Too many replies and too much disorganized info, let's focus on updating at Flyertalk's wiki page
FlyerTalk's much better formatted table
http://www.flyertalk.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange
how about we also keep updating at FATWALLET too...
Please update if you learn that anyone of these is incorrect. When updating include the entire fee with the 1% visa/MC included. THANKS!
The following info comes from articles at Bankrate, USA Today, and Consumer-action.org
Each of these includes the 1% visa or MC fee:
3%
Bank of America, Cambridge Bank and Trust, Citibank, Citizens Bank, Commerce Bank, First National Bank of Omaha, JP Morgan Chase, MBNA, Metropolitan National, National City Bank, Ranier Pacific Bank, Target Visa, US Bank and Wells Fargo
2%
American Express, BB&T Bank, Charles Schwab (FIA), Merrill (FIA), Helena National Bank, Juniper Bank, Pulaski Bank
1%
Household, HSBC, Providian (some cards), Fidelity FIA (YMMV - some accounts are being charged 3%), PenFed, USAA, State Farm Bank
No Fees
Amalgamated Bank
BMW Bank
Tompkins Trust Company
Discover (note: None until May 1, 2009; then, 2% of the U.S. dollar amount)
Charles Schwab Invest First Visa Credit Card
Capital One -confirmed 02/01/06 (I just returned from Egypt/Jordan and used my Capital One card for the whole trip and there were no fees added)
ellory said: As of 12/07 I have used a CapOne Cash Back rewards card in Australia. No fees. And no need to have a mortgage for application}
Me too - 12/06 trip to Israel, no fees and good rates on No Hassle Cash card. No mortgage or any other Cap1 accounts.
yeastbeast said: Still true as of 4/07. My No Hassle Cash card incurred no fees and even yielded 2% at foreign supermarkets
psychtobe said: Definitely still true 3/08. No fees, no jacked up currency exchange rates. Essentially wholesale rates for 10 days in Italy.
Still true in 9/08. No fees as always to Australia.
psychtobe said: Still true 11/08. No fees, good rates x 10 days in Spain.
psychtobe said: Still true 5/09, Israel and Jordan. No fees and rates within 1/2% of wholesale.
The following is an older list and may or may not include the 1% fee charged by visa and mc:
Columbus Bank & Trust 2%
FNBO/Emigrant Savings Bank 1% - 2%
First Tennessee Bank 1%
Huntington Direct Bank 2%
People%u2019s Bank 2%
Sovereign Bank 2%
WAMU now Chase 1% on ATMs November 2008
As of 10/06, there is still no transaction fee on my Charles Schwab (MBNA) card. 0%. Nothing at all. Update: As of May 2007, Charles Schwab charges 2% of the transaction amount as the fee, which puts it on par with Am.Ex. and slightly better than many other MC/Visa cards with 3% FX fee.
Bank Cards
Citibank Debit: 0% only at citibank branch, 3% elsewhere (including 7-Elevens, verified in Taiwan, 02/2007)
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AFAIK, no one has been able to specifically confirm that they were not charged a 1% fee when using a plain (non-MC/non-VISA) ATM card (from any bank) overseas. It does not seem to be disclosed and the CSRs at all the banks just guess when asked.
Maybe a hidden 0.5%, 0.75%, or 1% is buried in the transaction somewhere, but from feedback provided by FW posters, Bank of America, USAA, and credit unions seem to be offer competitive exchange rates for plain (non-MC/non-VISA) ATM usage.
Most bank assess a Foreign ATM fee ($1.50 for non-HSBC ATM, $1 for PayPal, $1.50 for Capital One), but unless you plan on making many small withdrawals (20E here, 40E there) via ATM the better exchange rates win out over any $1.50 fee. Bank of America has Global alliance to help avoid the Foreign ATM fee, but otherwise their Foreign ATM fee is $5 plus any FOREX. Chase is horrible with a $10 Foreign ATM fee.
Yeah, a few banks out there will rebate all or some Foreign ATM fees each month, but they have not been tested out and any savings might be eaten up by a mediocre exchange rate. Schwab HighYield Checking seem to rebate ATM fees.
Since most travelers to western (or other countries with entrenched ATM networks) will want to charge as much as possible via CC, the typical traveler will really not need much cash. $500 might be enough cash for the whole vacation. Get it in one or two shots via ATM, and thats it. If you know you will need $10k of cash for a specific reason (e.g. buying diamonds in Tel Aviv), then it might be worth someone's time to research more thoroughly. And in such a case, a bank wire is probably the safest, cheapest, and customary method to complete such a purchase.
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NYT Article-2006
Pack the Right Credit Card, NY Times Jan 2009
