Credit Card Costs Are Avoidable

By Author: Alisdair Cosgrove
Total Articles: 184
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Every major U.S. credit card company, with the exception of one, charges a two to three percent foreign transaction fee when you use your credit card abroad. Until recently, many credit card companies did not clearly disclose these fees in their terms and conditions.

Many people received a notice of a class action lawsuit settlement regarding these fees earlier this year.Credit card companies must clearly inform their applicants of all international transaction charges now that the lawsuit has been settled.

If you want to know how much your credit card company charges for international transactions you should contact the customer service and you will probably be told that the fee is three percent. Paying an extra three percent on every purchase can really be hard, however, there are some ways to avoid paying for these charges.

Your own bank will often give a significantly better exchange rate for foreign currency than what you may receive at a foreign currency exchange booth.

While ATM withdrawals are generally free of foreign transaction charges, using your debit card as a credit card ...
... comes with some risks. A credit card is easier to protect against fraud than a debit when making purchases abroad, so this is why it would be better to use a credit card abroad. When there are fraudulent charges and overcharges made on your credit card you can contest them a receive a refund. If, on the other hand, you debit card was fraudulently used, you will not only be faced with a depleted bank account, but it often takes a great deal longer to get your money returned.

It seems that the best way to pay no international transaction fees is through credit card use of the ones that charge no fees; these no fee credit cards give you security without the added espense.

ATM transactions carry a small fee for each transaction, so it is good to know how much you will spend, this is as great for day to day life and also when on vacation. Very few people have a very good idea how much cash they'll require while traveling and unless you're the exception and have a fairly precise budget it's difficult to extract the correct amount in a single transaction. A cash machine can be difficult to find in many countries and you have to be careful to refrain from withdrawing too excessive of an amount to avoid the risk of theft. The conversion of funds back to your own currency carries fees and you will have already paid to convert to the foreign currency.

Traveler's checks are a safe alternative to cash but they are not accepted everywhere and there is a fee to purchase them.

If you are applying to get a credit card that will not charge you additional fees for foreign purchases, be sure youunderstand the terms and conditions of the credit card policy to be sure you are getting the card you think you are. If the card has a high rate of interest, be sure of the terms to know whether you can pay of the balance quickly so you will not have to pay extra fees of a different sort.
Alisdair Cosgrove has been writing finance articles for many years and can find more of his work at the UK site CreditCardsWeb.co.uk, offering low rate credit cards for UK residents and also a great selection of interest free credit cards. Visit today to read more of Alisdair's great credit card articles including getting more from rewards