bookmarking

Isn't it true that Cap One cards are either Visa or Mastercard? If so, the BASE rate for a foreign currency transaction is set by Visa (or MC).

Here is how Visa sets the base:

Visa Exchange rates for foreign currencies - Frequently asked questions
http://www.corporate.visa.com/pd/con...x_faq.jsp#faq2

Visa Exchange Rates
http://www.corporate.visa.com/pd/con...r_ex_rates.jsp

Individual banks may add a surcharge above the base that Visa sets.
Apparently, Cap One is one of the few who doesn't add anything. They have found other highly profitable ways to collect fees from the great unwashed. (See Business Week article in Nov. 6 edition).

http://www.capitalone.com/creditcard...fers/index.php

This website will give you a few thousand CC to chose from:
http://cardratings.com/

ttt

But jsmith, that website you provided says that Visa adds 1%, yet everyone seems to say and even prove that if you have a Capital One card, Visa doesn't add 1%, or else Capital One takes it back off!

NeoPatrick. Visa says the 1% charge is NOT to the cardholder but to the issuing bank. The rate before any charge is the BASE rate and that is the rate you will see on all CCs and ATM withdrawals.

The issuing bank MAY (and probably will) pass on the 1%. The majority of banks will add additional so that the total fee is 3%.

OK, now I'm really confused. The figures above the Christina gave for Capital One are without the one percent which never got added to the Capital One credit card statement. Apparently Capital One "eats that". My Citibank clearly shows a total of 3 % added to my statement above what Capital One charged. My point is that while VISA says they add 1 %, Capital One apparently does not pass that along to the customer. Right?

JSmith..thanks for that link. I notice it says that Visa chooses from a "range of rates" available.

NeoPatrick, as said in "MY Fair Lady", I think you've got it.

Dukey, Visa must retain some flexibility. If they were to specify a single source they would have a significant problem if that source wasn't available even for a single day.
All of their literature on rates would be invalid and the lawyers would have a field day.

But Dukey, are you suggesting that "range of rates" would be one rate for one bank and another rate for another bank on the same day? I'm not sure what that comment has to do with the idea that Capital One would charge more than another bank, or start with a different exchange rate.

If you plan to use your miles for business/first class tickets, you have to stick with either an airline affiliated card (such as Citibank AAdvantage or Amex Skymiles) or one that earns points which are <b>transferable</b> to airline FF programs (such as Amex Starwood or Amex charge card with Membership Rewards). Using a bank reward &quot;no blackout date, good for any airline&quot; card (such as Capital One) won't work well for business/first class awards because the mileage requirement is tied to the cost of the ticket. Also these bank reward card &quot;miles&quot; can't be used for upgrading paid economy tickets because they aren't really miles at all.

So I think you should decide which carrier's FF program would work best for you and get a card that's affiliated with this program and/or a card where it's possible to transfer miles into this program.

Thank you everyone! My head is spinning with all this information! I'll have to read this over again.
I do have a Citi Advantage/American Airlines card for many years and recently used the miles for two business class tickets to Italy. It wasn't that difficult to get the dates and times I wanted.
All the tips for racking up extra miles were great, I'll try them.
Here's some more: I use my AA card for prepaying my heating oil and propayne bills for the year. I use it for insurance payments, doctor, hospital bills, and at the vet also.
Everything goes on the card and I pay it off every month.
Just be careful this doesn't happen, my friend used his credit card and his income did not match what he spent. Uncle Sam was watching.

Thanks again,
Aranda

Peter Greenberg said on the Today Show that Capitol One is the most expensive one in the long run. We checked into it and didn't like it because you can't use it to upgrade, just for a whole ticket. We love our Northwest Visa because we live in Memphis(NW hub) and we can use miles on Delta and other NW partners.

All in all, this is your typically &quot;if you spend more, you'll save more&quot; ridiculous, if you subscribe to it &quot;alleged&quot; GRAB.

You will never, ever, be able to travel where you want, when you'd like to.

&quot;You will never, ever, be able to travel where you want, when you'd like to.&quot;

Well, that depends on how you play the game. With the dozen to 15 trips I've claimed &quot;free&quot; with AA, I can only recall twice having to alter my first preference for a day of travel by one or two days. (And I can think of far worse problems that having to plan an extra day in Paris or London!) I have never had a problem getting the departure point and destination I wanted, at the time I wanted (always in the height of summer season, by the way), and always done only nonstops on the routing I wanted when going to Europe. Maybe others have problems, but here's one &quot;happy camper&quot; when it comes to claiming airline awards.

I'm on the AA bandwagon, as well. Between our Citicard and the actual miles we rack up flying, the miles pile on fast. Like NeoPatrick, we use our cc for everything possible, including down payments on cars (the max allowable). We even told my parents to let us charge any big purchases they make and they just pay us back. We also use it for a lot of work expenses instead of the corporate credit cards our employers have given us. And we never carry a balance.

Plus, with O'Hare being our hometown airport, we can fly AA pretty much anywhere non-stop. And we've never run into headaches with not being able to fly where we want, when we want. When you're redeeming miles for a vacation, you're usually pretty flexible with departure and return dates. If I can't leave for Italy on a Wed and have to leave on Thurs instead, fine with me!

I use a UT Mileage Plus Visa, try to charge every purchase to it and pay off monthly. Like to use it to fly nonstop routes overseas, especially to Asia.

I'm trying to process all this info. I've been using a Capital One Visa for all my purchases. They pay 1.25 miles per $1 spent, but apparently it costs more miles per trip. And the miles cannot be used for upgrades, which is an advantage of genuine airline cards. I think I don't want an American Express card, although Costco takes it. Many stores, etc. don't. For domestic flights I prefer Southwest, but they have no transatlantic partner so that's out. As long as I can earn miles by charging my domestic flights on my mileage card, it doesn't matter unless I'm missing 2 miles per dollar spent on the flight.

My last vacation and my upcoming trip I'm flying Delta. Last year I flew BA. So I'm thinking I should apply for a &quot;real&quot; airline card for an airline I'd fly to distant lands. United could be an option for both domestic and international. So could Delta.

Am I getting this? How do I choose?

judybarnes,
What destination(s) would you be redeeming tickets for?

Do you plan to redeem economy or business class awards?

Do you tend to travel in low or high season?

How far in advance do you usually plan your trips and how much flexibility do you usually have with your travel dates?

What FF programs do you currently have miles in and which has the highest balance?

There are advantages/disadvantages to both types of cards and the right choice depends on your personal situation.

Personally, I don't think it is the card which really makes a big difference. I think learning how to play the whole &quot;redeeming your miles&quot; game is what makes your card and FF miles more valuable.

We have a credit card with a major airline - charge EVERYTHING to it (even charges under $10). Amazing how the points add up. This card I pay off every month so never pay a finance charge. After much frustration, I think I have learned to play the &quot;redeem game&quot;, at least until they change it again.

One of the most frustating things -- I get different answers when I talk to different people at the airline. The internet or one person may tell me one thing, but if I call back another time I often find I get a person who better knows their system and find out I can get what I want.

I always travel in lowish season--winter or spring break and not summer. I fly to London or to Europe, though I'd like to go to Thailand soon. I've always flown coach. Virgin Atlantic has an upgrade lower than business class that costs fewer miles. My mom is going to try it in March. That could be a possibility if it's enough of an improvement over coach. Free companion tickets would be nice. I'll have to do more research on line. Apparently my Capital One card is not the best option.