bettyo70

Hello!

I currently have a Capital One Platinum VISA with mileage points. It has a low APR and does not have "hidden transaction fees" when we are using ATMs abroad or making foreign charges (mostly in Europe).
Should my husband get the same card as me so we can accumulate points together more quickly? Or should we diversify cards just in case?
Other cards I have heard good things about are Bank of America's VISA and MBNA's VISA.
Any thoughts on this would be appreciated!
P.S. We would like to avoid high annual fees for the cards and high APRs. THANKS!!

bettyo70

topping, thanks...

PLMN

Check with a credit union. Their visa cards don't usually have all the fees associated with other cards.

You should take cards for different accounts in case something happens. Just read what I have written about my mom and her Visa and what I will write tonight about dad and his cards.

( http://fodors.com/forums/pgMessages....19&start=0 )

bettyo70

Thanks, PLMN! Something to think about...

bettyo70

...topping, for more suggestions...

bettyo70

topping

P_M

Is your goal to earn points, or avoid fees? Are you sure your Capitol One card does not charge fees? Lately there have been a few threads where the CC companies are now seperating out the fees on the statements. I bet the fees were there before, but people weren't aware.

I don't know if this helps your or not, but my Platinum Visa Debit card from Bank of America charges me no fees, at least that's according to B of A. When I returned from my trip in August, I looked up the exchange rates for the dates of the charge and it appeared I was not being charged fees. Of course, if you need a CREDIT card, rathern than a DEBIT card, this won't help. But if nothing else, you are topped again.

Travelnut

I believe in carrying two different cards, so that if one person has a loss, the other card can be used.
I've been using MBNA Visa in the past. My CapitalOne card has a low interest rate on purchases but a very high one on cash advances if they aren't paid off asap.
I am now using a debit card from an account opened solely to fund my trip, and a credit card for the biggies. This is helping me contain (restrain!) my expenses. I withdraw cash for day-to-day spending, and charge hotel, car rental, etc.

brookwood

I recommend you have a second credit card of some type. I think the best strategy is to have both a Visa and a Master Card, but that is not always convenient.

Naturally one card is your primary card, and you use it to get points or miles or whatever it is you are collecting.

Credit cards are not infallible, however, and I have the second one as backup.

I also carry two ATM cards, just in case one gets "eaten" by the machine, or something else happens to it.

Only once in 7 trips to Europe have I had a credit card fail. I gave the waiter my other one and it worked.

On the ATM front, just remember if you get cash with a credit card you are paying cash advance fees, and they are not cheap.

If you find out which banks in Europe are correspondent banks to your ATM card issuing bank, you will not be charged offnet fees!

I would also call the credit card and ATM card issuers and tell them you will be in Europe. This way, if you make a large transaction, your account will not be blocked as suspicious.

The only time I have had my credit card blocked was when my wife put here credit card in the machine, realized her mistake, and cancelled the transaction in mid stream. The bank computer automatically blocked our account. I found out about it when I attempted to pay a bill with it a day later. Second credit card to the rescue!

Christina

I think it's probably safest to have two different cards, although I'll admit the times when I really needed that were only a couple in Europe. But, they did happen. I also agree I prefer to have not only two cards, but one MC and one VISA. That was one of the few problems I had -- the entire Mastercard network was down and I could only use a VISA to purchase theater tickets in London. Sure, the network was fixed in a couple hours or whatever, but that would have caused me trouble as I did not want to wait around to find out. I could have probably used cash, also. If you were buying something really expensive or checking out of a hotel when that happened, I'm not sure what the hotel would do.

The other reason is just in case some place would accept one brand and not another. I think that's rare.

I know that Capitol One absolutely does NOT charge foreign currency transaction fees over the one pct VISA charges, as I have one. YOu really have to decide your goals, though, with the points thing. YOu could also just have him get another card (some kind of Mastercard) as backup in case of problems, but not use it very often. That's kind of what I do with my two cards -- I put most purchases on the one that gives me the best rebate.

I don't ever carry a credit card balance, I always pay the bill each month and don't believe anyone should charge things they can't pay for immediately (with very rare exceptions for people just out of school), so don't care much about APRs. I know Capitol One's is pretty low, though, but many others are, also. YOu could get a Capital One Mastercard, that's what I have.

clevelandbrown

Both my wife and I carry a VISA and a Mastercard, just in case one has difficulty. However, we have found Mastercard is the most widely accepted, at least where we have been, so we have always used that with never, yet, a problem.

In choosing a credit card, I ignore the APR because I don't buy anything I can't afford, so my account gets paid in full every month. Credit card debt is a main profit center for the banks, and probably the common denominator for people who get into financial distress. I tell my kids that if they can't fully pay of their card every month, they should cut it up and go on a cash basis until they develop better self control.

I also never get a card that has an annual fee. When I read posts from people who are bragging about the free flights they get, they never seem to factor in the annual fee they pay for the card. Of course, if you are a valued customer of the bank, they may be willing to waive the annual fee.

I always want to know exactly how they will convert a foreign purchase into dollars on my bill. I know that VISA and Mastercard convert at the wholesale rate and add a 1% fee. I accept that as a fair payment for services rendered. But I also know that many credit card issuers tack on an additional percentage, and I won't get a card from any institution that does that. I'm a little skeptical about banks that say they have no hidden transaction fees; they could be saying that they add 3 percent, but its not a hidden fee because its right here in paragraph 471 of the agreement we gave you, so I look for the paragraph that describes exactly how foreign transactions are converted.

The flyertalk forums regularly delve into the subject of specific credit cards and I would say that opinion there is sharply divided. Some people go whole hog and even pay their mortgage with a credit card, and argue that they are getting miles for virtually nothing; others feel that by avoiding all the fees, and even by getting rebates from some cards, they come out ahead.

bettyo70

Thanks, Everyone, for your great advice! Travelnut: You are the 2nd or 3rd person recommending MBNA to me, so I will look into that card. Also, Bank of America is another one people have mentioned. Cheers!

PLMN

Here are some links that I read before my trip that helped me decide:


http://www.europeforvisitors.com/eur...urcharges2.htm

www.cash-abroad.com

http://www.fodors.com/features/nfdis..._stt_money.cfm

http://www.europeforvisitors.com/eur...rsion_fees.htm

http://www.frommers.com/activities/m...p;destid=MONEY

The next two may have a screen pop up that covers the information you want, just close it and read the stuff in the window/page behind it:

www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20010625a.asp

www.bankrate.com/brm/news/special/19990521.asp

platzman

Just checked out the website known as cash-abroad.com, since I'd never heard of it.
As I suspected, it appears to be nothing but an advertising front for on-line foreign exchange (typically poor rates), foreign currency traveler's checks and credit cards with fees.
The advice at first seems to be impartial and balanced.
But then comes the advice that you should have foreign currency or traveler's checks prior to departure.
IMO, one of the best articles ever written about this comes from...

epinions.com-everything you need to know about money and tourist ripoffs

novice travelers need to check out that article.