Have any of you noticed if your credit card is charged a "foreign transaction fee" when you use it in CR? I just found out that Visa & Mastercard charge 2-4% and Am.Express charges 1% and I'm wondering if that's true--don't want to be surprised when I get my bills after our trip! Did you get charged this fee on deposits for hotels too?

Thanks!

Yes, also had this fee on charges we made while in Belize. When we booked the trip, through the hotel's booking agency located in Canada, the rep told me to make the deposit with a check rather than a credit card to avoid the fee.

Our bank actually sent us a notice....you know the ones, tiny writing, blah blah blah. For some reason I just happened to read that one and it was about the foreign transaction fee of 3% that we have to pay.

Thanks everyone--I'd rather know about little expenses that might pop up!

The fees depend on the bank though. I've heard that Capital One credit cards do *not* charge the traveler-surly "foriegn transaction fees". Might be worth switching your credit provider...

Also, just thought I'd mention that many latin american businesses impose surcharges for using credit cards, so it can end up costing as much as 10% more for you to use a credit card vs. doing business in cash.

Have fun!
Mark
www.tiogringo.com

There are scores of posts here and on the Trip Advisor Forums: V and MC charge 1% and banks/amex charge 0-3% additional.
USAA (now closed to all but full members) passes on the 1% V/MC fee, but rebates 0.5-1.5%. There is no additional bank add-on.
Another scam is "dynamic conversion" where your bill is converted to USDs from the local currency at very unfavorable rates.
I seldom use CCs here as it's still mostly a cash economy and the ATMs give favorable (nearly interbank) rates.
M (SMdA, Gto.)

My Capitol One master card only charged me a 1% foreign transaction rate

From the sounds of it, I guess we want to use ATMs rather than credit cards for our expenses. Are there a lot of ATM fees, though? Should we watch out for any particular 'brand', either good or bad?
We'll be in Cancun & Chichen Itza.

When I talked to AmExp they told me that they charge 1% and that Visa & MC charge 3%. I need to call Cap. One and see what they charge. Thanks for all this info!

I obtained a CapitalOne Visa Card specifically for travelling out of the country and they did not charge any fees at all for credit card transactions. Their exchange rates are excellent and, additionally, you can earn miles or get some sort of a cash rebate, all this without any annual or foreign currency exchange fees. We recently went on an around the world trip and saved more than a thousand dollars in credit card fees.
Also the warning about "dynamic conversion" fees is a good one. The merchant wants you to believe he is doing you a favor by billing you in dollars when, in fact, the exchange rate being used is unfavorable and Visa and Mastercard will still bill you the foreign currency exchange fee.

We used ATM's in Guatemala and were charged conversion fees.

I have been thinking about Capital One. They have great start up advertisements but have wondered what happens after the initial 6 mo or so of their promo period. We get miles now on our regular Visa.

l2404,
The amex rep is/was delusional.
M(SMdA, Gto., MX)