Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: orkrious who wrote (68988)	8/28/2006 8:53:17 PM
From: Elroy Jetson	Respond to of 110194

American Express charges a very unfavorable exchange rate on foreign purchases. This is more expensive than the extremely favorable exchange plus 1% charged by Visa International and Mastercard. In addition, American Express also charges a 2% fee, as do most issuers of Visa and Mastercards. So in total, Visa and Mastercard effectively charges a 3% fee on foreign purchases while American Express effectively charges around 5%, depending on the currency. When I had an American Express card I found they rarely lived up to their promises and were generally more expensive in every way possible. *************** How to avoid surcharges** Don't use your Visa or MasterCard overseas until you've questioned your card's issuer about fees added to foreign-currency or "cross-border" transactions. (Check before each trip, because policies may change on short notice.) If your credit-card company is one of the offenders, look for an issuer that doesn't have surcharges--though you may have trouble finding one now that Capital One (US) and MNBA, two of the holdouts, reportedly have joined the surcharge crowd. If you have an American Express account, use your card only when absolutely necessary. europeforvisitors.com American Express Hidden Transaction Fees Litigation Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, has filed a lawsuit, Ball v. American Express, Case No. CV024562 (San Joaquin Superior Court), on behalf of California cardholders alleging that American Express ("AMEX") routinely overcharges credit cardholders for purchases made outside of the United States by applying an unfair and unfavorable foreign exchange rate and/or charging fees above and beyond the 2% fee listed in the American Express card's Terms and Conditions. American Express has entered into a Settlement Agreement in a separate case, Lipuma v. American Express (S.D. Fla.), relating to claims that American Express charges a 2% transaction fee for foreign purchases and does not fully disclose it. Information about that Settlement can be found at lipumasettlement.com. lieffcabraser.com .