Using Your Credit Card When Traveling Abroad
You’re on vacation abroad and enjoying lazy days on a tropical beach, shopping for souvenirs and eating some of the local cuisine. It’s very convenient to cover these costs using your credit card - no need to convert cash to the local currency or try to work out foreign bank machines.
You might be in for a shock when you get back home and read your next credit card statement. Your credit card provider is probably charging you a “foreign currency conversion fee” of up to 3%, and sometimes another “transaction fee” on top of that. Additionally, some overseas merchants will charge you up to 6% to convert the cost into US$ before they charge it to your card.
But don’t throw away your credit card just yet. Despite these frightening fees, with a bit of care they could still be the cheapest way for you to pay for your purchases when traveling abroad. Before you travel, check with your credit card provider about what fees they will charge you. Investigate transferring cash into your credit card and using it as a debit card. Paying for parts of your holiday through your travel agent before you leave can also help. Be informed and you’ll still be able to enjoy your vacation and not be in for a terrible shock when you get the bill later.
Tags: credit card | currency | travel
This entry was posted on Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 at 4:56 am and is filed under Credit & Debit Cards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
