Terrier

Just found out my credit card with 5/3 Bank will charge me an additional 3.5% of the purchase price if I use my their credit card in England!!!! What a rip, if the exchage rate was'nt bad enough I get shaffted with this!!!!
So does anyone know of a card that does not have such a charge, just a simple exchange only?
Thanks for your help.

NC Penguin

If you're British, don't you have a British issued credit card?

I have both American and British issued credit cards. I will be using the Barclaycard on visits to the UK.

Are you sure that the 3.5% fee is not for making withdrawals with the credit card? i.e. using it like a debit card?




NC Penguin

Big D

used my bank of america debit card without such excessive fees, i think my Amex credit card is pretty good too. In recent trip used ATMs with debit card which is pretty cost effective.

Russ&Jayne

My Charter One card doesn't charge fees for credit or ATM. Will be using Providian & CitiBank charge free when I go over next week as it will be 0% on purchases until April 2007 - Bargain Gave up on UK credit cards ages ago since the interest is so damn high.

Bob

depends on the card and bank, some charge extra for foreign purchases and treat them as cash withdrawals....and often have to let the bank know in advance so they don't cut your card off...they ain't use to people going on holidays it seems

geordiegirl2

bank of america has an allience with Barclays in England so you can use their ATM's without charge.

Triumphrob

Thats Brill. are you sure?
What other arrangments do they have with Barclays?
Thanks
Rob

mandpete

Wow, I didn't know that and we're with BoA.

cindyabs

yes but don't use anybody else-5 bucks when I used NatWest and Halifax last month with my BOA ATM.

NC Penguin

I posted this same information in this forum some time ago. Check the Barclays website to be sure.

To answer that question, look at the BoA and/or Barclays website. All I know is that if I want to use my Barclays debit card in the US, I can use a BoA ATM.



NC Penguin

Terrier

No the additional 3.5% is to cover the cost of converting the currency!!!! The way I spotted this charge is that I made a payment to my student loans back in in the UK and it popped up on my statement, called to question it and was told I would be charged 3.5% for purchases in a currency other than US$.

Pulaski

I think that you will find that not all is quite what it seems. .....

The actual exchange rate applied (before charges) will, I think, be the wholesale rate which only banks can get - the buy-sell spread that is only a small fraction of a cent i.e. very close "the exchange rate" (known by banks as "the mid rate" - the average of buy and sell rates) quoted in the popular media.

Now, if you you were to go to a bureaux to change you'd pay a whopping spread on your exchange of US dollar bank notes for British pound notes. With the current "exchange rate" at around $1.82/£1 you'll probably be paying around $1.90 for each pound, and if you have any left over to swap back at the end of your visit you'll only get around $1.75 for each £1.

What this means is that you are paying about 4% more for each £1 ($based on $1.90 v $1.82) than "the exchange rate" would give you, and so with the bank getting something very close to the "the exchange rate" when it converts your British sterling transaction in to US dollars, and adds 3½%, you really aren't going to be betting such a bad deal after all.

Terrier

Just wrote to my CitiBank and asked them if I would be charged if I used their card to make purchases overseas, here is their answer..........

"If you make a transaction in a foreign currency, other than a cash advance made at a branch or ATM of one of our affiliates, MasterCard or Visa, depending on which card is used, will convert the amount into U.S. dollars. MasterCard and Visa will comply with their operating regulations or foreign currency conversion procedures then in effect.

If a cash advance is made in a foreign currency at a branch or ATM of one of our affiliates, the amount is converted into U.S. dollars by our affiliate in accordance with its foreign currency conversion procedures then in effect.

The foreign currency conversion rate in effect on the applicable processing date for a transaction may differ from the rate in effect on the Sale or Post date on your billing statement for that transaction.

For each purchase made in a foreign currency, we add an additional Finance Charge of 3% of the purchase amount after its conversion into U.S. dollars.

Thank you for using our website."