# Capital One Credit and ATM cards for Europe



## Bizzyb (Aug 15, 2010)

I'm thinking of opening a Capital One account to use their ATM and Credit Card in Europe (mainly Italy) for our upcoming trip. In the past I used my regular bank card and just sucked up the extra currency and conversion fees . . . same with my Chase Marriott Visa card.  Looking for others experience and some education with this. Thanks.


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## bellesgirl (Aug 15, 2010)

I don't know about the ATM but I use the credit card all the time.  They give an excellent exchange rate and no fees.


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## Carolinian (Aug 15, 2010)

My Cap One Visa is the card I try to use in Europe.  Great exchange rates and no junk fees.  I also have a Visa from a European bank, which has the embedded chip needed to use some machines that accept cards in western Europe.  That has only a 1% charge.

You should request a PIN for your credit card as some places in Europe you will need that for card purchases.  In most instances, US banks do not routinely issue PIN's for credit cards.


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## lvhmbh (Aug 16, 2010)

We opened a Capitol One account for use outside the country.  Even transactions in dollars were being charged 3% by the other CC companies.  Saved a bunch of money.  Linda


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## rickandcindy23 (Aug 16, 2010)

We have the Capital One Venture card and pay no foreign transaction fees.  The card has incredible FF benefits: reimburses for airline tickets, 2 cents for every dollar spent, no airline preference or blackout dates.  If I can book the airfare and pay with this card, I get the airfare reimbursement, no matter what airline I choose.  I love that card and hope they don't change it.  

So if I charge $10K on the card, pay for an airline ticket for $200, I get the reimbursement of the entire amount.  We shouldn't have to pay for much airfare from this point forward.  

The only problem I see is the Hawaii fares.  I can get our other airline tickets reimbursed, but Hawaii is too much $$ to charge on the card.  I will have to get the Alaska Card and use it for 2-for-1, as Trog suggested on another thread.  We fly economy, so it will really save us money to have that card.


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## Talent312 (Aug 16, 2010)

My only caution is that you not use any CC for an ATM cash withdrawal, only a debit card that's linked to a depository bank account, as taking cash advances with a CC is a really bad deal... fees and no grace period.

I've heard of folks prepaying a CC account to avoid that issue, but some do not allow payments for more than the current balance.


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## x3 skier (Aug 16, 2010)

Another vote for Cap One. My Amex and Citi Cards stay home because of the ridiculous fees and I carry a ATM Card from my Credit Union that had no/minimum charges for ATM withdrawals.

BTW, Amex does not now require notification for use out of the Country if you are a glutton for fees and plan to use it abroad. 

Cap One for Charges and Credit Union for ATM Cash and I am set.:whoopie: 

Cheers


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## Laurie (Aug 16, 2010)

rickandcindy23 said:


> We have the Capital One Venture card and pay no foreign transaction fees.  The card has incredible FF benefits: reimburses for airline tickets, 2 cents for every dollar spent, no airline preference or blackout dates.  If I can book the airfare and pay with this card, I get the airfare reimbursement, no matter what airline I choose.  I love that card and hope they don't change it.
> 
> So if I charge $10K on the card, pay for an airline ticket for $200, I get the reimbursement of the entire amount.  We shouldn't have to pay for much airfare from this point forward.


Cindy, isn't this a great card??  I love it too!     I don't know why I waited so long to upgrade from my regular Cap One card - guess I always look to keep the annual fees down, but this one'll pay for itself quickly.


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## andrea t (Aug 17, 2010)

Is the Capital One Venture good if I only purchase Business class seats? Say I wanted 3 bus class at $3000 each. How do you exchange points / miles for tickets?


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## Conan (Aug 17, 2010)

andrea t said:


> Is the Capital One Venture good if I only purchase Business class seats? Say I wanted 3 bus class at $3000 each. How do you exchange points / miles for tickets?


 
It couldn't be simpler. All your credit card charges accrue points at a 2% rate. Then for redemption you go online and they list all your travel-related charges (including those bus class seats, various hotel charges, even some timeshare maintenance fees depending on how they're coded) and if you have enough points you get a 2% credit.

