Most credit card issuers charge currency conversion fees for foreign purchases made with their credit cards, debit and check cards, and ATM cash withdrawals.
Over the course of your travels, that can add up to a significant increase in the cost of your vacation -- money you could save by picking the right credit card.
The fees are twofold: Visa and MasterCard have a standard 1 percent charge on foreign purchases and the issuing bank adds another fee.
Bankrate recently surveyed the top credit
card issuers to find out what they charge for these
transactions. The banks were: American Express, Bank
of America, BB&T, Capital One, Chase, Citibank,
Commerce Bank, Discover, Fifth Third Bank, HSBC, National
City, PNC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Regions, Simmons,
SunTrust, US Bancorp, Wachovia, Washington Mutual, Wells
Fargo and Zions.
The percentage shown for each credit card
issuer is the total of the fees: the amount charged
by the issuer, plus the charge by Visa or MasterCard
for a foreign purchase. For that 1 percent fee, Visa
or MasterCard converts your foreign-currency purchase
to U.S. dollars. All Visa or MasterCard cards carry
that 1 percent charge.
The credit card issuer or bank often
charges an additional fee, usually 2 percent, which
adds up to a 3 percent total charge on foreign purchases.
The percentage posted under debit- and
checking-card purchases is the charge assessed by both
Visa or MasterCard and the credit card issuer or bank.
A fee is also assessed by each card issuer and bank
for ATM cash withdrawals. ATM charges vary for each
card.
The lowest conversion fees are from Commerce
Bank and Capital One, at 0 percent. Zions Bank charges
just 1 percent for its conversions.
The table of major credit card companies
and their currency-conversion-fee policies was correct
as of May 2008. Write to editors@bankrate.com
if you are aware of an update not shown here.
Currency conversion
American Express
•
ATM withdrawal: 2% currency conversion plus fees ATM owner may charge. Cardmembers can enroll in Express Cash, which allows them to link their card to their bank account and us ATMs around the world.
•
Credit card purchase: 2%
•
Debit card purchase: N/A
•
Credit card cash advance: 3% per transaction with a minimum of $5 and no maximum. Cardmembers can enroll in Express Cash, which allows them to link their card to their bank account and us ATMs around the world.
