credit card fees
 

just found out my chase credit card charges a 3% transaction fee everytime I use it overseas. Anyone know a card that doesn;t charge? Thanks
Also, Wachovia said my ATM card won;t work, I have to get a debit. Fees; $2 for a non Wachovia machine plus the european bank charges! Ugh.

Last I heard, MBNA didn't have the charge.

MBNA told me 1%.

Look into Capital One, also, similar fees as MBNA.

1% is the minimum for credit cards. The other posters have identified the 2 that I know about with that percentage.

FYI I routinely use a checking account debit/ATM card from my credit union in European ATMs. I have NEVER been charged any sort of "European bank charge(s)" that you mention when I've withdrawn cash.

Either these do not exist and Wachovia is using that usual subterfuge of "expenses" to charge you for ATM use and generate additional revenue or my credit union is absorbing these charges and I KNOW that isn't the case!

Just to clarify.... Visa and MC impose a 1% currency conversion charge. So you are stuck with this no matter what credit card company you are with. You won't see this on your statement, it will just be in the exchange rate. Some banks add on their own 2% service charge, for a total of 3%.

so you use the AMEX card for everything, earning flight miles, no fees; and use the Chase card for ATM withdrawals. it works for me.

Hi css,

As noted, Visa and MC have a 1% service fee for conversion.

Some US banks then add up to 2% on top of that. Cap1 and MBNA don't.

AMEX charges 2% service fee.

European banks do not charge for use of their ATMs. The fee comes only from your bank.

I don't understand why your ATM card won't work. I think they are trying to get you to use their debit card.

AMEX is not as widely accepted as Visa and MC because they charge the vendors higher fees.

I called my credit union and had them up the daily withdrawal amout and suspend the charges they charge. Took some convincing but they did.

Also, as other posters noted, the fee charged by credit cards is buried in the exchange rate - there is no seperate fee. Citibank refused to waive the additional 2% they use so I got a Cap1 card. They only pass on the rate that Viza/MC charges. Again buried in the exchange rate.

I think I've even seen Wachovia banks around where I live in Maryland -- that's a big bank, isn't it? If so, there is no excuse for their ATM cards not to work in foreign ATMs. Mine does, and I don't have a debit card.

I have just a regular ATM card and it works on both PLUS and STAR networks. I've been able to use that in many foreign countries' ATMs just fine.

I'm sure they just told you about European bank charges because they all say that to be on the safe side. Eur. banks don't charge, but if you try some non-bank ATM, it will, I'll bet (just like those Brand X ATMs in the US). I wondered why anyone used one of those, but I noticed in my grocery store, that they actually charge a lower transaction fee than my bank ATM to other users, so if you don't have a bank account, they might make sense.

It's possible Wachovia doesn't know what they are talking about re the ATM card not working, you should ask them why not. Banks love to push debit cards on you, mine tries it all the time, because they make more money from them.

I used to bank with First Union, which got bought up by Wachovia. I definitely have used First Union's ATM card in Europe, and I'm pretty sure I've used Wachovia's ATM card as well (as recent as Nov 03) and both had worked for me.

I currently work at Wachovia and recently used my Wachovia Visa Check Card for ATM withdrawals in Amsterdam and Paris. I was allowed two non-fee ATM withdrawals, then a $2 w/d fee thereafter by Wachovia. There are NO ATM fees incurred by using a European ATM. I did not check the conversion rate for the Euro I withdrew vs the Dollars I was charged.

MBNA is the issuer for Wachovia CREDIT cards; I have used MBNA and Capital One CREDIT cards which apply the universal conversion of 1%, but do not tack on any additional 'conversion' charges (as your card issuer does). CREDIT cards do apply a transaction fee for the withdrawal (ie. Cash Advance fee).

Wachovia no longer issues "ATM" cards, only Check Cards (I know some employees who have hung on to their old ATM cards, but I opened a new acct recently and could not get an ATM-only card).

