Fees and Terms and Penalties Oh My!

So many charges, so little time.

I'm planning ahead for my quick "city break" in Europe with my boyfriend next week. My budget analysis showed that I was losing around 10 pounds each time I took a trip abroad on transaction fees. So I took this opportunity to figure out which of my various cards is best to use abroad. I figured it was also a good idea to summarize the general fee/interest rate situation account for each card while I was at it.

(Actually, this particular activity was inspired by one of my recent crises. When my computer crashed, it looked like I was going to need to buy a new laptop for this year, but I definitely don't have the funds. I was considering carrying a balance on my credit card for the first time ever - gasp! - and wanted to sort out which card was the best bet. In related news, Apple has a pretty good deal going with a 12 month no interest - as long as you make all minimum payments and pay it off in 12 months! - payment plan for its new laptops. It is of course linked to a credit card and has a pretty steep 21 - 23% interest rate after the 12 months. Check it out here but don't miss the fine print.)

Here's what I came up with...

U.S. Checking #1
$8.95 monthly maintenance fee
3% international transaction fee for purchases
1% international transaction fee for ATM withdrawals
$5.00 ATM charge for out-of-network ATMs (Barclays in UK, BNP Paribas in France, Scotiabank in Canada)

U.S. Mastercard
7.90% variable interest rate
25 day grace period
3% international transaction fee
$15 minimum payment

U.S. Visa
12.24% variable interest rate
3% international transaction fee

UK Checking
2.75% international transaction fee for purchases and ATM withdrawals
2% ATM fee for international ATM withdrawals

UK Mastercard
2.75% international transaction fee
5 pound or 2.5% minimum payment

So the long and the short of it is that for ATM withdrawals, my U.S. debit card has the lowest fees at in network ATMs, but I'll still get hit with the crappy exchange rate. But the UK debit card is crazy with the fees! With that one I'd get hit twice, once for the currency conversion and once for the ATM fee.

For purchases, though, the U.K. credit card has the lowest fee. Sadly, I lost the pin (yes, U.K. credit cards require a pin for transactions, crazy I know) about 9 months ago, so unless it's a swipe machine I'll be out of luck. (Don't worry, I asked them to resend the pin and it will be waiting for me when I return to Ox). So coming in at 2nd place for purchases at a 3% transaction fee are the U.S. Checking, the U.S. Mastercard, and the U.S. Visa.

So, I'll be getting myself to a BNP Paribas ATM for any cash withdrawals. Since I only have $200 in my U.S. checking (cringe! and that's thanks the the $75 of Visa rewards points I just cashed in), I'll stick to my U.S. credit cards for emergency purchases. The Mastercard will be my best bet because it has the lower interest rate, in case I end up having to carry a balance for a month or so while I sort out my financial "issues."

Here's hoping my stipend check deposits into my U.K. checking before October 1 so I can pay my rent!