American Express charges

jd79

I am going to the states next week and I do not have time to to obtain a Nationwide CC. Will I be charged for using my American Express? Any pointers would be much appreciated.

MPH80

jd79 wrote:

I am going to the states next week and I do not have time to to obtain a Nationwide CC. Will I be charged for using my American Express? Any pointers would be much appreciated.

Yes you will. A 2.73% charge will be levied on all foreign transactions.

Platinum CC T&Cs here:

http://www10.americanexpress.com/sif/cda/page/0,1641,22742,00.asp

Relevant section is 12.2.

M.

Trub

"A 2.73% charge will be levied on all foreign transactions"

I am looking at an Amex plat card and saw this "fee" but wondered if it was the same for other cards? I can't find anything written down for Visa etc.

I want to use my card for my company expenses which are 99% abroad. Currently have a Halifax Plat card which as well as some cashback also has a good rate of exchange, better than our company rate.

Is the Amex exchange rate worse than Visa?

pin

Amex charge works like this: 2.73% on US$ transactions. Any other currency is first converted into US$ and then you get the 2.73%.

Re Visa: http://www.corporate.visa.com/pd/consumer_ex_rates.jsp

Trub

pin wrote:

Amex charge works like this: 2.73% on US$ transactions. Any other currency is first converted into US$ and then you get the 2.73%.

Re Visa: http://www.corporate.visa.com/pd/consumer_ex_rates.jsp

So it will be slightly worse then? As it will be converted to US$ and then into GB£.... (sorry to ask again, but all this does confuse me a bit.)

pin

Trub wrote:

So it will be slightly worse then? As it will be converted to US$ and then into GB£.... (sorry to ask again, but all this does confuse me a bit.)

From the terms and conditions:

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=-1]FOREIGN CHARGES 12.1 If you make a Charge in a currency other than in Pound Sterling, that Charge will be converted into Pound Sterling. The conversion will take place on the date the Charge is processed by American Express, which may not be the same date on which you made your Charge as it depends on when the Charge was submitted to American Express. If the Charge is not in U.S. dollars, the conversion will be made through U.S. dollars, by converting the Charge amount into U.S. dollars and then by converting the U.S. dollar amount into Pound Sterling. If the Charge is in U.S. dollars, it will be converted directly into Pound Sterling.

12.2 Unless a specific rate is required by applicable law, you understand and agree that the American Express treasury system will use conversion rates based on interbank rates that it selects from customary industry sources on the business day prior to the processing date, increased by a single conversion commission of 2.73%. If Charges are converted by third parties prior to being submitted to us, any conversions made by those third parties will be at rates selected by them.

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Trub

Sorry to go on... I understand that Visa has its exchange rates, and that Amex converts into US$ before adding its charge and then converting into GB£.

So if I brought 2 items, each at say 100 euros on the same day, 1 with an Amex card and 1 with a Visa card would the final total in GB£ be the same?

Thanks for your time and understanding in helping me figure this out.

pin

Trub wrote:

Sorry to go on... I understand that Visa has its exchange rates, and that Amex converts into US$ before adding its charge and then converting into GB£.

So if I brought 2 items, each at say 100 euros on the same day, 1 with an Amex card and 1 with a Visa card would the final total in GB£ be the same?

Thanks for your time and understanding in helping me figure this out.

OK, with Amex, they have their wholesale rate. They then add the 2.73% onto it.

With visa, they have their wholesale rate. For non Euro transactions they add 1% onto it. THEN the credit card providers (like Barclaycard, etc) add their own rate (normally around 2.75%). Nationwide, does not add its own rate, hence why it is good to use when abroad.

The wholesale rate is very different from the tourist rate, and it determined by the money markets.

grumbler

pin wrote:

...With visa, they have their wholesale rate. For non Euro transactions they add 1% onto it.

Could you post a link for 1%, please?

pin

grumbler wrote:

Could you post a link for 1%, please?

Hi

I got this info when I emailed Visa about a year ago. Also mentioned in Martin's article:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1144408001,55256,

"The Issuer Fee is the load Visa adds itself, which has a standard setting of 0% inside Europe and 1% for the rest of the world."

However it seems Visa has changed their issuer fee technique. See in their FAQ:

http://www.corporate.visa.com/pd/consumer_ex_faq.jsp

"Effective April 2, Visa assesses a 1% International Service Assessment (ISA). The ISA is not a currency conversion fee but rather a charge to issuing banks when transactions use the global payment system. It is not a charge to cardholders. The ISA will also be charged to Issuers on same currency, cross-border transactions like DCC. Visa will no longer charge issuing banks the 1% Multicurrency conversion fee. It is important to note that Issuing banks determine the cardholder pricing structure. If you frequently travel internationally, the different pricing structures charged by issuing banks should be one of the factors you take into consideration when you select the Visa card that best suits your needs, just as you would compare annual fees, interest rates and rewards programs."