dukkar

I got Capital One's no foreign fee credit card that does not charge any fees at all for foreign transactions...neither Capital One charges anything nor Visa/Mastercard. Is that a better option than using an ATM/debit card because my bank will charge a fee for withdrawing foreign currency. I'll be traveling to Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Dukkar

janisj

If you mean to charge things - sure, that is a good cc to have.

But don't use it as in an "ATM" to get cash. There are no fees when charging, but there ARE fees plus extra interest when used to get a cash advance from an ATM.

So you will still use an ATM card to get whatever cash you need.

Dukey

I absolutely agree with Janis' excellent advice.

cheryllj

I've never been to those countries in particular, but you will always need cash for day to day small expenses, and a lot of the smaller restaurants may not take credit cards. So you will still need to use an ATM card to get cash. (Of course you shouldn't use a credit card in an ATM except as a last resort b/c it's crazy expensive to get a cash advance as janisj says, and that's just as true at home as it is when traveling).

You may not be able to do much about the fees charged by your bank but it's good to be aware of them so you won't be so shocked when you get your bank statement. Capital One does offer an online savings account and a no-fee ATM card (as do other banks), but it probably isn't a big enough deal to worry about, and you will minimize fees by maximizing the amount of your withdrawals (cheaper to take out 500eu every few days than 50eu a day). Also check up on your daily withdrawal limits so you aren't socked with overage fees. Some banks will increase your limits if you ask.

dukkar

Sorry, I should have clarified. I was talking about using Capital One simply as a credit card; not as an ATM card. I have the ATM/debit card from my bank.

ira

Hi dukk,

Get an ATM/Debit card from https://www.schwab.com/

Ackislander

I spent a fair amount of time in Zagreb trying to find an ATM that would take my US ATM card, which had worked perfectly in the terminal in Frankfurt. It took long enough that I actually had to exchange Euros from the Frankfurt ATM at a bank, and i needed kuna for small transactions, as Cheryllj notes. Eventually, I found a bank whose ATM's would accept my card and was able to use them throughout Croatia.

Nothing to be worried about, but be prepared to spend the time until you connect. By the way, waiting to change money in a Croatian bank is an interesting cultural experience.

Dukey

Here's a further suggestion. On occasion, we have tried to use our ATM cards in machines and they have been rejected for whatever reason.

If that happens, go to another machine...as has been the case with us it may have been an issue with the machine or with the bank but don't get panicky if this happens to you.