Capital One not always cheaper abroad

dagshar

I recently applied for a Capital One card using the link on MSE for Capital One Classic Extra as I wanted it specifically for using abroad. I received a Capital One Platinum card and when I checked it was confirmed that this also did not have a foreign use fee. To compare I used this and another credit card in germany on the same day. Having checked both statements, the other credit card actually worked out cheaper (even after I included the small transaction fee in the calculation) than the Capital One card.


After talking to several people at C1 again it was confirmed that my account is a Classic Extra with no foreign transaction fee. In this case, my Nat West credit card was actually better for using in Germany as it used a better exchange rate than C1 that made up even for the NW fee. So even though a card may not charge a fee, it looks like it doesn't necessarily make it cheaper if it uses a worse exchange rate. Anyone else had this experience?

grumbler

You are definitely missing something. Natwest charge 2.75% and can't be better.
Post the real figures (all related transactions) or fragments of your statements.

Any chance your C1 transaction was in ££, i.e. you fall victim of Direct Currency Conversion?