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Debit and Credit Cards: the inside story Part 2

Both your debit and credit card are covered by protection from Mastercard and Visa. Therefore, you have backup for transactions that are disputed or fraudulent on both types of cards.

Your card issuer should be able to provide toll free numbers that you can call for assistance when traveling, if you ask them. Makes it easier, if you have a problem.

You should have card numbers, CVV codes (on the back), and phone numbers of issuers for all cards in a secure place. How you deal with the "secure place" is your call.

Different issuers charge differently for foreign transactions. Cap One does not charge that fee, so it is a good deal. But it will charge a higher rate for cash advances, so it is only good for purchases. A lot of credit unions charge a lower rate on debit and credit cards (mine only changres 1%) so do your research, because using cards overseas will cost you something. Besides the foreign use fees, there are also ATM use fees charged by both the card issuer and the financial institution you are using. So, taking out as much as possible at a time is the way to go.

You should ask to have your debit card ATM levels as high as possible. However, some ATMs limit tthe amount you can withdraw. SO both will impact your amounts of withdrawal.

OK, so I have worked in banking for many years. Does it show? Hope this information is helpful!

Posted by
283 posts

That information is in part 1 of thispost. It was too long to post without dividing it!

Check out Part 1 also!

Posted by
1449 posts

You can't count on disputing transactions overseas.

"To take advantage of this protection regarding the quality of goods or services, you must: 1) have made the purchase (it must be for more than $50) in your home state or within 100 miles of your current billing address; 2) make a good faith effort to resolve the dispute with the seller first."

from http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre16.shtm

Credit card companies may choose to allow you to dispute charges not meeting these rules, but they don't have to.

Posted by
368 posts

One additional thing. If you call your debit and credit card companies and tell them where you will be traveling and when. They will not block the cards.

Posted by
23624 posts

,,,,,,That is why it is absolutely vital that you alert your debit and credit card issuers before you leave--even for another US state.,,,,,,

I think that is what Sue said.

Posted by
8700 posts

In my experience (Great Britain, Ireland, and France), so long as I used a bank ATM, the only fee I paid was what my home bank charged. If I had used a non-bank ATM, I would have expected to pay a fee to the provider of that ATM. There are banks and credit unions that do not charge a fee for using out-of-system ATMs. People using debit cards from those institutions might have to pay a currency conversion fee, but there would be no ATM use fees.

Posted by
9371 posts

My local credit union absorbs the foreign use fee, so the customer is charged nothing (and no inflated exchange rate) when obtaining money overseas.

And no European ATM that I have used has charged anything for the use of the ATM, like "out of network" ATMs do here in the States.

Posted by
1568 posts

Excellent posts Sue! Fortunately, I visited the Graffiti Wall prior to my first international trip and was well prepared.

Posted by
23624 posts

Sue and others, if you do something like this again, Put your message in the question part till it runs out of space and then continue as the first respondent. Now you have two separate posts will people responding to one post without reading the second and different responders. It is a mess to follow and to understand what is being said.