Patrick

Jenny, NO bank in ITaly charges any fee for using their ATM.

No withdrawal at any Deutsche Bank ATM with a BofA ATM/debit card should have any charge at all!

Personally, even if for some strange reason you were charged a fee by BofA, how much would it be -- maybe a max of $5? Wouldn't it be worth it rather than go to the trouble of opening a second account at another institution? And will the credit union guarantee immediate replacement of your funds if your ATM card is used fraudulently? BofA will do that.

htewam

In regards to discussions (here and on other forums) about Bank of America, their partner bank program "Global ATM Alliance" (specifically Deutsche Bank) and whether or not they would honor the "no access fee" pledge at a Deutsche Bank ATM located in Italy instead of their home base of Germany.

I queried BofA directly by e-mail and here is their e-mail reply...

Subj: Re: Interest Checking - xxxx Questions about ATM/Debit Card
(KMMxxxxxxxxxxxxxKM)

Dear Eric xxxxxxxxxxx,

Thank you for your inquiry dated 8/16/05 regarding Interest Checking -
xxxx Questions about ATM/Debit Card.

You can use your Bank of America ATM card anywhere you see the Plus or
Interlink symbols that appear on the back of your card, including
numerous financial institutions throughout the world.

<<general text deleted>>

While traveling outside the United States, you can avoid the access fee
by using an ATM at the following banks in these locations:

- Barclays - United Kingdom
- Deutsche Bank - Germany
- Scotiabank - Canada
- BNP Paribas - France
- Westpac - Australia and New Zealand
- Santander Serfin - Mexico.

Please note that some of the member banks listed above have a presence
in other countries. ATM fees are waived for international transactions
as long as you conduct the transaction at one of the member bank's ATMs,
regardless of the country.

<<general text deleted>>

If we may be of further assistance, please contact us again by e-mail.
Thank you for choosing Bank of America.

Sincerely,

S…... R. Bivins
Bank of America


Not sure whether or not you can trust ONE person (probably customer service) within BofA to give you the straight scoop... But at least people can quote the name above as a valid corporate "source" and possibly get bogus fees refunded.

avolyn

Here is the link to additional locations for a free ATM use around the world - bank BNP PARIBAS - another one on the BOFA list of their parners:
http://www.bnpparibas.com/en/nossites/locations.asp

Conlet

Someone said above that you do not have to be a member of USAA to get their card. I tried their website and cannot find that information. Any suggestions?

clevelandbrown

Conlet, on their web site screen down until you see contact us, click on that, then select USAA Federal Savings Bank.

Or dial 1-800-531-2265

(I had to look to make sure my advice was right). Incidentally, I don't know for certain that non members can use the bank (I am a member), but I have seen other people post that information.

Conlet

Thanks, I'll try it tomorrow and post their answer.

Andrew

Doing this research myself. I have a few different credit cards, most of which I never use (no annual fees most of them). The Citibank Mastercard I keep as a spare charges a 3% fee for use as a credit card. American Express charges only 2%. But my credit union charges only the 1% Visa charges them for use of the credit card.

Andrew

avolyn

Response of Bank of America:
Sent: Friday, September 9, 2005
Subject:

Dear xxxxxx xxxxxxxx

Thank you for your e-mail.

While traveling outside the United States,you can avoid the access fee by
using an ATM at the following banks in these locations:

- Barclays - United Kingdom
- Deutsche Bank - Germany

- Scotiabank - Canada
- BNP Paribas - France
- Westpac - Australia and New Zealand
- Santander Serfin - Mexico.
Please note that some of the member banks listed above have a presence in
other countries. ATM fees are waived for international transactions as long
as you conduct the transaction at one of the member bank's ATMs, regardless
of the country.We are unable to advise of which banks have other locations
in other countries. The exact zip code and cities for these locations are
not available.

If you make a transaction in a currency other than U.S. dollars, Visa will convert the charge or credit into a U.S. dollar amount. The conversion rate will be determined using Visa currency conversion procedures. There is a total fee of three percent for each foreign transaction. The fee is added together for all foreign currency transactions for that month on your statement, and is shown as a Foreign Currency Conversion Adjustment. This fee is not unique to Bank of America. The charge is shown and is detailed in your cardholder agreement as a Foreign Currency Conversion Adjustment.

We appreciate the opportunity to assist you online. Should you have any
further inquiries, please e-mail us again.

