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How to Avoid Foreign Currency Transaction Fees

Posted by at 4:25 AM Read our previous post

1. The Foreign Curreny Transaction Fee is really separated into two parts. The first part is the part in which Visa or MasterCard impose a %1 fee on any purchase you make in order to convert international money into US dollars. This fee is pushed to your card issuer, and the card issuer usually passes this charge onto you. The second part of the fee is on behalf of the card issuer who may charge up to another 2% to you.
2. Currently, the best credit card to have to avoid these fees is a Capital One card. Using either Capital One's Visa or MasterCard, you will be charged no foreign transaction fees. Possibly in order to entice customers, Capital One waives this fee and also does not pass the Visa/MasterCard charge onto its customers.
3. Also another, lesser known card, currently does not charge any foreign fees. Schwab Bank Invest First Visa (with 2% cashback on purchases), does not carry the Foreign Currency Transaction Fee either.
4. Besides these two cards, I am listing below several other popular companies and their current rates.American Express - 2%
Discover - 2%
Bank of American - 3%
CitiBank - 3%
Chase - 3%
5. It is always a good idea to verify with your credit card company prior to go overseas to ensure you completely understand the charges you will receive. And be totally sure you understand their charges as they will often times try to hide what exactly they mean when talking to them.

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