capital one now imposes 3% transaction fee !!!!!

How rapacious of them! Can't say that I am surprised, though.

"What's (what was) in your wallet."

I have never used my Cap One CC at an ATM, but I do use it for all my purchases overseas. I don't see that they have added a fee for purchases. I hope not anyways.

Is that for the Venture card? Or a basic Capital One card? Or any Capital One card? I have a Cap One card and wasn't notified of this new charge. Hmm.

I have a Capital One Platinum card and haven't heard about this either. Where did you hear/read it?

Was that a letter from the bank or did you "hear" it somewhere?

Just got this off of the Capital One website: "Capital One does not charge a fee for using your credit card for foreign currency transactions. Foreign purchases will be converted at the foreign exchange rate in effect at the time of posting the charge." So, you are not referring to credit card purchases, but rather Capital One checking card ATM withdrawals? To be honest, I thought they always did this for ATM withdrawals.

You know, now that I think about it, I believe Maryam is right. I think they have always charged a transaction fee for ATM withdrawals. I have never used a card for that purpose and hope I don't have to. In any case, I understand ATM withdrawals are not free of charge.

I just checked the website and all their credit card products are listed as having no foreign currency transaction fees for purchases. I believe they always had a cash advance fee for using the credit card at an ATM to get cash - that's why I never use it that way. I also have a Capital One money market account with an ATM card - they do not charge a foreign currency transaction fee. I just received some updates regarding their purchase of ING Direct but I didn't see anything regarding fees for ATM withdrawals but I'll follow up as I don't see any banking ATM withdrawal info on their webiste.

I emailed them earlier this week and was told that there is a $2 fee for using an ATM overseas - it seems like different accounts have different rules. I consider bank fees part of the cost of traveling, so I cannot seem to get myself too worked up about $2 for Capital One or 2.2% for ING Direct or even the $5+3% that I have at Regions (my backup bank in case somehow something happens to my other two cards). I leave on Monday and have no intention of spending even one second of my time there worrying about the fees. :)

Sorry to everyone for not responding sooner but to further address this welcome bit of news . To be very clear , this does not , at least at the moment deal with credit cards persay . In my checking , debit card statement which came yesterday There was an enclosed notice from the bank that states as follows : Using ATM's outside of the United States ; Withdrawals from ATM's outside the U.S. . Puerto Rico , and the U.S. Virgin Islands wil incur a 3.00% transaction fee ( in addition to any other pertinent atm fees ) International ATM fees are waived on High yield checking , Interest free checking , Platinum and Tower Gold accounts. I hope that I haven't been misleading and that this helps clarify this . Also lest I forget , this change apllies as of 8/15/2012 .

One further thought , I agree with Nancy that the fee is essentially meaningless relative to the cost of the trip and I wouldn't go through hoops over this . I think that Julie's remarks may also be correct as well and I actually never paid very close attention to this in the last two years that I have had the card . The notice that came with the statement kind of gave me a bit of a head's up and since my andrews account has a 1% fee I might be somewhat more inclined to use it in that it takes no real effort on my part . Tnanks all !!

Schwab Bank still doesn't charge a fee and actually rebates any fees charged for using another bank's ATM.

Have just gotten a new "chip" Visa credit card from JP Morgan/Chase which promises no foreign transaction fees on European withdrawals or purchases, along with several other traveler benefits. Works fine in US. Will try it this Fall in France and hope the "no fee" aspect pans out.

Robert , It's important to know that the chase cards are chip and signature , not chip and pin . Therefore it is unlikely that they will work in automated french machines. I have inquired of chase whether they would issue a pin for the card to enable the cash advance feature ( a very bad thing to use for obvious reasons ) They say they will , but any attempt to use the pin for a credit card transaction will result in it being posted as a cash advance ,ugh !! My wife and I traveled through France extensively last fall and easily avoided problems by having cash reserves on hand in the form of ten and twenty euro notes and forty to fifty euros in one and two euro coins . For our upcoming trip this fall we are also taking an andrews fcu globetrek visa which is a true chip and pin card ( actually dual technology ) In any event . enjoy your trip . After seeing France and what it has to offer , you'll never be the same again . Bon Voyage !!

Yes - I agree with several posters above. I believe CapitolOne Venture Card has always charged a fee for ATM cash withdrawals, but NOT for credit card purchases (at retailers, hotels, restaurants, etc.) overseas. This worked great for us last summer in Italy and in Canada this spring. However: To avoid any ATM fees, I use my bank debit card for ATM cash withdrawals when traveling outside the US (Europe & Canada) as they charge me NO fees at all. So - Check with your bank or credit union for the best deal(s).

I just used my Cap one MM account ATM card and no fee just like in the past........

I just returned from Austria and Italy. There were no conversion fees using either the Capital One credit card for purchases, or Schwab Visa debit card for ATM cash.

Capital one debit cards were originally ATM charge-free oversees, which is why I switched to that bank a few years back. Now, they charge a $2 fee each time you withdraw cash, which does add up. I'm actually disputing the charges now, since I called the bank right before I left for my trip and was told that there were still no fees (ATM or conversion) that I would incur. I realize it's inevitable that they'll start charging, it's just frustrating since I changed banks to avoid that very thing.

Paul, it's up to your bank. At my credit union, my ATM card charges no foreign exchange fee for withdrawals. My credit card from the same credit union charges 1% for purchases. If your bank charges a foreign exchange fee for purchases, they would also charge one for bookings, since it is essentially a European transaction.

Capital One has different types of charges for different types of accounts. Some charges are changing, some are not. I have an online checking account and that still has no fee for ATM withdrawals anywhere. If you have a branch account, a credit card, or a money market account you should check with them to see what's going on. I do know that the type of account I have is no longer offered.

I recently, last month, set up an on line checking account with capitiol one for the purpose of using the debit card to get cash in europe. I was told hey did not charge any fees and would in fact reimburse me any fees I was charged on the international side, up to $25/month. I am now home and have not checked my account to clarify but can't imagine that it would not be as it was presented to me. I only tried to use the card twice. the first time the card would not work so I used a debit card from my local credit union which worked fine. The second time I used the capitol one card for cash at atm, it worked fine. take more than 1 choice