Europe trip- should I get a no Foreign Transaction fee card?

If you will be spending a lot overseas then it would be in your best interest to get one (forex fees are a bitch). Be sure to get a visa or mastercard since they are the most accepted.

With that being said any card that offers no forex fees would be very suitable for you. If you care about rewards then I would go with the Chase Sapphire Preferred but the no annual fee version would work too. I believe BoA and Citi have cards with no forex fee but I can't recall off the top of my head.

Also make sure it has the chip and pin security feature

gl

Off the top of my head, w/ no foreign transaction fees:
Chase Sapphire Pref (Good bonus, cool card, live CSR picks up the phone)
Chase BA Visa (Good sign up bonus if you use the trick thats available.)
AMEX Plat (Added perks for your travel. Lounge access, global entry, $200 reimbursement)

Weird, I know a couple that just went to Paris. Got pickpocketed. That sucked.

fees

http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/in...n_Exchange

no. I just got back from a 40 day trip to Europe (germany france switzerland austria engalnd) and many places are cash only. just use a debit card at an atm. you'll get the fee or a flat rate charge depending on the bank.

Quote from omghaxcode : no. I just got back from a 40 day trip to Europe (germany france switzerland austria engalnd) and many places are cash only. just use a debit card at an atm. you'll get the fee or a flat rate charge depending on the bank.

What jibberish is this? It helps to have cash for small purchases but to say that they are cash only is more than completely wrong...

Thanks all. I decided to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. It has no forex fees, and 40,000 bonus points for signing up. Also no annual fee for year one. It didn't have the chip in it, but that is pretty difficult to find (I didn't want the British Airways card).

citi bank charges 5 per cent using debt card as does chase,go nto the bank and they wll not tell you


it starts with their 3 percent fee then using other atm fee then 1 percent hidden fee

it used to cost 1.50 now t costs 20 dollars or more

Quote from TonyTouch : Thanks all. I decided to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. It has no forex fees, and 40,000 bonus points for signing up. Also no annual fee for year one. It didn't have the chip in it, but that is pretty difficult to find (I didn't want the British Airways card).

BoA has a travel card that doesn't have foreign transaction fee nor annual fee.

Quote from LivninSC : What jibberish is this? It helps to have cash for small purchases but to say that they are cash only is more than completely wrong...

I was just there 3 weeks ago for 2 months.... it is completely true that many places don't accept cards

I suggest getting an online checking account with Charles Schwab or Fidelity. Both refund all ATM fees that you incur at any ATM (even abroad). Fidelity charges you a 1% conversion fee that Visa charges, but that's chump change compared to what you could be paying otherwise.

Quote from nalinator : I suggest getting an online checking account with Charles Schwab or Fidelity. Both refund all ATM fees that you incur at any ATM (even abroad). Fidelity charges you a 1% conversion fee that Visa charges, but that's chump change compared to what you could be paying otherwise.

This is true. I used my Schwab Visa exclusively while I was in Japan, only falling back to my Citi card when needed. Which was rare (only once or twice).

I did a round the world trip in March/April and I found that the Chase Sapphire was a great card with no foreign transactions fees. No problems using it. MAKE SURE YOU CALL YOUR CARD COMPANY AND TELL THEM YOU WILL BE TRAVELING!! They want to know the dates and what countries or your card may be denied.

I would also have a cash source. When I was in Paris, I found the post office ATMs great with no fees. Used a Capital One checking account and debit card to pull money. Capital One had a flat $2-3 fee. Most other banks charge a fee (5%) plus whatever the ATM costs. The post office ATMs in Paris are yellow and blue with I believe an eagle as the picture.

Southwest Visa Signature will no longer have foreign transaction fees starting August 1st. You may want to look at that since the annual fee is offset by points equaling the fee.