The only problem with a $3,000 purchase is you won't be able to credit that until you have 300,000 points to redeem which means you have to have put $150,000 on the card (travel and non-travel) so it may be a whille before you can get your $3,000 credit. So smaller travel purchases cash out sooner.

Edited to add: per Laurie's comment below, if there's a 90-day expiration then you're not likely to spend $150,000 before the $3,000 purchase falls off the chart, so you may need to look at buying those tickets directly through their website if that's possible.


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## Laurie (Aug 17, 2010)

Conan said:


> The only problem with a $3,000 purchase is you won't be able to credit that until you have 300,000 points to redeem which means you have to have put $150,000 on the card (travel and non-travel) so it may be a whille before you can get your $3,000 credit.  So smaller travel purchases cash out sooner.


You can also make purchases thru their online affiliates for good amounts of bonus miles. Sears was giving 5x bonus points, maybe still is. 

We were trying to pay for our recent flights to Europe with miles, and needed some extra - so we made a couple of major appliance purchases online  - after checking prices, and theirs were competitive w/Lowes and Home Depot - then picked up our stuff at our local store in the next hour. First we'd called our store and knew exact availability. Walmart also gives bonus miles, Home Depot, many others.

You have 90 days after the purchase of your travel expenses to get credit back with miles. I think you can also pay for rental cars, hotels, etc. 

The other Cap One cards had the redemption tiers, which were a pain. The Venture card has none, just miles/dollars, any amount.

Cap One card has no chip, and there are a few places abroad it can't be used. And yes, use a separate debit card for cash withdrawals.


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## rickandcindy23 (Aug 17, 2010)

Laurie said:


> Cindy, isn't this a great card??  I love it too!     I don't know why I waited so long to upgrade from my regular Cap One card - guess I always look to keep the annual fees down, but this one'll pay for itself quickly.



How long will it last?  I hope the card continues to be as good as it is now.  Banks change things all the time.


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## Carolinian (Aug 17, 2010)

Cap One is unique in absorbing the 1% network fee.  Most big banks not only pass that on, but add another 2% for themselves although they actually do nothing more in the transaction than the network has already done.  Some smaller banks and most credit unions only charge the 1% network fee.

This has been a major marketing tool for Cap One, so I suspect they will be disinclined to change it.

If you have a major bank ATM card, watch out, as you will get popped for the 1% plus 2%, total 3% junk fees on that as well.  Cap One has an internet bank where you can get an ATM card and avoid those fees.  Also, the credit union cards usually only charge the network fee of 1%.


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## Ken555 (Aug 17, 2010)

Conan said:


> The only problem with a $3,000 purchase is you won't be able to credit that until you have 300,000 points to redeem which means you have to have put $150,000 on the card (travel and non-travel) so it may be a whille before you can get your $3,000 credit.  So smaller travel purchases cash out sooner.



This is why I use my Starwood card. The best deal I've seen so far has been transferring StarPoints to US Air in the summer, during their 50% bonus period, where 60,000 StarPoints turn into 112,500 US Air miles. For example, a business class seat to Europe on Star Alliance (via US Air) is only 100,000 miles (and can otherwise cost more than $3,000). 

If you travel domestically often, then I can see the Cap Venture card being quite beneficial, esp since it almost guarantees a minimum 2% return. For myself, I typically get more than 2% with StarPoints for hotel stays, so I'd rather earn the points there...


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## Bizzyb (Aug 17, 2010)

Carolinian said:


> Cap One is unique in absorbing the 1% network fee.  Most big banks not only pass that on, but add another 2% for themselves although they actually do nothing more in the transaction than the network has already done.  Some smaller banks and most credit unions only charge the 1% network fee.
> 
> This has been a major marketing tool for Cap One, so I suspect they will be disinclined to change it.
> 
> If you have a major bank ATM card, watch out, as you will get popped for the 1% plus 2%, total 3% junk fees on that as well.  Cap One has an internet bank where you can get an ATM card and avoid those fees.  Also, the credit union cards usually only charge the network fee of 1%.



In the past I have used my major bank ATM card and just ate the 3% fees. :annoyed: But this time I'm going to open an account with Cap One and use their ATM card for ATM cash withdrawels and get the Cap One credit card  to use for larger purchases.


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