Which credit card for Spain?

[mshatty Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close mshatty]

My DD is heading to Spain for spring semester. I know that there are some credit cards out there that are better for making charges in Europe/Spain.

Any recommendations?

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

I have a Schwab Visa card and it doesn't charge the 3% international fee. Have used it in Aruba and Canada. Not sure the best one for Spain. When our youngest daughter went on a school sponsored trip to Europe we got her a Visa Debit - Cash Card at AAA, but she was only there for a couple of weeks.

[bellesgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bellesgirl]

We have the Schwab ATM card with the Visa logo. We were told that they did not charge a foreign exchange fee. But when we used the ATM in Europe, we were dismayed to learn that the exchange rate was about 3% worse than the going rate for that day. So we stopped using it in England last year and used our Capital One card. As far as I can tell, Capital One is the only one that is a true zero fee card.

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

My credit union credit card charged me the 1% exchange fee that VISA charged them and no more. They also didn't charge me to make ATM withdrawals.

[mshatty Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close mshatty]

Thanks for the info. I will call my credit card company and find out the scoop on it. If it's bad, I'll probably try the Capital One card because it sounds like the best.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Contact Hoc I believe he was just there this past weekend.

[x3skier Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close x3skier]

Used my Capital One for charges and Credit Union for ATM withdrawals in Europe many times. Minimum fees and accepted everywhere.

Cheers

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

CapOne is the card for overseas. There is also a CapOne online bank for ATM withdrawals without the nuisance fees.

[mshatty Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close mshatty]

Vista or Mastercard with CapOne? or does it matter?

[x3skier Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close x3skier]

Vista or Mastercard with CapOne? or does it matter?

Either one is fine. Mine is MC and a friend has Visa. Same minimum charges for both.

Cheers

[Hoc Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Hoc]

CapitalOne doesn't charge nuisance fees, so that is often the best with regard to overall exchange rates.