Hello All,
I am trying to decide what to do. I'll be doing business with a Canadian merchant on a monthly basis, and all of my cards (except for the Ring) charge a hefty Foreign Transaction Fee (2.7%-3%). The merchant doesn't take American Express (Visa and MasterCard only), so my Visa has a 3% FTF, and my MC has a 1% FTF. Would it be worthwhile to find a no FTF card? I didn't really want to open any more accounts, but it looks like it would save me some money to do so. What do you guys think? I wasn't really wanting to open an account with Cap1 either since I've read horror stories here and elsewhere. So other than Cap1, what other major credit card (other than Chase) offer no FTFs? I would love to have the Arrival, but I apped for it last month and was declined. The only other card I'm interested in at the moment is Huntington Voice, and it has no FTFs, but I feel like I should probably garden for at least 6 more months before apping for it. What do you guys think? Should I just deal with it and pay the 1% to Barclays?
@chwebb1 wrote:Hello All,
I am trying to decide what to do. I'll be doing business with a Canadian merchant on a monthly basis, and all of my cards (except for the Ring) charge a hefty Foreign Transaction Fee (2.7%-3%). The merchant doesn't take American Express (Visa and MasterCard only), so my Visa has a 3% FTF, and my MC has a 1% FTF. Would it be worthwhile to find a no FTF card? I didn't really want to open any more accounts, but it looks like it would save me some money to do so. What do you guys think? I wasn't really wanting to open an account with Cap1 either since I've read horror stories here and elsewhere. So other than Cap1, what other major credit card (other than Chase) offer no FTFs? I would love to have the Arrival, but I apped for it last month and was declined. The only other card I'm interested in at the moment is Huntington Voice, and it has no FTFs, but I feel like I should probably garden for at least 6 more months before apping for it. What do you guys think? Should I just deal with it and pay the 1% to Barclays?
3% on each transaction adds up. I would try for the Chase CSP card, since your merchant won't take AmEx.
@indiolatino61 wrote:
@chwebb1 wrote:Hello All,
I am trying to decide what to do. I'll be doing business with a Canadian merchant on a monthly basis, and all of my cards (except for the Ring) charge a hefty Foreign Transaction Fee (2.7%-3%). The merchant doesn't take American Express (Visa and MasterCard only), so my Visa has a 3% FTF, and my MC has a 1% FTF. Would it be worthwhile to find a no FTF card? I didn't really want to open any more accounts, but it looks like it would save me some money to do so. What do you guys think? I wasn't really wanting to open an account with Cap1 either since I've read horror stories here and elsewhere. So other than Cap1, what other major credit card (other than Chase) offer no FTFs? I would love to have the Arrival, but I apped for it last month and was declined. The only other card I'm interested in at the moment is Huntington Voice, and it has no FTFs, but I feel like I should probably garden for at least 6 more months before apping for it. What do you guys think? Should I just deal with it and pay the 1% to Barclays?
3% on each transaction adds up. I would try for the Chase CSP card, since your merchant won't take AmEx.
I have previously had a bad experience with Chase, so I really don't want one of their cards right now. And the fee I'd be paying is 1% on my Barclaycard Ring. So I guess my question is "Is it better to pay 1% to Barclays, or app before I feel like I'm ready to?".
Honestly, I think it all comes down to economics.
How much do you spend per year at the Canadian merchant? Times that by your FTF. Is it worth it, to you, to save $X by getting another card? If so, is $X > $Y, with $Y being an annual fee from some cards, like the CSP, that don't have an foreign transaction fee? If not, then you probably shouldn't go that route and might look at non-AF cards with no FTF. If $X > $Y, or if you find a card without an AF that you like, then it seems like a no brainer to get it and use it for those purchases.
@phonic wrote:Honestly, I think it all comes down to economics.
How much do you spend per year at the Canadian merchant? Times that by your FTF. Is it worth it, to you, to save $X by getting another card? If so, is $X > $Y, with $Y being an annual fee from some cards, like the CSP, that don't have an foreign transaction fee? If not, then you probably shouldn't go that route and might look at non-AF cards with no FTF. If $X > $Y, or if you find a card without an AF that you like, then it seems like a no brainer to get it and use it for those purchases.
I don't think I want to have to pay an AF for this card. And I just can't decide since I really want to app for the Arrival at the end of the year. And I don't want to risk my chances of not getting approved.
So I tried for the Huntington Voice card, and it said something to the effect of "Not available to people in your area who aren't already our customer.". So I decided I'll just pay Barclays their 1% fee. And the conversion rate (even with the fee) is very fair. I wasn't expecting it to be that good. Their conversion rate is lower than what Wolfram Alpha said it should be, even with the fee.
@FinStar wrote:
@chwebb1 wrote:So I tried for the Huntington Voice card, and it said something to the effect of "Not available to people in your area who aren't already our customer.". So I decided I'll just pay Barclays their 1% fee. And the conversion rate (even with the fee) is very fair. I wasn't expecting it to be that good. Their conversion rate is lower than what Wolfram Alpha said it should be, even with the fee.
So, at the end of the day, you saved yourself a tradeline (even an AF) and a HP. Seems like the FTF would be a nominal amount, unless the volume or transactions were considerably higher. So, good outcome indeed.
I honestly think it'll probably just be at most $200/year, so they can definitely take the fee. I won't complain.