I’m scanning my RSS feeds as I usually do, when I come across an MSNBC article, “Travel Abroad for Less: Cut your expenses by keeping an eye on the cost of money.” I’ve seen enough of this type of article to have a pretty good idea about what it’s going to say, but since I’m always looking for some interesting tidbit to post, I can’t resist the urge to click. The article starts me off with the usual fluff:

You’ve got your passport and your walking shoes. You’ve spent months assembling an itinerary and brushing up on your Renaissance art. You can almost feel yourself drooling while imagining that first taste of real Italian gelato while strolling through cobblestone streets.

Alright, I’m really feeling that urge to go to Italy now — I can almost taste it. Please do tell how I’m going to save thousands on that gelato! The answer? Find a credit card that won’t charge you a foreign transaction fee on international purchases:

The survey found that both Visa and Mastercard (NYSE: MA) create profits by charging 1% processing fees for purchases you make in foreign currency, and card-issuing banks tack on an additional fee. Many cards, including those issued by Citigroup (NYSE: C), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), US Bancorp (NYSE: USB), and GE Money (NYSE: GE), charge as much as 3% on what you buy abroad. On the other hand, at least one card issuer not only doesn’t charge its own fee but also reimburses you for the Visa/Mastercard fee. (You can sneak a free peek at that bank issuer with a free Green Light trial.) [See for yourself...]

What?! I do a double take. There’s a credit card issuer out there who won’t charge me a fee, but I need to sign up for a “free trial” of Green Light to learn who it is? Now I already know there’s a credit card that reimburses fees charged by Visa and MasterCard, but I was surprised that I needed a free trial for them to tell me. (If you don’t know what the credit card is, read on, I’ll tell you — for free!) For starters, I’m reading MSNBC, so I figure the news will come with no strings attached. To MSNBC’s “credit,” this is really a “Motley Fool” article which MSNBC is reprinting, and I’m only writing about it to offer a segue into naming the mysterious card that will likely be revealed when you sign up for the free trial of Green Light: Capital One.

I’ve seen several posts from readers questioning whether Capital One has changed their policy on reimbursing card holders’ foreign transaction fees that Visa and MasterCard charge. The answer, I think, is no. Capital One still does not pass along the fee. After grilling card service representatives and scouring my credit card’s fine print and terms of service, all indications are that Capital One has not changed their policy. I’ve also manually calculated fees on foreign purchases made with my Capital One credit card and do not see any evidence of a 1% fee being assessed. Of course I don’t work for Capital One and can’t speak officially for the company. And since other readers are apparently getting mixed signals when communicating with Capital One, this might be worth keeping an eye on.

Furthermore the Washington Business Journal recently reported (for free, believe it or not) that Capital One is slashing 280 jobs and restructuring their credit card unit:

“This decision is about creating efficiencies and enabling innovation so that we can continue to compete effectively in a mature card environment,” Rakes said. [Read more...]

Changes are definitely afoot at Capital One, and I get a little queasy when businesses start talking about “creating efficiencies.” I suppose we’ll find out eventually whether, in addition to firing 280 people, these efficiencies include increasing card holder fees.

Finally, I didn’t sign up for a free trial of Green Light. I’m only assuming that the card issuer is Capital One because there is only one credit card I’m aware of who doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. If I’m wrong, please be the one to let me know!