[Idyllchat] Credit Card/Cash Card - No Fees??

[Russ Crum]

Walt,

My experience has been that ATM withdrawals in other countries, other  
than Canada, always come from your "primary" account, which seems to  
be considered your checking account. When I have used an ATM in  
Canada, I had the choice just like here in the US.

Russ Crum
rrcrum at sbcglobal.net

On Apr 4, 2007, at 9:07, Walt Slazyk wrote:

> Hi.
>   We are first time Untourists, traveling this summer to  
> Switzerland.  My research has revealed that my credit union charges  
> one percent for the currency conversion versus three percent for my  
> bank (Chase).   Zero percent is even better but since I don't have  
> a Capital One Rewards card, I'm willing to pay the one percent.
>   We found out in London a few years ago that the ATMs there did  
> not give you a choice of making a withdrawal from checking or  
> savings.  The money came out of our checking account by default.   
> Luckily the bank did an automatic transfer to cover the  
> withdrawal.  This time we'll make sure we have sufficient funds in  
> the checking account.
>
> Walt Slazyk
> wslazyk at luc.edu
>
> >>> Russ Crum <rrcrum at sbcglobal.net> 4/3/2007 6:45 pm >>>
> Pete,
>
> Yes, I have an ATM card that does not charge any fee for ATM use.  
> It is with my credit union (Community Financial) here in Michigan.  
> My own credit union never charges me for any ATM uses either here  
> in the US or in other countries. Since it is a credit union I do  
> have difficulty finding ATM's here in the US that won't charge me  
> for use of their own ATM. However, I have never been charged a fee  
> by a local bank in Canada or Europe. I have used this card in  
> Europe in The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, The Czech  
> Republic, Spain and Italy.
>
> The credit union claims that they do not tack on an exchange rate  
> fee. It is almost impossible to know for sure because you would  
> have to know the interbank currency exchange rate for the exact  
> date of the transaction. I have compared the exchange rate on an  
> ATM withdrawal with the exchange rate on credit card purchases made  
> the same day and the rates are almost identical. However, the  
> credit card company (Citibank) always has a separate "international  
> transaction" fee tacked on at the end of the statement.
>
> I have never used my credit card for cash advances although I have  
> it set up for that in case of an emergency. I know from reading the  
> terms and conditions for my credit card that any cash advance is a  
> loan and incurs ridiculous interest rates from the date of cash  
> withdrawal.
>
> I might add that I have been gratified that I have never  
> encountered either my ATM card or credit card being refused when  
> traveling. I have always notified both of them before each trip as  
> to the exact dates I would be traveling and the countries. I know  
> some people have run into problems even though they have notified  
> their banks.
>
> Russ Crum
> rrcrum at sbcglobal.net
>
> On Apr 3, 2007, at 19:15, haggart wrote:
>
>> Hi "Chatters"
>>
>> I know this is an old question, but since banks keep changing the  
>> fees they charge, I thought I would ask anew and see what personal  
>> experience has taught this group of savvy travelers!
>>
>> It is a two part question:
>>
>> 1. Do any of you have a cash card (ATM use) where the issuer does  
>> not charge a fee for transactions at foreign ATM machines - OR  
>> charges only a nominal transaction fee - AND does not add a fee  
>> for conversion of dollars to Euros?
>>
>> 2. Do any of you have a credit card (regular charge card - not  
>> using it for cash advances - but for purchases) that does not  
>> charge a transaction fee and/or conversion fee for foreign  
>> transactions.
>>
>> Thanks for your ideas and suggestions in advance.
>>
>> Euros are already killing us financially in Europe so we want to  
>> avoid even more expenses on our Untour this fall!
>>
>> Pete
>> in Moscow
>>
>> Peter and Margaret Haggart
>> haggart at moscow.com
>> <faint_grain.jpg>
>> _______________________________________________
>> This message was sent by IdyllChat.
>> To reply or send a new message, email to:
>> IdyllChat at lists.untours.com
>>
>> Visit the IdyllChat archives:
>> http://mailman.dca.net/pipermail/idyllchat/
>>
>> Search Idyllchat Archives for any subject at: http:// 
>> search.dca.net/sites/untours/main.html
>>>
>> Read real Untourists' candid accounts of their Untours:
>>> http://www.untours.com/triplogs.html To unsubscribe, change to  
>>> digest delivery, or
>> temporarily pause delivery, visit:
>> http://mailman.dca.net/mailman/listinfo/idyllchat
>
> _______________________________________________
> This message was sent by IdyllChat.
> To reply or send a new message, email to:
> IdyllChat at lists.untours.com
>
> Visit the IdyllChat archives:
> http://mailman.dca.net/pipermail/idyllchat/
>
> Search Idyllchat Archives for any subject at: http://search.dca.net/ 
> sites/untours/main.html
>>
> Read real Untourists' candid accounts of their Untours:
>> http://www.untours.com/triplogs.html To unsubscribe, change to  
>> digest delivery, or
> temporarily pause delivery, visit:
> http://mailman.dca.net/mailman/listinfo/idyllchat

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.dca.net/pipermail/idyllchat/attachments/20070404/9515f7ef/attachment.htm