Credit Card for Europe - watch your Capitol One offers!
 

Just an FYI, because I really think this is going to save me quite a bit. I thought that I would be mainly using my ATM for cash, but recent discussions made me realize that the fees for this were really going to add up for our 3 week trip ($5 per transaction along with a 3% fee)! I had read in Frommer's earlier this year that Capitol One was one of the few companies left which didn't charge a foreign currency transaction fee on top of the 1% charged by MC and Visa. The next offer I got was for a Prime Rate for Life Platinum MC. What was different about it was that the disclosure said that there was NO fee for cash advances! I called and was approved in minutes, with a large line and a 7500 cash advance limit. I tried it out and it's true - no fee was levied on my advance (only the $1.50 ATM charge). Interest does accrue immediately, but no big deal since I'll pay it off when I get home - it probably won't amount to more than $10. For those taking longer trips, this can really help out.

I would never recommend the cash advance system from a credit card. The interest rate piles up too quickly, and I suspect that it will be higher than you state. A CU is a good alternative to a standard bank when it comes to saving on the fees.

My first move would have been to get a new bank. $5 plus 3% for ATM withdrawals is absolutely ridiculous.

My bank charges $1.50, and my credit union $1, many CUs and some banks charge nothing.

And does your shiny new credit card have a yearly fee?

I don't know what kind of card you had in the first place, but I've never heard of an ATM card charging 3 pct for an ATM withdrawal. AAll of those debit cards that charge 3 pct do it on purchases, I thought, not ATM withdrawals, and the 3 pct fees were for using a credit card in an ATM. Maybe that's what you meant, but I don't know why someone would use a credit card for an ATM withdrawal instead of a bank card.

That is an unusual offer for free cash advances. What's that interest rate for those cash advances? It does sound good, I wonder how you got that. Their website doesn't mention any card called that, but they have a Mastercard named "Primelock" which states it has a 3 pct cash advance fee. Maybe ou got some special offer.

Once I called some place in San Francisco to get what I ordered, and they assured me, credit cards are accepted. Of course when I came they apologized, they had a new receptionist who didn't know.

It was an urgent matter, so I went to the nearest ATM and got $100 cash advance. I always pay off my balances, this was the first time I had to pay interest of about $20. For just one $100 cash advance!

But that was a real emergency.

Quite a bit of skepticism, when I'm just sharing info on a nice offer I found! I have found so much helpful advice on this site, that I thought I would contribute also.

My shiny new credit card has no annual fee. The cash advance APR is 6%, the same as purchases. It appears that the terms are hard to believe, but I'm really just saying to look at the offers you get if you have a need for something like this. Capitol One probably sends me about 3 offers per week, so I guess I just got lucky on this one - probably you can't just call and request it. As I said, I've taken a cash advance to try it out, and the terms are the same as disclosed. If I advanced $2,000 during my trip, which is probably much more than I would actually need, the interest would amount to under $15 if I paid it back within 45 days.

Thanks for the heads up, arewetheryet. I will look at my credit card's terms (in that little folded, tiny-print brochure I am sent yearly) and see if they are as favorable as the one you've described. :">

Let me admit that I was completely wrong about my bank atm/debit card fees. That did sound exhorbitant, didn't it? I got that information online, so I called the bank to verify. ATM withdrawals have a flat $2 fee (from my bank), plus whatever the other institution charges. POS debit purchases have a 2% currency conversion fee. I'm going to email them and get all the details in writing. I still like my new credit card, though, it's going to be cheaper than using the ATM card!

arewethereyet: $2 is much more reasonable. And the European banks will NOT charge you anything to use their ATMs. So I still think using your ATM card makes more sense than opening another credit account and taking cash advances on it.

You know, always get everything in writing. I sent a follow-up email to my bank yesterday after I talked to the customer service rep. ATM charge is $5, point of sale purchases have 3% conversion.

I'm sure everyone likes to handle their finances their own way, but I like the idea of having one bill at the end of my trip, and not having to worry about bank balances. I never carry a credit card balance - I always pay in full by the due date. It's the only way to use credit cards.

Those new terms sounds like about what I'd expect (on your ATM card). Many of them now have 3 pct conversion fee when used for purchases due to the VISA network they use.

As for Capital One, I think you can understand the skepticism because it is very unusual for a credit card to not charge a flat fee for cash advances, in addition to a very high interest rate. So, a card with no fee at call for cash advances is very unusual. IN addition to that, there is no mention of such a card on their web site, as I looked, so that's why I was skeptical. If they'd listed it on their website with no cash advance fee, I wouldn't have questioned it. I just thought you might have misunderstood about no fee and would get a nasty surprise later on, but with those terms you cited, it doesn't sound too bad to use for cash. 6 pct APR is really low for cash advances, also, that is a very good rate.

AreWeThereYet, is there anything in fine print as to how long this low fee will last? Some banks offer it for 3 months, some for 6, some go as far as a year.

This offer is called "Prime Rate for Life on balance transfers, purchases and cash advances". My rate started at 5.5 when I got it some months ago, and has since risen with prime to 6%. As with all credit cards with low rates, they warn you that they will increase it to a high default rate if you make a late payment, exceed your limit, etc. I have very good credit, and I'm sure they offered this to a select group. I'm sure many others like me just automatically trash these offers without even looking at them, but I was on the lookout for Capitol One at that particular time because of the Frommer's tip.

I got my bill today, and let me tell you this card was thoroughly tested. We spent 19 days in 4 countries, and I got cash advances 8 times. I received my bill today which totalled $5,300 (this included my purchases which of course will be interest free as I'll be paying the entire balance). There were no fees. The interest on my cash advances has come to a grand total of $4.67, which is less than one transaction with my ATM card. I know that these offers are still circulating, because an offer arrived a couple of weeks ago in my husband's name.