Cheryl James, Bank of America

jdfsau

I just checked, Merrill Lynch Visa only charges a 1% for foreign transactions. It also gives cash back. Contact them at 877-4ML-CREDIT

kram

On the subject of foreign exchange fees on credit cards:

a. Recently used a Capital One card in Europe (France, Italy and Switzerland) - after confirming that there is no charge whatsoever above the exchange rate. Yes, they even pay for the 1% that Visa charges. Sweet deal. And I have checked my statements and its true.
b. I am currently in Hong Kong. Tried two sets of transactions on my Capital One card and also my AAA MBNA card. Both of them had identical rates with no markups or fees.

Eg. HK$ to USD : 7.75277 (current rate is exactly that)
Macau Pataka to USD: 7.98 (this is a firm pegged rate)

Patrick

There must be roughly 50 different Capital One cards -- judging by the free mailings I get weekly. Mind telling us which Capital One card you have, kram? And have you received the actual monthly statements still with no fees? My Bank of America shows nothing when I bring it up online, but those fees appear at the end on my monthly statement.

Christina

I think there are a million different Capital One cards, but I think their foreign transaction rules are the same for all of them. I don't know that for a fact, of course, but I've never heard otherwise.

I know mine does not have any conversion fees, and it is a Capital One "Go Miles" Platinum Mastercard (I think now called No Hassle Miles Ultra). I know there are no conversion charges because I have gotten bills and compared the rates to the interbank rate. There is no line itemizing a foreign currency charge, either. I think due to lawsuits, they probably would itemize it if they had one, but I know if it were just in the conversion rate, I might not be able to tell within one percent and you never know the exact day it's converted.

Now, I should say that they just changed my program in terms of "miles" (which are really just points per dollar spent) for redemption, and I never used it for air tickets, anyway -- so I was given the option of converting it just to a cashback card where I retain the rate of one percent of all purchases cashback (however, I cannot get air tickets now). If I hadn't changed the terms, my cashback redemption would have been lower (maybe one-half of one percent) although you can get "miles" also. I kept my same card number, so I don't know what they are going to call my card now. You can't actually find a card with my terms on their website. It's basically like the No Hassle Platinum MC Ultra, but with one pct cashback, not .5 pct, no miles redemption possibility, and a fee of only $19, not $39.

Someone on here once mentioned some Capital One card they got (also not mentioned on the website) that had some really cheap cash advance rates, I remember that because it was hard to believe. I think they said it was from a mail offer. I do think their foreign conversion charges are the same on all their cards, though. Their website is actually pretty good in listing all the cards' specific terms, unlike many.

kram

I have a cashback card from Capital One. It says Capital One "Go Cash" on the plastic.

Christina

I just looked at the info I got in the mail, and it said that if I convert to the only cashback allowed feature, it will be called a "No Hassle Cashback" card. I don't think they have that on their website, though.

nonnafelice

I hadn't realized that Capital One doesn't even charge you the 1% Visa fee, but it's true. They do print the exchange rate right on the statement, so it's easy to check.

The No Hassle Miles card is their new one. Although they call it redeeming "miles," it really is a 1.25% cashback card when used for travel. You can just apply the cashback value against any air or hotel expense on your statement, although I don't know if it would work for European hotels.

You can get the credit online, if you set up web access to your account. You just charge the plane tickets or whatever, and then you have (I think) 3 months to apply your "miles" balance as a credit against that charge, which will appear on your next statement.

They had told me when I called to ask that they wouldn't give me partial credit for an expense, but actually they did when I went online to redeem. I don't remember the exact numbers now, but say I had 20,000 "miles" or a $250 credit. I was able to apply that $250 credit against a $300 ticket.

This was in October, though, and I think the rules may have changed in November, so I wonder if I could still do that.

pgoetz

Nimrod replied:

"From Bank of America website:

'Bank of America customers can withdraw cash with their Bank of America Check Card or ATM Card without a fee at nearly 13,000 Bank of America ATMs in the United States and at over 12,000 international ATMs operated by members of the Global ATM Alliance.' "

I'm very close to opening a new account based on a lot of research and upon BAC's advertising and personel communications with their representatives. However tonight I was searching for Barclays ATM locations in London and came across fine print on their web site that indicates that to the Global Alliance, at least Barclays, the term "without a fee" means that customers only pay a 2.75 percent "handling cost" to convert the dollars to sterling.
Sounds like a lot a false advertising and deception to me unless I misunderstood something. But then if it helps rake in billions of dollars.....