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Few weeks back some people were saying citibank didnot charge them the usual 3% transaction fee. I'm just wondering whether it is still true. I'm about to make a purchase but that 3% is killing the deal.
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Yes -- they just recently made t/c changes for my card so the fees appear separately as a finance charge. Terrible rip-off.
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3% will appear as a separate charge. However, withdrawing money from Citi ATMs (and from the ATMs of their affiliates) may be a good deal. You may want to use Visa/MasterCard Debit Card rather than a credit card to avoid fees.
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Citi was never "free" and was always one of the worst cards for forex. Before the change to the separately stated 3%, they charged 2% over and above the MC/Visa 1%. The only difference now is that the fee is a separate line on the bill, rather than included (i.e., hidden) in the transaction.
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3% will appear as a separate charge. However, withdrawing money from Citi ATMs (and from the ATMs of their affiliates) may be a good deal. You may want to use Visa/MasterCard Debit Card rather than a credit card to avoid fees.
Or simply use a Citi ATM card at any ATM worldwide. Depending on your checking plan, you may be charged a $1-3 "fee", but it is still less than the Citi credit card forex ripoff.
Note: I don't have a debit card, but I would check the T&Cs before using a debit card as an MC/VI card overseas. My guess would be that Citi applies the 3% ripoff fee to those transactions as well.
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For consistency and future searching purposes, I'm moving this to the appropriate credir card forum.
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For consistency and future searching purposes, I'm moving this to the appropriate credit card forum.
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For consistency and future searching purposes, I'm moving this to the appropriate credit card forum.
What appropriate credit card forum? Amex? Diners?
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As said before, Citi has always charged a currency conversion fee, the only difference is that now you get it as a separate charge. The separete charge came after a lawsuit to Visa and MasterCard for not properly disclosing currency conversion fees. In this case, Visa and MasterCard had to pay millions of USD to cardholders... Now banks have to disclose fees charged for exchanging foreign currency in cardholders agreements, aplications, solicitations and monthly billing statements in order to comply with regulations.
As I said in a previous post, Visa and MasterCard charge an exchange rate plus 1% to member banks; the banks then pass that charge on to cardholders, and many of the banks add on additional fees of their own, ranging from 2% to 4%...
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Few weeks back some people were saying citibank didnot charge them the usual 3% transaction fee. I'm just wondering whether it is still true. I'm about to make a purchase but that 3% is killing the deal.
Hmm, just noticed this thread. Citi does charge 3% now as a separate finance charge at the end of the month. But... For a period of at least 3 weeks, during the transition from the old system to the new system, Citi was applying a 0% conversion rate and there were no additional finance charges at the end of the month. I had foreign currency purchases at 0% from 4/29 through 5/18 with no corresponding 3% charge at the end of the month. The curious thing is that they switched in the middle of my billing cycle. 5/18 charges did not get the 3%, 5/27 and later charges did.
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I don't seem to recall those 3% charges on my statements fromwhen I travel intl with my Citi.You card.... I definately would have noticed them...
-Vincent
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I don't seem to recall those 3% charges on my statements fromwhen I travel intl with my Citi.You card.... I definately would have noticed them...
-Vincent
Now it is listed as a separate line item to comply with regulation. Read RoJo post. If you have recent international charges, i.e. from June 1st on, you most likely will see that being listed as a separate line item. Before, it is lumped into the conversion rate.
I know my Yen withdrawal got an exchange rate of 104 to 105 last spring. Citi card showed the charges were converted at 101. There is a 3% difference, eventhough it did not show it as a line item but if you did the math you knew.