What I do not know is if your old Wachovia ATM-only card will / will not work at a European ATM. If it has the main providers* on the back and you use a 4-digit numeric PIN, why wouldn't it work? (*cirrus, plus, honor, etc)

Wachovia withdrew membership in one of the ATM networks recently (I think Cirrus) and sent out new cards. I had an ATM only card and they sent one of those Visa check cards. I called and asked them to reissue an ATM only card and they did. It worked fine in Italy this May.

As others have already said, the European banks don't charge a service fee. The fee from Wachovia is the same amount you would be charged for a non-Wachovia ATM transaction here in the U.S. (and it varies by region).

Okay, I'm a bit lost. I have a Visa check card that also says "debit" on the face. This has always worked fine in ATMs in France. But what is an "ATM Card?" Is that just another name for a credit card? If not, how are you charged for money you get from ATMs? Thanks for any clarification.

ATM card - works at ATM only; cannot be used in a store for purchases (ie. debits)

CHECK CARD - works at ATM and can be used where 'credit cards' are used, ie. for purchases (but the purchase price is debited from your bank account, not a credit that you pay later).

CREDIT CARD - works at ATM, can be used where 'credit cards' are used - purchase price is applied to bill that you pay later; does not come out of your bank account directly

ATM card that doens't have a VISA/Mastercard logo will only work on ATM machines that are on the same "network" as your card. Flip it over, and it'll have some logos like "Cirrus", "Plus", etc. The ATMs must have the same logo(s).

An ATM card draws money directly from your bank account. It's not a credit card. If you have money in your bank, then you can use it; if not then no. In Europe, many ATMs can only get access to the checking account that's associated with your ATM card, and not your savings account.

Using a credit card to get money from an ATM is very expensive.

It is considered a "cash advance". Interest begins accruing from the moment you get the money.

Are we talking about transaction fees for cash advances from your credit card or for purchases?

I think the topic is getting cash. A cash advance from a credit card has a transaction fee, usually of 3%, added to the charge itself, in addition to the interest that begins to accrue. It should be used only as a backup in case the ATM or Debit card fails.

Thanks Travelnut for clearing that up.

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A little further clarification of some of the points above -- based on very recent changes, personal experience, and conversations with banking officials in both Belgium and in Rome. An "ATM only card" (without a Visa logo because it isn't a debit card as well) may not work in some ATM's even though the machine and your card may both have matching Cirrus or Plus signs. The reason is that a number of banks in Europe (all in Belgium, according to one official, and a number of banks in Italy) are now contracting with Visa services to handle their international ATM transactions. That means that not only do you have to have a Visa insignia on your card for it to work, but all ATM withdrawals at those banks are now also subject to the standard 1% transaction fee that Visa imposes just like on their credit card transactions.

Chase ATM has high fees. They told me 3.5% exchange fee plus $3 per transaction. That's 6.5% for $100 withdrawal (i.e., its equivalent wherever you are), 5% for $200, 4.5% for $300 (4.25% if you can withdraw $400) and most cards will top-out at around $350 per day or so in cash withdrawals.

Not a good deal despite the fact that Euro banks don't charge your account for withdrawals.

I've heard that AMEX hits you with a 2% exchange fee for credit transactions; this is better than the 3% that most credit cards will take from you (other than MBNA and Cap-1.

Mastercard only has a 1% transaction/conversion fee whether I use it as a credit card to make a purchase, or an ATM card for a cash advance, and my bank does not charge any fees at all.

The card carries a 6.9% annual interest rate, so if I use the card as an ATM card, withdraw $100.00 as a cash advance, pay the balance off when I get my statement, the interest accrued would be less than 1% over a 30 day period, or rounded off, about $1.00.

Both combined fees (the 1% Mastercard fee and the interest rate) are better than most bank cards charge just for the conversion/transation fee and ATM fees.

I would get a card that doesn't have all those fees. The 1% Mastercard fee can't be avoided, but all the other fees can. ((b))