So much for MBNA being the best credit card. Just called and spoke to customer service rep #1, she said they are now charging a 4% surcharge for foreign purchases, explained as 1% for Visa and 3% from the bank. I called back and spoke to customer service rep #2, asked the same question, and was told it was 3%, all from Visa and none from the bank. I'm afraid to call back and get a third answer, but suffice it to say I won't make it a habit of using this credit card anymore

I just called then for my Platinum Plus MBNA mastercard.

I was told that the only fee is still the 1% charged by Mastercard and that MBNA does not take on any additional fees.

Hmmmmm.....

Customer service reps are so lame sometimes! Call back, ask for a supervisor (their boss!) or someone who specifically works in the INTERNATIONAL department. Once you get an answer, tell them you would like to receive the percentage statement IN WRITING mailed to you.

If they do not oblige with an answer acceptable to you, switch cards! USAA has been recommended time and again for their great deals on international transactions.

I called back and was told that beginning in April MBNA WILL be tacking on a 3% fee in addition to the 1% fee that Mastercard charges.

I guess we will go back to cash on everything, since we don't have a foreign ATM or out of network ATM withdrawal fee.

P.S. It was a supervisor I spoke with.

Okay I just called back and spoke to customer service rep #3. He had no idea what I was asking but at least had the sense to put me on hold and ask his supervisor. His answer? 1% from Visa, period.
He did say the were planning to make a change soon, but we would get notice before it went into effect.
Sorry to have alarmed everyone - but I figured two customer service reps had to sort of know what they were talking about!

Just for fun, I call Citibank every couple of days and ask again. I'm running about a 50% total of reps who say their charge is now 2% plus the Visa 1% and about 50% total of reps who say their charge is 3% plus the Visa 1%. Three times I have made a big deal about not getting the same answer and have been passed on to supervisors who are referred to as "international purchases" counselors or some such titles. Two of those have given me the DEFINITIVE and ABSOLUTE answer -- it is 3% plus the 1% or a total of 4%. The other has given me what is the DEFINITIVE and ABSOLUTE answer -- it is 2% plus the 1% or a total of 3%. The bottom line is you can call all you want and speak to as many supervisors as you want, but you may NEVER know just what they are going to charge you.

"The bottom line is you can call all you want and speak to as many supervisors as you want, but you may NEVER know just what they are going to charge you." - Patrick

Isn't that the truth!!

<i>&quot;The bottom line is you can call all you want and speak to as many supervisors as you want, but you may NEVER know just what they are going to charge you.&quot;</i>

So true. I've always used my British Airways Visa in Europe and was never charged the extra fee - until the past couple of months. The card has changed hands several times (FirstUSA, BankOne, Chase). When I got my statement with these special little &quot;exchange rate adjustments&quot; on them, I wrote to complain that I thought it was appalling that a card sponsored by a foriegn company (BA) would charge additional fees for foriegn transactions.

Well, they sent me a nice letter explaining that they did not charge anything over the 1% charged by Visa; and that they were just showing it a different way on the statements now. But I did the math and the &quot;exchange rate adjustment&quot; on each transaction worked out to 2%. I owe them a phone call! Someone's not telling the truth here!

LOL Patrick, at least I don't feel so bad now, thanks

This is so funny...but sad at the same time.

I just got off the phone with a &quot;supervisor&quot; and was assured that there is no foreign currency transaction fee other than the 1% imposed by VISA. There are no plans to do so in the near future as well.

Hmm...I guess I won't really find out until I get back and see my statement!

Every credit card issuer I have dealt with has sent a brochure detailing how they handle currency conversion. Apparently no one bothers to read these!

Calling customer service rarely provides an accurate answer. People are put in that area because of their pleasant phone presence, not because of their extensive knowledge of the business. Their performance is often measured by how quickly the phone is answered, and how many calls they handle, not by how accurate their answers are.

So if you want to know how your card issuer handles the foreign currency (and apparently now the foreign transaction) trade, ask them to send you the brochure and look it up yourself. And of course, right after you do that, they will probably change it, but they will send you a notice of what they are doing.

As to MBNA, I believe they are the largest issuer of affiliation cards, and it would not surprise me in the least if the variously affiliated cards came with varying terms and procedures.

clevelandbrown, maybe you missed what prompted much of this sort of discussion here. Many of us received the information from Citibank. Although it talks about Visa making a charge, it only states that Citibank adds a 3% currency transaction fee. You can read all the gobbledegook as if it means in addition to what Visa charges (not stated in percent value) or you could read it to mean that the Visa charge is included. It is even less clear than what the representatives tell us. Their sending the brochure again will NOT make it any clearer.

Following up to Patrick's post...

And MBNA has not sent out any warning whatsoever! My husband and I are both accountants and we read every card member agreement with a magnifying glass. This charge supposedly going into effect in April is brand new and has NOT been sent out in any card member agreement or amendment to the agreement

Can someone just do a quick recap as to which card will have the best fees going forward? I guess everyone will charge the same, it looks like.

I probably shouldn't use my MBNA card anymore for my next trip.

It sounds like Capital One and USAA still only charge the 1% fee, however, who knows how long that will last!

I think you can't always look it up in the terms as they may change them and the brochure may be out of date. It's a real problem. It is also often that the language in the brochure is confusing and unclear, also, of course.

However, I think this post could be confusing to some people as MBNA is a very large issuer and manager of credit cards for many organizations. It isn't MBNA itself that adds the fee but the issuer of your particular card. In Nutella's case, that appears to be the bank itself -- she must have a credit card with MBNA on it. I have an MBNA-managed card but it is a AAA Visa and AAA sets the terms, which do not include any additional fee over the Visa one percent.

So it isn't all MBNA cards.

Christina, I have a Motley Fool affinity card that is issued by MBNA. Probably similar to the AAA card. (Come to think of it, I believe I have the AAA card too, if it hasn't expired!)

That's interesting. I guess I'm tempted to call, but then, well, I'll have to call every day for a week and take an informal poll among the customer reps, is that the idea?

Visa and Mastercard lost a court case a short while back that cost them a few billion dollars. The case was lost not because they charged a fee for currency conversion but because it wasn't specified in the cardmember agreement that there was a charge.

Individual banks have been sued and lost for the same reason, not ackowledging the extra fees they added.

Do you really think that lawyers for Visa, Mastercard or the individual card issuers would make the same mistake again?

Clevelandbrown is correct. If the terms have changed you have received the obligatory brochure. If you don't remember receiving it, call and ask. If you don't understand it, blame the lawyers or take a course in remedial English.

MBNA is the issuing bank for many affiliated cards and those contracts expire at different times. The card affiliated with Texas A&amp;M could have different terms than that for the American Society of Interior Decorators