Sue4

This post has a twofold purpose. First, if anyone out there has a Citibank Visa(AAdvantage)be aware of some changes! I had a notice in today's mail (innocuous-looking, which I almost threw away) stating that "because I was a valued customer" they were converting my Visa card to American Express. This would be done automatically unless you called a number to opt out. As I DO NOT want another American Express, I called to opt out! The service rep tried to talk me out of doing that, "as the AMEX one will have more goodies attached, etc." Anyway, be sure to read your mail from Citibank, or you might end up with no AAdvantage Visa. (of course your accumulated miles will be transferred to the new card, and you'll get some extra "miles" in there).

Secondly, a question re the 3% currency conversion fee they all seem to be charging now (extortionist!). Does anyone know which cards still only charge 1%? Definitely not Citibank or most Bank of America cards (which used to be MBNA, and were better). I do have a AAA card (which is run by Bank of America) and they told me it's still 1%. But are there any others? AMEX is 2%.

I'm going to France in April and like to have 2 or 3 cards with me (I've run into problems in the past, and don't want to take a chance, but I hate to pay them 3%.

Robespierre

Schwab Investor Checking

Zero currency markup
Zero ATM withdrawal fee
ISA absorbed
Foreign ATM fees rebated
No minimum balance
Brokerage account not required

SusanP

Capital One, no fee at all, they even absorb the 1% charged by Visa or MasterCard.

Rastaguytoday

CitiBank is getting jittery these days. Call ahead and let them know what you're doing.

After traveling throughout Asia, Europe and Canada in the past 3 years, they started 'declining' my charges in L.A. recently. It's happened to several other associates.

Given that I pay off my entire card every month....

Singapore or Modena OK, L.A. no? I think there may have been some data integrity problems.

I'm surprised that MasterCard would turn you into an Amex person, especially after their 'coup' of making a once great Diner's Club into a mediocre MC.

NeoPatrick

That's interesting. Today I called Citibank (AAdvantage) about a billing matter (you can read on the Dynamic Currency Converstion thread). At the end the rep said I could get a FREE -- no annual fee -- Platinum AMEX card that would be linked to my Citibank MC. By linked it only means that I will still have a 100,000 cap on miles I can earn or something like that. Since I need an AMEX for Costco and pay an annual fee, I thought I might do this. And I'd like to get the AA miles automatically with AMEX anyway.

doug_stallings

My guess is that the card will be "free" for the first year. Thereafter, it's $400 a year. If you use the kinds of services a platinum Amex offers (free entry to certain airline clubs, concierge service), etc. and travel a lot, then it can be a very good value. Of course, you have to pay the balance off each month. I've often considered such offers, but I've always decided I'm just not rich enough and don't really travel enough to really benefit, so I'd end up paying through the nose for a card I wouldn't really be able to use properly.

NeoPatrick

No, Doug, as I learned here recently that's a special type Platinum Card. Citibank assured me that there will remain no annual fee as this card is linked to my AAdvantage account. Incidentally the AMEX I have from Costco also is also a platinum card but has an annual fee of I think $50 -- not $400. But as other posters here have said, those perks with a special platinum card are not available on this type platinum card. Why on earth AMEX allows various cards to all be "platinum" when they are so dramatically different is beyond me.

Oh, and on this Citibank AMEX Platinum card, like the Costco Card, you do not have to pay off the balance each month -- although I always do.

dancintomusic

Patrick, you posted a short while back that you had been charged a fee for your Costco AMEX. I was sure that Costco told me when I signed up that there was no fee. I checked with my husband, and he said he had not seen a fee for our Costco AMEX on any of the bills ever. (We've been a member for several years now, and I've had the Costco AMEX platinum card almost as long.) (And like yours, it is the platinum that has no perks like the regular AMEX platinum does.)

So when we went to Costco two Saturdays ago, we stopped at the booth that Amex seems to always have set up there lately. I asked the representative if I was being charged a fee for my Costco AMEX. He emphatically insisted that there is NO charge with a Costco AMEX--not the first year, and not for any year after that. I told him that my friend pays a fee (you). He told me that my friend must be confusing the annual charge to be a member at Costco with a fee for the AMEX. I told him that you were sure the fee was for the Costco AMEX card. He urged me to suggest that you to go to the AMEX desk at Costco the next time you are there and double check the reason for that fee. (Or call them.) He said that if they are charging you a fee, it is a mistake, and you should be able to get those fees back.

So, I thought I would pass that information on to you. If you do check, I hope that my representative was right, and that you get a nice refund of those fees you have been paying.

acloonan

when the CC companies charge the conversion fee, is it per transaction???

Susan33

Several years ago Citibank tried to change my Citibank Visa to a Master Card. Supposedly it was because Master Card was less expensive than Visa for Citibank to operate. I had to repeat over and over again I wanted the Visa. When I asked about closing the account, the customer service person agreed to leave it as a Visa because I was "a valued customer".

