I just learned that my Master Card account has been transferred to another bank. That did not bother me until I read the fine print in the new agreement. The new issuer will impose an extra 2% currency conversion fee. <BR> <BR>Do any of you know of a credit card issuer that does NOT impose the extra 2% fee on overseas purchases?? <BR>

Bob. I believe the last time I checked, that MBNA did not charge the extra 2% conversion fee for foreign transactions. I also think that Capital One is another one, but am not absolutely positive about them.

Thanks for the info. I will check into it. I decided to use my Wachovia card this trip because I knew that Bank of America charged the extra 2%. <BR>When I got back, I learned that I had been "exchanged" to another bank, effective Oct 10, and the new rules said 2%. Given that the conversion is a simple task for computers, the extra 2% irks me. A flat fee I might understand, but to charge 20 cents for a $10 purchase and $20.00 for a $1,000 purchase is absurd. The same number of computer instructions are needed in either case and there is no increase in the computer word size required to store the information. (All floating point numbers use the same word size regardless of the magnitude of the number.)

Bob: <BR> <BR>Bank of America Visa charged me $26 conversion fee on one hotel bill charge alone. Believe me I did feel ripped off. On top of that the hotel told me they would have given me a 5%($65) discount if I paid in cash. They said this is because of the fees they have to pay to Visa and the delay. I don't travel to support banks. <BR> <BR>Any other no conversion fee cards? <BR> <BR>

As mentioned by a previous poster, Capital One does not charge a conversion fee, BUT... Master Card (and VISA) charges 1%. So this is the base fee that you're stuck with. Many banks tack an extra (greedy profit) fee on top of this.

Les: <BR> <BR>It appears not to depend on it being a Master Card or Visa but on the bank that issues it. Conversion fee can be as high as 3%(eg Citibank, Chase, First USA). BofA 2%. Amex 2% <BR>Anyway we can "encourage" the banks to stop this nonsense?

Just checked and found that MNBA and Capitol One each charge a 1% conversion fee. <BR>Any others?

Bob, I just got a Capital One card and recommend it highly for a couple reasons. First, all VISA and MC cards have a conversion fee as far as I know; I think there is some confusion in listing rates over the addon versus the base one percent which you can't avoid. I have a Citibank VISA, for example, and the TOTAL is 3 pct fee, it is not 3 pct on top of the 1 pct. Anyway, for my second card to use abroad etc I got a Capital One Miles One card which not only does not have any additional conversion fee (beyond 1 pct) but also gives you frequent flyer miles (to be used on any airline) for each dollar charged; furthermore, the rate is very very good (about 10 pct, I think, although I always pay mine off each month anyway). Their regular VISAs (non frequent flyer) don't have the conversion fee addon either. The MileOne card does have a yearly fee as all those who give you miles do, but it's only $20, which is really cheap. That's at www.capitalone.com I considered MBNA but I think they are very incompetent regarding customer service as they could not even answer my questions on the conversion fee charge, they even called a supervisor over who claimed she had never heard of such a question and had no idea what basic VISA did (ie, they did not know VISA has a one pct conversion fee); given they are distributing VISA cards, a supervisor saying she had no idea what VISA's policies were did not inspire confidence. My conversations with Capital One were very pleasant and informed, the lowly customer svc guy who answers phone (not even a supervisor) knew exactly what I was asking and knew all the facts.

VISA and Mastercharge incorporate a 1% charge over the interbank rate. Citibank charges an additional 2% for a total of 3% over the interbank rate. As mentioned a number of companies charge only the interbank + 1%. A notable member of this club is USA First's United Airlines card. So you get the lowest conversion rate and 1 mile for each dollar spent. <BR> <BR>ATM's usually provide competitive rates. <BR> <BR>Consumers should be careful when they buy merchandise in foriegn countries. If you use your credit card and return the item, you may be out as much as 6%. 3% on the conversion to foreign currency when you buy. 3% more on the conversion back to dollars when the merchant credits back the charge. You'll be in the same position as before you made the purchase, but the banks will have 6% of your money.

Bob. I should have stated as Christina did that the Visa and Mastercard networks have a standard 1% fee charge to all of their carriers. I am pretty sure this is passed to all card holders. But not all of them charge the "extra" fee. There may be a credit union card that does not charge extra for this service. Also, you may want to contact your bank if you use an ATM card while traveling. My bank charges me $1.50 for any cash withdrawal from a foreign ATM, but does not tack on any other service fee. This could add up too.