We used our Capital One Visa in France (Paris and the Dordogne) in May. Never had any problems, but as one of the above posters said, call a second time to make sure they actually noted your trip on your account. The first person we talked had failed to do so. In my experience, their customer service is not great.

This showed up today:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...reditCard.aspx

Great article with all the right info. Thanks, Gracie.

I returned from Paris last week. I took a Capital One credit card along with 3 others and my euros. I only used the Capital One card. I have received the statement with all the charges and no added fees!

Be sure and call them prior to leaving with all your information. They ask that you call their Fraud Dept. They actually ask for more infomration than I have experienced with others.

We called Capital One to let them know of our trip to Italy in October. No problem until the final day of our trip when the card began being rejected. Phone calls as soon as we got back to the States straightened it out, but why they just arbitrarily decided to stop the thing after 9 days, who knows?

Possibly they keyed in the ending date incorrectly.

I learned several years ago to call a 2nd time several days after the first call to make certain that they had the correct information. I always do that now.

It was not Cap One who made the boo boo that time..it was Chase. I always call twice now.

Did you talk with the Capital One Fraud dept. or just a customer service rep? With Cap One it is necessary to contact the Fraud Dept.

bookmarking

A reminder that entities (CC companies, hotels, bureaux de change,etc..,) make money two ways when it comes to currency transactions...fees AND/OR exchange rates. So when you see "no fees" that does not necessarily mean that you did not pay to convert currency. The only way to know your total cost is to add up the fees (if any) and the currency exchange rate delta between the official exchange rate and the rate used for your transactions.

I arrived home from Paris just last night and trust me -- the Capital One Visa I took with me worked all too well. I just checked my account at their website and the charges are already there for me.

I called Capital One customer service as I boarded the flight at DFW and informed them of my plans, and they noted everything in my account. No worries!

Moments ago I talked with the Capital One center about this fee. Just a warning to all Canadians that Capital One charges a 2.5% surcharge on all international purchases. Certainly worth noting if you are considering one card over another.

Hi all, this is European Novice's husband again with a report on credit/debit transactions in Paris and London. Prior to our journey, I checked with several banks and found that Capital One No-Hassles does not add any conversion fees besides the 1% from Visa/Mastercard and pays a 1% reward, so it is essentially a wash. I was a bit concerned about it being a swipe and not a "chip" card, but it does not appear that any US issuers have chip cards. We also carried an American Express card as a backup, but were reluctant to use it as many have reported inflated exchange rates.

I also noticed several comments regarding additional fees on credit card purchases converted by a third-party known as "DCC". Apparently, some merchants were sold on simplified foreign currency conversion at the point of sale, but travellers noticed that their card issuers were still treating these "preconverted" transactions as foreign and tacking their own conversion fees onto what were ostensibly USD amounts.

To make our travels easier, we purchased prepaid passes for Paris transportation as well as Oyster cards for London, so we wouldn't have to face an argument with a pass machine, potentially in a language we had not mastered (French, that is).

I also notified my card issuers of our travel locations, dates and ATM maximums and asked for the names of "partner" banks that would charge no additional transaction fees.

As it turned out, we had no difficulty at all presenting the Capital One swipe card at bistros, gift shops, museums and hotels. Every location had a hand-held swipe reader and it worked like a charm. Only one location (a Paris hotel) offered to charge in USD but made no fuss when I asked to charge in Euros svp. Exchange rates for charges were nearly identical to ATM exchanges.

Our ATM story is a bit different. We had no problem using our ATM card in Paris, once we found the partner banks. In London, it was a bit different. First, as I noted the last time I visited London, about 20 years ago, half of everything is broken. One lift out of service, nearest bus stop closed, plumbing trouble and so forth. We found ourselves passing the partner banks as we watched from the bus window, our paths taking us away from those spots. When we did happen on a partner ATM, the machine was out of service. Two others were out of cash. Finally, we found one that would accommodate our request. Unfortunately for us, this particular machine was mounted low for accessibility and dispensed cash from a slot at the bottom. We had never encountered one like this previously and as soon as we realized where the cash had exited, the machine sucked it all back in. No further transactions that day, our limit was reached and we would not easily reach this spot again.

When we no longer needed the remainder on our Oyster cards, we went to an Underground station agent and asked to refund the reamaining balances. The agent claimed these were "prepaid" and could not be refunded, but we insisted as these were normal Oyster cards. After "asking" the other agent, he checked the balances and we received the remainder.

It turns out later that we had to cancel plans for which we expected to need that cash and could have made use of the Oyster card again, but that is another story. If you lose your cash at an ATM as we did, note the time and address and contact your bank's fraud department the next day to file a dispute for a failed transaction.

All in all, our clumsiness aside, you should have no problems using US issued swipe cards in Paris and London. Just check with your card issuers first about fees.

That's interesting that you managed to find a hotel in Paris that used DCC, I've never heard of a place in Paris that did. It isn't a matter of the merchant being sold on the conversion at the point of sale, they are doing it intentionally as a revenue source. They aren't stupid, they know they make money on it. That is the only reason they are doing it.

I don't think Capital One even charges the 1 pct Visa/MC fee.

I have been offered DCC in Paris on occasion (at an Hermès boutique, for one), but I've never been pressured or hassled when I declined.

I have had the CapOne Platinum mastercard for years and have always used it. They have recently also sent me their new Venture card..it is Visa. It is supposed to give you more 'points'. All their cards are without transaction fees.You may run into some small places that you have a problem with along with vending machines etc. I take other cards, too..just to have spares.

Always call and give travel dates and countries. Good to call twice. They sometimes do not note it on account!