"Foreign Transaction Fee*Finance Charge"

Lots of banks do (eg my australian bank charges me 1.25% on transactions here in the USA), however lots dont. Let your feet do the walking and find a better deal (start with HSBC).

Cheers,
Dean

This is not new. It has been common (outrageous) practice for years. I carry a Capital One card for foreign transactions because they do not charge such a fee.

But Capital One has its own basket of nightmares.

American Express used to have one of the lowest foreign transaction fees (it was at 2%), but they recently raised it to the 3%. I originally got Capital One for the same reason as kylewest, but do not know if they've raised their fees ( I suspect they have).

Why is it outrageous for people providing a service to make a profit? If you are more worried about their profit than your convenience, then of course you have the opportunity to fly to the foreign country or send a Western Union or any other type of arrangement that is less convenient and more risky but possibly earns a service provider less return on their investments.

some accounts allow a certain number of foreign atm transactions without fees per month. although i have no idea if my accounts still do so. maybe i should find out.

blmilton, for doing literally nothing? 3%? all credit card companies do business in all currencies. it costs them nothing in this globalized era to do so, except in rare cases. if you are using your credit card the money is already being collected. what does it matter where you are using it?

For doing literally nothing? If they are literally doing nothing, then someone else should easily be able to enter this market (it takes nothing, right?) and underprice the current players at 2% (33% off!!) which would be a great margin off of nothing.

collusion?

Someone else's fault, right.

streetview didn't have to make the purchase. (what do you really NEED (not WANT) that you can't get in this #1 consumer society in the world)
streetview didn't have to use his Visa or Mastercard - could have done a wire transfer or sent a certified check
streetview could have researched the cost of foreign currency purchases in advance and chosen a competitive credit card, e.g. as some people here said, Capital One.

I fail to see how TARP (or TARP-laden which makes it sound worse but is meaningless) has anything to do with streetview's entitlement to using other people's resources for free.

collusion? Banks compete pretty hard I think.

Sure, I, too, hate fees, and I hate what most banks are doing these days. But let's be fair and get the facts straight before getting mad at everything financial institutions do.

What many of us here don't seem to realize is the fact that you actually get a much better rate on credit card transactions, compared to the rates you get when exchanging currencies (cash) or purchasing traveler's checks (t/c's). Credit card companies usually charge you based on the low, inter-bank exchange rates--plus the 3% fee in question, while you are charged the higher "retail" rates for cash exchanges and t/c's--plus any fees they are free to impose.

So, even w/ the 3% transaction fee, you are probably saving money over using cash or t/c's.

nyc212, you were. i seriously doubt you are now.

I use capital one abroad for this reason as well. As recent as this summer there were no charges

aboutready, dude, you can doubt all you want, but don't you have a better way of wasting your time and energy? The more you talk, the more your inexperience with foreign currency exchange shows. If anything, you should be upset that banks charge so much for us to exchange currencies IN CASH. Banks easily add 5% to 10& to the exchange rates you see announced on the news when you purchase cash, and I am not even talking about those booths in hotels and airports. Also, how about the flat foreign wire transfer fees of $75 to $100? As though that weren't bad enough, the receiving banks charge ADDITIONAL $50 to $100, making the 3% fee look like NOTHING. If you get charged $150 to send $1,000, that's a fee of 15%. Now, THAT'S ridiculous in my opinion.

Some people just bitch about anything and some people just hate anyone who makes a profit. It should all be free, right? Anarchists, mindless protesters. You can never win with these guys.

i really think the question is why is it more expensive today than it was two years ago. and i have done foreign wire transfers a number of times in the past few years, and i agree, the fees are ridiculous. and yes, picking up euros or pounds at Chase will get you a horrible rate, i actually do better using the ATM card overseas. that doesn't negate the fact that fees are rising for virtually every transaction.

dudette.

1. The 3% credit card transaction fees: Yes, the are relatively new and annoying, but cc's are usually the most cost effective of all methods because of the low (or wholesale, so to speak) exchange rates you get to begin with.

2. The wire transfer fees: No, they are actually lower today than they were 10 to 15 years ago at major banks I do business with (Citi, Chase, etc.). Some banks even waive the incoming wire charges these days (e.g., EverBank.com).

3. Cash exchange rates add-ons: No, they have not changed in decades at major banks. They use the same formula to calculate the cash "prices" today as they did 25 years ago.

Peace.

thanks for the clarification.

The 3% add-on fee is a nuisance when you consider these Global Banks have drawn an arbitrary circle around the United States as the "no foreign transaction fee zone". So a place like Bermuda (who's charges on the credit card statement were in USD) which is closer than Hawaii, incurs a 3% fee, when Hawaii doesn't. I doubt the transactions (processing, billing and collections) from these two locations are much different in this day in age.

The Global Banks will only out-price themselves as the consumer catches onto their revenue generating games.