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 Dear Dr. Don,
Which cards charge the least for using the card to make purchases overseas in a foreign currency? My current credit cards charge 2 percent and 3 percent. Are there any that charge zero percent or 1 percent?
Thanks!
-- William Won
Dear
Dr. Don,
I travel a lot overseas and often use my ATM card to draw funds in local currencies. Would you have any recommendation for banks that charge the lowest service rates?
Thank you,
-- Jamaica June
 Dear
William and June,
Ah, springtime and the thought of an international
vacation gets one thinking of how to manage the
cost of purchasing goods and services abroad.
Lucky for you, Bankrate is on the case. The feature,
"Currency
conversion fees," has been updated for
the current travel season.
With William's interest in using a credit card when abroad, the clear winner of firms surveyed in the feature are Capital One and Discover, but Wachovia and Washington Mutual earn honorable mentions.
It's not as clear-cut for June,
with her preference for using an ATM card to withdraw
funds in local currencies. The owners of the ATMs,
and the participating networks on the machines,
influence the cost of ATM withdrawals. Still,
Capital One leads the pack with no fee.
Although it sounds tempting, try
to avoid dynamic currency conversion, or DCC,
where the foreign merchant bills you in dollars.
The exchange rate often isn't competitive with
your card provider's rate and it doesn't mean
you avoid the credit card surcharges -- unless
your card doesn't have the surcharges.
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Carfind
