How to Avoid Paying International Credit Card Transaction Fees
By Benjamin Wise
It pays to know how much you'll spend. This is a great financial truism for day-to-day life but it's even more important on vacation. ATM transactions carry a small fee...for each transaction.
It pays to know how much you'll spend. This is a great financial truism for day-to-day life but it's even more important on vacation. ATM transactions carry a small fee...for each transaction.
Very few people have a very good idea how much cash they'll require while traveling ...unless you're the exception and have a fairly precise budget, it's difficult to extract the correct amount in a single transaction. It can also be difficult to find a cash machine in many countries.
Also be careful to not withdraw an excessive amount of cash, which carries a theft risk. And converting funds back to your local currency also carries fees...which means fees at both ends, converting TO and converting FROM.
Traveler's checks also have caveats...they're not accepted everywhere and there's a fee to purchase them.
As of this writing, Capital One was the last to offer a credit card without foreign transaction fees. But read the fine print...the credit card you applied for may not be the one you're approved for.
Check the terms before using the card and be sure you can pay off the balance quickly if it has a high interest rate...or you're simply paying fees a different way!
It's a good idea to research what the comparative fees are before leaving, and to estimate a budget so that you know whether avoiding foreign transaction fees via credit card will actually be worth the APR and possible annual fees.
As always: the best plan is to have a plan.
Learn how you can get the best [http://worst-credit-cards.com/Credit+Card+Deals.html]Credit Card Deals Starting Today!
Very few people have a very good idea how much cash they'll require while traveling ...unless you're the exception and have a fairly precise budget, it's difficult to extract the correct amount in a single transaction. It can also be difficult to find a cash machine in many countries.
Also be careful to not withdraw an excessive amount of cash, which carries a theft risk. And converting funds back to your local currency also carries fees...which means fees at both ends, converting TO and converting FROM.
Traveler's checks also have caveats...they're not accepted everywhere and there's a fee to purchase them.
As of this writing, Capital One was the last to offer a credit card without foreign transaction fees. But read the fine print...the credit card you applied for may not be the one you're approved for.
Check the terms before using the card and be sure you can pay off the balance quickly if it has a high interest rate...or you're simply paying fees a different way!
It's a good idea to research what the comparative fees are before leaving, and to estimate a budget so that you know whether avoiding foreign transaction fees via credit card will actually be worth the APR and possible annual fees.
As always: the best plan is to have a plan.
Learn how you can get the best [http://worst-credit-cards.com/Credit+Card+Deals.html]Credit Card Deals Starting Today!
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