Today, I got one of the letters wanting to change the Visa to American Express. Tomorrow I'll make the call.

Thanks for the posting as I do not always opening some of the mailings in a timely manner.

Carrybean

The only thing I got with my last bill from Citi Mastercard was a claim form about a Class Action Settlement for Visa, MC & Diners Club.

"If you used a Visa or MasterCard branded credit card or debit/ATM card, or a Diners Club card to make a foreign transaction from Feb. 1, 1996 - Nov. 8, 2006, you may have the right to a refund of all or part of the related foreign transaction charges. The deadline to file a claim: Jan. 9, 2008."

Carrybean

Oops, posted too soon. You then fill out the form or file it online at
www.ccfsettlement.com/claim

The amount of the refund depends on the bank that issued the CC or debit/ATM card, etc.

ira

Hi acloonan,
>when the CC companies charge the conversion fee, is it per transaction???

Yes.

MC/Visa charge 1% above the "bank rate".

Many banks are now adding 3% on top of that.

Capital 1 doesn't add a conversion fee.

doug_stallings

Actually, as a follow-up, it is per transaction.

I just used my Citibank ATM/debit card to withdraw money in Paris. I took out 200 euros and was charged a fee of $7.88, which I'd consider highway robbery, particularly since Citibank no longer has a branch in France, so I have no other options but to use a non-Citibank ATM.

I'm seriously considering switching to another bank because of this. Or I may turn back to [gasp] traveler's checks, which I can get without paying the commission and then exchange at an American Express office in a foreign country. I haven't done that for years.

NeoPatrick

Doug, if you can figure out how to make the TC's thing work congratulations. You can get AMEX TCs in dollars at face value all right -- no fee. But if you cash them in Europe for euros, you will be shocked at the exchange rate you get -- yes, even (or rather especially) at an American Express office. When I tried to do that in Geneva once (I wanted to end up with US dollars for US dollar TC's, they'd only exchange them into Swiss francs at a cost of about 15 %, then they'd exchange those into dollars at another cost of about 15%. In other words I was going to get less than $70 for my $100 Traveller's check.

And if you want to buy the TCs in euro from AMEX here in the states so you can get full face value for them in Europe, then you'll be shocked at the rate they charge you here to buy them. It seems to be a no-win situation.

WLS

Sue4: I will check the AAA Bank of America card again (which when it was MBNA I used as my "trip card&quot, but I was told this week that it was 3% just like all the other Bank of America cards right now. I hope you are right because we are leaving this Sunday for Paris and I didn't investigate the changes until it was too late to get a Capital One or Schwab card.

Budman

Doug,

I'm assuming you are living in NYC or the surrounding area. Check out Commerce Bank. Here's a link to their branches in the area: http://bank.commerceonline.com/infor...ours/index.cfm

I have a VISA ATM card with them. I have used it all over Europe. They charge no fees, no conversion fees, no ATM fees -- none, zip, zilch, nadda.

Now, I disabled the VISA portion of the card and only use it only as an ATM card to get money out of my checking account. The reason I disabled the VISA portion is I don't like their policy in that if I lost the card and someone used it as a VISA card to empty out my checking account, I would get my money back, but it would be a hassle. This way, if I lose the card, one would need a PIN to use it to steal my money.

sherm99

The accounts and lawyers have found ways around every law and regulation to allow banks to turn a cost center into a profit center. "Exchanging money" at an ATM costs the bank very little since tourists to the US do the same. Money being withdrawn is changed from bytes to paper in a local currency. Since banks convert/exchange currency everyday the overall cost is slight. Banks are making billions of dollars a year in profit, at their customers expense!
It sucks, but I like to travel to europe, so until someone comes up with a better option, we are all stuck. I will be in London and Monaco in April and May. A trifecta of currency exchange!! My fees will be astronomical!

NeoPatrick

Sorry, sherma, but I don't agree that paying just 1% for the privilege of withdrawing your cash from your checking account whenever you want, thousands of miles from home is an "exhorbitant" fee.
And that is still what many, many banks charge -- and quite a few even less than that!
If you feel your fees will be "astronomical" you should be seeking out a different bank before you go.
For example, I can't imagine calling $20 to get $2000 of local currency from your home bank on a whim -- "astronomical".

robjame

Patrick & Doug - Don't know if it is the same in the States but in Canada the foreign AmEx TC in Euros are sold at a better rate than cash. Now certain affiliations (AAA) provide TC free of charge. This makes them a better deal than cash. I have even gone to the extent of exchanging them right at the same bank for cash thus saving about 1%. (Also to make a point of the stupidity of the whole thing)
Now if I could only find an easy way of getting rid of them in Europe at face value...
BTW the bank's 3 or 4 % is actually a little worse than at first appears as (I believe) they include Visa'1% when they calculate it. "Small potatoes" you might say but think of the millions and millions of dollars they process. I would like to have 3% of 1% of that!