foreign transaction fee?

[Deleted]

Before I go ranting and raving to Citi, maybe someone here can help me. I bought a hard-to-find CD for my kids for Christmas off Ebay. It's coming from London. I made the transaction through Paypal with my Citi Mastercard for about $15 US dollars. I just got my Citi statement online today - they are charging me $.46 for a "foreign transaction fee". Yeah, I know, it's just 46 measly cents, but still - am I wrong in thinking that Citi shouldn't be charging me an extra fee for this since it went through Paypal? Maybe I don't know enough about the whole process... I tried looking for info in the Citi website but can't find anything related to a "foreign transaction fee".

Since there will be no balance on this card after I pay for this CD, I think I'm going to cancel the card. I've had nothing but problems with Citibank for years and don't know why I still keep their card.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

We got a 30 cent foreign transaction fee on our credit card statement (not Citibank) for a $10 Skype Credit that my wonderful DH purchased in Iraq. Seems Skype isn't a U.S.-based company.... so there's a fee. I paid the 30 cents.

[Gardening Grandma]

We were hit with a number of "foreign transaction fees" after a trip to China where we used our CC a number of times. None of the fees were exhorbitant, but they ARE annoying. We paid them.
I also recently was charged a foreign transaction fee after buying something on ebay that was shipped from Hong Kong. And I used Paypal to pay for it. I doubt that using Paypal would exempt you from the fee.

[Deleted]

Jan 14, 2011 14:28:03 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

We were hit with a number of "foreign transaction fees" after a trip to China where we used our CC a number of times. None of the fees were exhorbitant, but they ARE annoying. We paid them.
I also recently was charged a foreign transaction fee after buying something on ebay that was shipped from Hong Kong. And I used Paypal to pay for it. I doubt that using Paypal would exempt you from the fee.

ok. thank you. i didn't know if this was normal or not, and whenever i feel i'm being had, i get defensive haha. i once stood in line at the gas station for 20 minutes to recover 23 cents that i was shorted. my husband hates it.

[quotequeen]

Yes, foreign transaction fees are normal. I think there are a couple of cards out there where you can avoid them, but most cards have them.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

The foreign trans fee through paypal is peanuts compared to what you would have had for a currency conversion fee.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I think that the only credit card that does not charge a foreign transaction charge now is Capital One. Even my USAA card does, but it's half of what's normally charged.

[dudleydoright]

"am I wrong in thinking that Citi shouldn't be charging me an extra fee for this since it went through Paypal?"

I'm not sure anyone directly answered your question about the foreign currency transaction fee. The credit card companies have begun charging this fee to cover the cost of the currency exchange. You paid for the purchase in US$ and the company you bought from wanted to be paid in English pounds. Someone has to exchange the currrency.

My personal opinion is that it is just another fee that they can charge.

[TheOtherMe]

As far as I know, Capital One is the only credit card that doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee. I use that card when I'm making foreign transactions or traveling overseas.

My credit union credit card only charges 1% for it's foreign conversion fee which is much less than most other cards.

[formerexpat]

Most cards have 1-3% foreign transaction fees.

When we lived in London, my bank in the UK charged close to 3% AND they earned a spread on the rate. All in, it was about a 5% transaction cost. Basically every vacation you take has to be outside of the country!!

For all of the US banks I've used for foreign transactions, they at least use the actual exchange rate at the time of purchase.

Here are some good banks for foreign transaction fees if you use them frequently: goeurope.about.com/od/moneymatters/a/atm-card-fees.htm

[Deleted]

At the risk of being repetitive- yes, it's very common. Just like some of the junk charges airlines add for things that used to be included in your airfare, banks are tacking on conversion charges for foreign currency payments, because they can. I just sent off my payment to my Citibank Visa for a bill that included a day in London on the way home from a business trip and the surcharge was exactly 3% of the US Dollar value of all my foreign charges.

There are worse ripoffs- the exchange kiosks at the airports are pretty bad, and my bank (B of A) adds a 1% conversion fee plus a flat $5 to foreign ATM withdrawals. I've gotten raked over the coals by massive charges in the past trying to turn in foreign currency for $US back at my home bank- now I just save it for my next trip.

[Deleted]

Jan 15, 2011 8:17:54 GMT -5 Ratchets said:

So the bank is going to get a small commission either way, but the debit card is easier than cash.

Agreed- I'm on a Travel board where they're discussing the top 10 cities for pickpockets. The list is:

Barcelona
Rome
Paris
Madrid
Athens
Prague
Costa Brava in Spain
Lisbon
Tenerife in the Canary Islands
London.

DH is a pickpocket magnet. He's had his pocket picked in Rome (credit cards only), Barcelona ($50 US) and St. Petersburg, Russia ($200 worth of rubles). I had to congratulate him when I saw the list, though- we've been to Athens, Prague London and Madrid with no incidents! Carrying cash definitely has risks and costs of its own.

[Deleted]

I agree those fees don't sound so bad. I used to be able to get them waived with BofA with our weath manager but they won't do it any more.

It's actually far more expensive here in Europe. After all the Foreign transactions fees we were hit with in Switzerland I realized we were better off using my US credit card than my German debit card.

[Deleted]

Jan 15, 2011 12:08:51 GMT -5 Ratchets said:

Good lord athena, talk about your bad luck.

No, we're just fortunate enough to travel to some otherwise lovely places that have a high % of pickpockets and we know that tourists are a target. If I look back at all of the wonderful places we've been over the last 10 years and the experiences we've had, a few pickpocketing incidents can't ruin them.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

My last couple of trips, I used the ATM at the airports for cash in foreign countries. I bank with USAA, so all of my ATM withdrawals are free.

When I went back and looked at the exchange rate, the rate wasn't much different from the airports vs any of the other places that I got cash and it really wasn't horrible.

LOL.....in fact, when we were in Turkey, trying to plan out our last few days to use up the rest of our lira was pretty funny. When we got to the airport to leave, we had just enough Turkish lira left for 2 cups of coffee and 2 chocolate bars after paying for the cab.

[formerexpat]

DH is a pickpocket magnet. He's had his pocket picked in Rome (credit cards only), Barcelona ($50 US) and St. Petersburg, Russia ($200 worth of rubles). I had to congratulate him when I saw the list, though- we've been to Athens, Prague London and Madrid with no incidents! Carrying cash definitely has risks and costs of its own.

[/size]

Athena, I recommend a pair of pants with a zipper pocket on the side. I got a couple pairs of these: www.ems.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3646579

They were great for our travels.

My wallet was in the zip pocket and I could wear these pants in the churches but wear them as shorts the rest of the day...like the 100 degree day in Pompeii. A great investment for our travels in my opinion.

I too was targeted on the subway in Rome. I felt the guy's hand in my pocket...but, I was wearing a pair of these and didn't have anything in my side pocket but one of those paper maps that you carry around regularly as a tourist.