We tried to get Cap One before we left to avoid the tran fee, but it took too long, so I dug out the Target Visa (good for those 10% off coupons) and we used that. No problems !

scrb

I've been using my SkyMiles Amex whenever I could.

Also a Sony Visa card.

I do have a credit union card I haven't used in years.

In the past, I've used an MBNA Visa but now I understand they're putting 2-3% just like the Amex and other rewards cards, even though MBNA isn'g giving any kind of rewards.

Amex is doing double miles through August and I'm leaving for 2-weeks in London and Paris in a couple of weeks.

Christina

I have both a AAA Visa and a Capital One MC, neither of which charges an addon for foreign transactions. I thought Capital One didn't even charge the one pct, but whatever they charge, it's about the best you can do nowadays. It's too small to figure out if they do or not, as rates can vary that much.

I've never had any problem with Capital One and credit limits, so don't know what to recommend to Bob. I hate to say it, but it's probably your own credit rating or history or something. Mine is $20K and I never had to do anything to get it to that limit, as with most cards, they gave me a much higher limit than I ever requested or would ever need or use.

NotMe

Bob,
We have same problem as you with Capital One. To avoid the extra 2% foreign conversion fees, we recently applied for a Capital One card and it came with a $2,000 credit limit. That wouldn't even cover a week for us in London. Anyway, we called but were surprised when they refused to raise the limit.

Apparently, it has nothing to do with your credit record as ours is excellent. Our current Visa and Mastercards both have $20,000 limits (far more than we need) and our AMEX is unlimited. We don't ever carry a balance, so it makes no sense to me. They did say to call back after using the card for 6 months and they would probably raise the limit.

clevelandbrown

I believe credit card issuers set the credit limits based on your own record of dealing with that institution, rather than relying on a general credit rating. So if you rush into CapitalOne just before your trip and get a card, they are prudent to set a low limit on the card; they will probably increase it as you demonstrate responsible use of the card.

I also think that most of us assume that an institution has only one set of policies for credit cards, but I doubt that is the case. An average person getting an AMEX card is unlikely to receive the same provisions as a wealthy person, and you can be certain which of them gets a better deal. An influential executive is likely to get a lot of perks with his card, just because the institution wants to keep the corporation's business. So I think most people with an AMEX card are charged a 2% currency conversion fee, but I am certain there are some who are charged nothing.

Also, much of the law regulating banks varies from state to state, so what is true for a Californian dealing with a bank domiciled in Kansas may not be true for an Iowan dealing with a bank domiciled in Delaware.

So while a forum such as this can give you an idea of where to look for the best deal, the only way you can be certain of what you are getting is by carefully reviewing the cardholder agreement, and reading it again each time they change it.

I went into my local bank to check the fees on my ATM card, since I had misplaced the cardholder's agreement (I've had this card for years and never intended to use it when overseas, but everyone needs a backup, so I wanted to check). Its a small friendly bank, and everyone from the teller to the manager to the expert they called said there was no fee, but at the same time they didn't even have a copy of the cardholder agreement, and did not appear to know about the 1% conversion fee charged by visa/mc. So next time I travel, I'll use the card for one transaction, and check the statement when it comes.

nibblette

Don't be lulled into thinking AmEx gives you a better deal with its 2% exchange rate vs MBNA 3%. In its fine print, AmEx picks its own base exchange rate and does not use the official rate. It then adds 2% to this rate.

When doing a same day comparison from recent UK June purchases, using MBNA MC with its current 1% fee (to change after June 30), the exchange rate was about 1.866 (1.855 "official rate" + 1% addl). The exchange rate used by AmEx was 1.925 (1.895, AmEx set rate + 2% addl).
Even with the increase to 3% (1% MC & 2% MBNA), the exchange rate would have been 1.915 for MBNA, still better than AmEx's 1.925.

So it is not just the % added, what they use as the base exchange rate also determines the final cost.

I personally will be using my USAA card which uses an official exchange rate with 1% MC fee.