Credit Card Foreign Exchange Fee Refunds

Nearly every traveler has used a credit card overseas. If you did so between 1996 and 2006, you’re probably due a refund. Visa, MasterCard, and Diners settled a class-action lawsuit that accused them of not disclosing foreign-exchange transaction fees. There are several refund options, all detailed at www.ccfsettlement.com. The simple route is if you don’t have receipts and took only a couple of trips overseas, spending less than $2,500, you can file for the flat $25 refund. Option two asks the number of days you traveled internationally during the time period. The third option, only good for obsessive record-keepers, is to submit receipts for all your travels.

Of course, today, the fees are mostly still there (see our previous posts here and here), but now they’re upfront. There are options for reducing those percentages, most specifically by using a Capital One card. Some Capital One cards (“No Hassle” miles) are even reward/mileage cards, so you can get a little something extra still (even if it’s not the best reward card program) by using those cards.