There have been countless articles written online about how to save the most money whilst traveling abroad. Most advise that you pay in cash in the local currency and avoid using credit cards or ATMs. This is generally good advice, since most cards charge foreign transaction fees of anywhere between 1-3%...in addition to the currency conversion rates, which are not guaranteed to be most favorable to you (although I have found most banks to provide the best current rate when doing conversions most of the time).
Another suggested option is to get a credit card that promises not to charge a foreign transaction fee. Capital One is the most popular one currently available. But maybe you don’t want to open a brand new credit card…it can sometimes be a hassle and can impact your credit rating, especially if you already have a bunch of other cards with high spending limits.
If you do want to use a credit card internationally but don’t want to open a new card, one option that most people overlook is to just call each of your current credit card companies and ask what their foreign fee policies are. Then, once they explain the fees, ask them to waive them. Will they say yes? Of course not! This is where you need a supervisor…
In many cases, these fees are not actually controlled by the bank. MasterCard and Visa impose certain transaction fees on the banks that the banks then pass on to you. The initial customer service rep and the supervisor will be sure to point this out to you so that you won’t think less of their bank…it’s not their fault these fees are being charged, after all. This is a fair point…except that you’re the customer, and they need your business; even if it’s going to cost them a little money to keep it. After the rep explains the reasoning for the fees, you should politely respond that you understand the policy and where the fees are coming from, but you still feel that a valuable customer should be extended a courtesy of having these fees waived. Otherwise, you can tell the rep, you’ll just switch to a card without fees (mention Capital One by name to let him know you’ve done your research). And while you’re switching cards, you may just want to close your current account all together (don’t actually ask to close your account as a bluff, or you may suddenly find yourself having your account actually closed even though you were just bluffing).
At this point, the supervisor will do one of two things. He will either tell you once again that, while he values your business and doesn’t want to lose you as a customer, there’s really nothing he can do. Or he will tell you that, while he’s not authorized to waive the fees, he can offer you some other incentive to keep you as a customer. When I had this discussion with my Chase MasterCard supervisor, he came up with a unique solution. He asked me to estimate how much I planned to spend during my upcoming trip to Italy. I responded that I planned to spend about $500 with my card. He took a look at something in his system and then said that he could offer me a credit of $25 worth of reward points now…as a way of balancing out the transaction fees I would be charged for my purchases in Italy. This was actually more than I would have been charged, since their fees are 3% for foreign transactions. But for the supervisor, a courtesy credit like this is relatively easy to apply…whereas waiving the actual transaction fees might be nearly impossible. Ultimately, I don’t even need to use my Chase MasterCard in Italy if I don’t want to…but the $25 is mine to keep! But if I did end up using this card, I would know that my transaction fees aren’t really coming out of my pocket…which would, of course, make for a far more enjoyable trip!
Another suggested option is to get a credit card that promises not to charge a foreign transaction fee. Capital One is the most popular one currently available. But maybe you don’t want to open a brand new credit card…it can sometimes be a hassle and can impact your credit rating, especially if you already have a bunch of other cards with high spending limits.
If you do want to use a credit card internationally but don’t want to open a new card, one option that most people overlook is to just call each of your current credit card companies and ask what their foreign fee policies are. Then, once they explain the fees, ask them to waive them. Will they say yes? Of course not! This is where you need a supervisor…
In many cases, these fees are not actually controlled by the bank. MasterCard and Visa impose certain transaction fees on the banks that the banks then pass on to you. The initial customer service rep and the supervisor will be sure to point this out to you so that you won’t think less of their bank…it’s not their fault these fees are being charged, after all. This is a fair point…except that you’re the customer, and they need your business; even if it’s going to cost them a little money to keep it. After the rep explains the reasoning for the fees, you should politely respond that you understand the policy and where the fees are coming from, but you still feel that a valuable customer should be extended a courtesy of having these fees waived. Otherwise, you can tell the rep, you’ll just switch to a card without fees (mention Capital One by name to let him know you’ve done your research). And while you’re switching cards, you may just want to close your current account all together (don’t actually ask to close your account as a bluff, or you may suddenly find yourself having your account actually closed even though you were just bluffing).
At this point, the supervisor will do one of two things. He will either tell you once again that, while he values your business and doesn’t want to lose you as a customer, there’s really nothing he can do. Or he will tell you that, while he’s not authorized to waive the fees, he can offer you some other incentive to keep you as a customer. When I had this discussion with my Chase MasterCard supervisor, he came up with a unique solution. He asked me to estimate how much I planned to spend during my upcoming trip to Italy. I responded that I planned to spend about $500 with my card. He took a look at something in his system and then said that he could offer me a credit of $25 worth of reward points now…as a way of balancing out the transaction fees I would be charged for my purchases in Italy. This was actually more than I would have been charged, since their fees are 3% for foreign transactions. But for the supervisor, a courtesy credit like this is relatively easy to apply…whereas waiving the actual transaction fees might be nearly impossible. Ultimately, I don’t even need to use my Chase MasterCard in Italy if I don’t want to…but the $25 is mine to keep! But if I did end up using this card, I would know that my transaction fees aren’t really coming out of my pocket…which would, of course, make for a far more enjoyable trip!
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