I send money to the Philippines every month and recently noticed that BC is charging me an extra $10 per trans. Is this standard practice with all lenders or should I use a diff card. What about CO? Any advice would be appreciated.
@morgacj2004 wrote:I send money to the Philippines every month and recently noticed that BC is charging me an extra $10 per trans. Is this standard practice with all lenders or should I use a diff card. What about CO? Any advice would be appreciated.
Is it being billed by Xoom or is it being counted as a Cash Advance? First scenario (somewhat common for same as cash things like this or various loan payment w/CC options) you're stuck, second one you might try a different CC. Determine where your fee is coming from and how it's assessed, then determine plan based cost... vis a vis a 2% default spender on $600/month or whatever you come out slightly ahead if it's a fixed fee.
It's billed by BC not Xoom. Xoom charges a flat fee of $7.99 per transaction. I usually send $300-$600 per trans.
@morgacj2004 wrote:
It's billed by BC not Xoom. Xoom charges a flat fee of $7.99 per transaction. I usually send $300-$600 per trans.
Try a different card though I suspect it's on MCC which triggers the cash advance-like fee. Should be in the interface listing why you got charged the fee.
In any event, you may want to see if either a Debit card or ACH transaction avoids the majority of those fees anyway, sort of lame that the banks are likely charging both Xoom and the consumer in this case. Also if your situation permits, wouldn't be a bad idea to see if you can start doing every other month or similar just to keep the expenses down.
Try a different credit card...This is one place some of the CU cards can shine... Another time some companies charge a cash advance fee is for crowdsourcing (Kickstarter/Indiegogo as well as even PAYPAL purchases (not just transfers) and/or/on Ebay)..... If your score supports it, it might be good to apply for another card if you find yourself handling this type of transaction..
For example...
Currently the CU I use... offers..
- Same low rate for purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances. <---THIS
- No annual fees or balance transfer fees.
- No fee for cash advances or convenience checks.<-- and THIS
- 25-day grace period.
Plus the current "best rate" is 8.49%
(Only wish it was no FTF, since its a govt. affiliated CU, it does offer pass-through FTF which is usually 1-1 1/2%)
