Question
Hi I have several BankOne credit cards. I really like them except that BankOne charges a 2% international currency conversion fee in addition to the 1% charged by Mastercard.
My card gives me points that I use for airline tickets (through a travel agency). I would like a similar arrangement but without the extra 2%. Does anyone have a card like that?
Answer
My MBNA Visa (Goldpoints) doesn't assess an extra conversion fee. They might have an affinity card that would work for you--I rarely use this one nowadays, but it came in rather handy when my ATM card went bye-bye in Buenos Aires.
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MBNA:)
the greatest credit card company.
Very professional, definitely in the business of keeping customers.
Citibank are OK, but on symilar card I get slightly more hassle - you can see it's not thheir major business.
I think your 2% on Bank One are your payment for airmiles!!! So you pay 2c for every mile.
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Indeed, most MBNA cards do not charge an additional foreign exchange charge. My MBNA Amtrak Rewards card and the AAA card do not charge this conversion fee.
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so MBNA is great...do you get airmiles? I use my card for lots of domestic transactions but it would be great to have one for international use.
MBNA:)
the greatest credit card company.
Very professional, definitely in the business of keeping customers.
Citibank are OK, but on symilar card I get slightly more hassle - you can see it's not thheir major business.
I think your 2% on Bank One are your payment for airmiles!!! So you pay 2c for every mile.
Answer
do you get airmiles?
They have some quasi-mileage and some direct point-earners (see here (http://www.mbna.com/creditcards/travel_rewards.html)). The Amtrak points I believe can be transferred to UA and CO.
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The Amtrak points I believe can be transferred to UA and CO.
Also Midwest Air, which offers award tickets on American Airlines.
For full info on the Amtrak program and how to use it to get and exchange miles, see the Other Programs I Like page of my website, Free Frequent Flyer Miles (http://www.freefrequentflyermiles.com/index.htm)
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Need very careful. I always think my wife's credit card (Fleet master) do not charge the conversion fee. However, I found out after the last trip to Asia that they have already included in the exchange rate. I looked at the bank statement and did not understand why they used two different exchange rate even though the charges were posted in the same date. My wife called the bank and finally realized that the exchange rate showed on the statement was reduced with the conversion fee.
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If you qualify, USAA doesn't charge above the 1% Visa/MC fee for international transactions, and their debit card doesn't have a transaction fee. It's all I use when I go overseas. To get miles/points you have to sign up for their rewards program which contains an annual fee, but I forgo the miles and just take the reduced (ie: normal) exchange fee.
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If you qualify, USAA doesn't charge above the 1% Visa/MC fee for international transactions, and their debit card doesn't have a transaction fee. It's all I use when I go overseas. To get miles/points you have to sign up for their rewards program which contains an annual fee, but I forgo the miles and just take the reduced (ie: normal) exchange fee.
MBNA has the Merrill+ (Meriill Lynch) card that does not charge the conversion fees. You can get the card at 5.7% APR. This card has tiered benefits including points for flights/hotels/shopping etc.
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Capital One does not markup the "conversion fee." ^
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The Nordstrom Visa not only doesn't charge you a currency exchange fee - they also eat the Visa exchange fee. It also is tied in with Nordstrom's rewards program.