foreign transaction fees?

Loadsamoneeey

Just got the account statement for my new sky card and it is full of foreign transaction fee charges. I buy a lot on the internet - amazon and e-bay especially so i do buy from a lot of foreign sources but I was never aware of such a thing on my Barclaycard. Is this just a SKycard thing or a mastercard thing or are these charges hidden in the conversion rate on Barclaycard? I also have a nationwide card will I avoid such charges with that card?

gt94sss2

Loadsamoneeey wrote: »

Just got the account statement for my new sky card and it is full of foreign transaction fee charges. I buy a lot on the internet - amazon and e-bay especially so i do buy from a lot of foreign sources but I was never aware of such a thing on my Barclaycard. Is this just a SKycard thing or a mastercard thing or are these charges hidden in the conversion rate on Barclaycard?

Most credit cards have exchange rate loading (apart from Nationwide) but a few also charge a separate fee per foreign transaction (in addition to the fx loading).. and thats what it seems Sky have charged you.

I also have a nationwide card will I avoid such charges with that card?

Yes - I suggest you always use your Nationwide card if ordering anything from overseas.

Regards
Sunil

Biggles

The charges are hidden in the exchange rate on your Barclaycard statement if you buy in a foreign currency. Not all CC issuers are transparent about the exchange rate loading :-(

And Sunil is right, use the Nationwide card for any foreign currency transactions.

something_2

I've had trouble recently with hidden exchange rate charges.

First of all the extra 2.75% for purchases while abroad, is hidden in the small print for my Halifax card.

Then the extra 2.75% isn't shown separately on statements, so if you only have a payment slip showing the foreign currency you don't necessarily reaslise they have changed the exchange rate in their favour.

Only when I purchased something that I can only get from Australia over the internet and the sellers showed me Australian currency and English pounds, did I find out that credit card companies alter exchange rates.

(SURELY THIS LACK OF CLARITY AND TRANSPARENCY IS SOMETHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT MARTIN?)

To make things even worse it isn't just if I go abroad (very unlikely at present) or even if I purchase something from abroad whilst in England (pretty unlikely now I know about the loading), but it can even happen while buying something in the U.K.!

I bought some CDs for £30 on credit card whilst at an exhibition in LONDON and found the amount on the statement was around £31.50 - apparently because the Halifax minimum fee is £1.50 and the people selling the CDs in London originate in the U.S.!!

I don't know how they get away with it - surely it can't cost any more for the credit card companies to process the transaction once all the coding is set up, and certainly not an extra £1.50 for a £30 transaction that occurs in London!

But then, thats credit card companies for you.

jimbo88hk

something wrote: »

I've had trouble recently with hidden exchange rate charges.

First of all the extra 2.75% for purchases while abroad, is hidden in the small print for my Halifax card.

Then the extra 2.75% isn't shown separately on statements, so if you only have a payment slip showing the foreign currency you don't necessarily reaslise they have changed the exchange rate in their favour.

Only when I purchased something that I can only get from Australia over the internet and the sellers showed me Australian currency and English pounds, did I find out that credit card companies alter exchange rates.

(SURELY THIS LACK OF CLARITY AND TRANSPARENCY IS SOMETHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT MARTIN?)

To make things even worse it isn't just if I go abroad (very unlikely at present) or even if I purchase something from abroad whilst in England (pretty unlikely now I know about the loading), but it can even happen while buying something in the U.K.!

I bought some CDs for £30 on credit card whilst at an exhibition in LONDON and found the amount on the statement was around £31.50 - apparently because the Halifax minimum fee is £1.50 and the people selling the CDs in London originate in the U.S.!!

I don't know how they get away with it - surely it can't cost any more for the credit card companies to process the transaction once all the coding is set up, and certainly not an extra £1.50 for a £30 transaction that occurs in London!

But then, thats credit card companies for you.

Yes just back from Portugal and EGG seem to have added a foreign transaction charge to each service or purchase I paid for using the card. It seems it would have been cheaper for me to have drawn the money in cash and paid that way as the exchange fee for currency appears to be capped!! Anyone know of a card that doesnt charge this fee?