Food, Home and Style

Traveling Tight: Don’t Get Fleeced by Currency Conversion Fees

Money’s tight. So every penny counts when you’re on the road…

Psst. You may be incurring up to 3 percent in currency-conversion fees when you travel abroad every time you use your credit card. In recent years, banks have started piling fees right on top of the standard 1 percent fee that Visa and MasterCard charge for foreign purchases. Why? Because they think you’re too jet-lagged to notice. It pays to shop around for a bank that doesn’t tack on charges. Capital One doesn’t charge a fee and even absorbs fees assessed by Visa and Mastercard. Check with the fine people at indexcreditcards.com for a list of major credit card companies and what they charge for foreign transactions.

Also, be sure to find out if your bank charges fees for using an overseas ATM. Some will slap you with up to $3 for each withdrawal. And if you have to convert cash, never do it at the airport or hotel. If at all possible, go to the bank. But you knew that already.

Tags: Food, Home and Style, personal finance, Spending and Saving, travel