Question
On two separate instances by two separate customer service representatives of Merrill+, I was told that Merrill+ will start to charge a 1% foreign transaction or foreign exchange fee around October of this year for card usage outside the United States. I guess that leaves only Capital One's card that does not charge any sort of foreign transaction fee. I do quite a bit of travelling abroad so these charges become quite significant.
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do you have any written verification on this other than two conversations with CSR's????
At least 1% is not 2 or 3%.
to tell you the truth, I'M more upset at having the ritz carlton certs done away with at the tier 3 level.
That was absolutely crazy!
I did not have the card then.
I figure it was a least a 10% rebate level at 50,000.
i.e. an acct holder realized conservatively five grand in value for fifty thousand in charging,
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Nothing about this in Merrill+ statement closing late August. Still, it would not surprise me because Merrill is not marketing this as a feature of the card, and I think they would if it were permanent.
dennis
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I just checked with them - it seems that the foreign fee will be raised to 2%, not 1%, so they appear to be padding 1% profit in and making it match their debit card, which has been 2%.
Too bad, it was a good card. I'm planning to redeem and move on to get something better. Is capital one the only remaining card with no foreign surcharge now?
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I just checked with them - it seems that the foreign fee will be raised to 2%, not 1%, so they appear to be padding 1% profit in and making it match their debit card, which has been 2%.
Too bad, it was a good card. I'm planning to redeem and move on to get something better. Is capital one the only remaining card with no foreign surcharge now?
I just found out that ML will implement the 2% fee on my account next year. :td:
Cap One still does not charge a foreign transaction fee.
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Is capital one the only remaining card with no foreign surcharge now?
I have an MBNA Motley Fool Visa card with 1% cash back that I got specifically because it has no foreign transaction fee. Unfortunately, when I checked out the application page. it seems they now have a foreign transaction fee. However, since they changed the application, I've used my card in the UK and France and not had any fee assessed. So maybe it's possible to be grandfathered in with some credit cards, but probably only temporarily.
Most of my foreign transactions are for food and hotels. If that is the case for you, note also that the Costco AMEX Card gives you 2% cash back on hotels and 3% cash back on restaurants. The foreign transaction fee is determined by adding 2% to the exchange rate, so the rebate is based on the full charge. That means you still net .04% cash back on hotels and 1.06% cash back on meals, but you have to wait until February for the rebate. (Other transactions give you 1% cash back, meaning a .98% net fee, which is still better than a lot of Visa/MC cards out there.)
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The foreign transaction fee is determined by adding 2% to the exchange rate...which is still better than a lot of Visa/MC cards out there.)
You are assuming that the AMEX base rate is the same as the Visa/MC base rate. Many people report that AMEX's base rate compares unfavorably with Visa/MC.
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You are assuming that the AMEX base rate is the same as the Visa/MC base rate. Many people report that AMEX's base rate compares unfavorably with Visa/MC.
Well, here's a data point: On July 27, xe.com lists the conversion rate of 1 GBP = 1.8625160577 USD. I made a 27 GBP charge on my MBNA Visa, and got charged $50.28, or $1.86222222222 per pound. I also made a 146.25 GBP purchase on my AMEX, which went through at $278.66, or $1.90536752137 per pound.
So indeed it looks like AMEX is 2.31% higher than Visa, and 2.30% higher than xe.com. Wow, thanks for pointing that out! That really kind of annoys me, actually, because I always just assumed AMEX would be 2% over the going rate, as claimed in their terms and conditions. I've been had!
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So, with this post and checking out the new card application, I called into ML customer service to see what the deal was, as I got my card exclusively for international travel.
I was told that I am exempt from the Forex fee for the foreseeable future. Those of you who signed up for the card before should be as well. YMMV but I'm still a very happy camper with this card, as I got it just before they changed it over..
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So, with this post and checking out the new card application, I called into ML customer service to see what the deal was, as I got my card exclusively for international travel.
I was told that I am exempt from the Forex fee for the foreseeable future. Those of you who signed up for the card before should be as well. YMMV but I'm still a very happy camper with this card, as I got it just before they changed it over..
Called today as well, got the card for the same reason, was told I would pay the 2% fee. Mentioned I saw in my application mention of a grandfather clause, CSR clueless?? I'll wait awhile till the dust settles, but if the fee stands the card is toast.
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Cld in and questioned the increase. I was told by three different people that it would increase to 2% on October 16 for everyone. Said everyone would be receiving notice. The were sending out mailers and some would receive notice in their statements.
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Interesting. Because my CSR checked with the Program Manager, or some sort of supervisor and called me back to confrim that I would not be paying a Forex fee for the foreseeable future.
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I just called and "Michelle" said it would start on my account with the November statement. 2%. I immediately asked for the account to be closed.
Final tally...
- opened 18 months
- about 27K in charges (20K in 2005, then only foreign ones since Jan)
- 1 Ritz-Carlton certificate ($400)
- 1 iPod Nano ($250)
- 6000 miles on BA ($?)
- AA status match to Plat (never used)
A very sad day for me... That card went downhill really quick.
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Interesting. Because my CSR checked with the Program Manager, or some sort of supervisor and called me back to confrim that I would not be paying a Forex fee for the foreseeable future.
Just spoke with a M+ CSR. Says that if you account was open in the last 12 months, you will be exempt up to your first year anniversary. If your card is older it starts on Nov 1. Bummer. This card won't be so useful anymore.
Oh, CSR also said its not a MBNA/BofA decision, but a Merrill decision. Apparently it comes out of their bottom line for the card.
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Just spoke with a M+ CSR. Says that if you account was open in the last 12 months, you will be exempt up to your first year anniversary. If your card is older it starts on Nov 1. Bummer. This card won't be so useful anymore.
Oh, CSR also said its not a MBNA/BofA decision, but a Merrill decision. Apparently it comes out of their bottom line for the card.
I'm sure the BOA buyout of MBNA has made changes to their bottom line as well though. Perhaps with BOA marketing Banc of America Investment Services more, they are slowly pulling out? I doubt this is related though.
Oddly, I called today to ask about the foreign fee as I was about to buy Eurostar tickets in GBP, and the rep just said starting November 1st, and did not mention anything about new card users being given 1 year. I got my card in June or July or so.
I guess we'll see - but I have a Capital One card as well, so I may be tempted to just use that instead for my foreign purchases.
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I will be surprised if Merrill and MBNA think they can add such a charge without giving at least a month's notice. I have international currency transactions on this card every month, receive a paper statement every month, and no mention. Perhaps they will be sending notices beginning with November closing dates to be effective, say, 1.1.2007.
It also seems counterintuitive that they would give newer cardholders more favorable treatment than older accounts.