Credit Cards

The Chase Saphire Preferred is a very good credit card for foreign transactions. There are no foreign transaction fees and right now if you spend $3k in 3 months on the card you get 50,000 ultimate rewards points which can be transferred to airline and hotels rewards programs.

Capital One doesn't take fees on foreign transactions. Always have the vendor charge the card in his local currency because Capital One's conversion rate is inevitably better than the merchant's. You can also open a money market account with them and get an ATM card - no fees in foreign countries.

I'm still using the Capital One card - but watching carefully for pricing changes.

I've been very satisfied with the Chase Priority Club Visa. Priority Club is the frequent traveller program of the Intercontinental Hotel Group which includes Intercontinental hotels, Holiday Inn, Hotel Indigo, etc. The card has no foreign transaction fees. There is a $49 annual fee, BUT each year on your renewal you get a certificate for a free hotel night (which is certainly worth more than $49). I've found priority club to be one of the easier hotel programs to book free nights with. I have certainly gotten my money's worth on this card. I've used reward nights in London, Paris, and San Francisco.

Sharon, See http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange
about halfway down the page.

Thanks everyone. Very helpful information that we will pursue.

We just returned from France where we used our Charles Schwab debit/Visa card for both ATM withdrawls and Visa transactions. No fees on either. We did encounter a 3% fee when we used our Chase Visa. Perhaps Charles Schwab hears the siren song of the free 3% extra they can extract from their customers when making international Visa transactions.

Love my Capital One card. No fees anywhere in the world. I truly only use it when we travel. I have my United + card for earning miles to fly. We switched from Wells Fargo to Compass Bank so using the ATM overseas there are no fees either. I'm not paying the banks to use my money for travel, they get enough from me on interest on my mortgage and home equity loan.

Larry-I think OP is talking about the credit card that was available through Schwab. The visa branded debit card is not, to my knowledge, changing it's policy on foreign transaction fees. Does anyone have information to the contrary?