Over the last couple weeks more and more people have been receiving claims notifications for the CCF class action settlement. Details about the case have been available to the public for over a year now, but the claim forms for the lawsuit changed in September. Changes to the form include a new Easy Refund for people who traveled outside of the U.S. for less than a week or spent less than $2,500 on foreign currency transactions with eligible credit cards.

Though the new forms were meant to make filing a claim easier, many people are uncomfortable sharing credit card details and personal information with the “settlement administrator.” Others are off-put by the whopping 27.5% fee of an estimated $313,000,000 that the law firm will be requesting from the settlement funds. The law firm also asks to be reimbursed for their expenses — which will not exceed $5,000,000. As such, some people are opting out of the settlement. What will you do?

 Loading …

There have been quite a few great comments, emails and updates lately, but I want to draw attention to few that offer some valuable insights to this issues that have been popular here lately:

First off, there have been some rumors that Capital One either has increased (or will soon increase) the amount they charge for international transactions. Velvet Jones is keeping an eye on Capital One’s foreign transaction fees and has this to add:

I just called Capital One this morning and confirmed that:

1. They do not charge a foreign transaction fee; and
2. It is their policy not to pass on the fee from Visa.

It wasn’t hard to get that question answered. As a matter of fact the woman on the phone said I asked a very good question and asked that I hold while she investigated. She came back confirming my point #2. As a matter of fact it sounded like she was reading some kind of official statement on it. I plan to call again next month before I travel to make sure the policy hasn’t changed. Because I’m an anal dork like that.
: /

(read more…)

That’s good news.  Only the future will tell what Capital One might do with their fees, but it seems they’re still one of the most competitive credit cards for low foreign transaction fees on the market today.

Elsewhere, in response to this post, Joanne writes to tell us that the Canadian Government has reinstated rebates for some visitors:

From what I can tell, the Canadian government has reinstated some of the tax rebate but it’s only for conventions and tours. Forget about us lowly souls that populate hotels & motels, B&Bs, campgrounds, and cottages and bring in millions of tourist dollars. I didn’t even know about the elimination of the program until I was getting a receipt for a week’s lodging. This was the fourth time I’d been to Canada in the course of five years and I had filed twice. Once I did not file because a friend had the lodging in her name and I did not buy enough goods to qualify.

But two previous years that I went up, I spent significant amounts (for me, anyway) on schools supplies and school clothes for my school-aged child. After I was told about the end of the tax rebate I didn’t shop as much as I had planned. I still wasn’t sure about the rebate but when I looked it up I found that my B&B owner was indeed correct.

I’m not likely to take a tour or go to a convention, but I will return to Canada again. I won’t bother to head to the mall to spend much money unless the exchange rate gets better. Why should I pay 14% to 15% tax on something that I spend 5% tax on here? Since I live in Massachusetts I don’t even pay tax on clothing and I can easily go to New Hampshire if I want to save more taxes.

I don’t think I’m alone - we saw far fewer cars with US license plates at the mall, and fewer US cars in general. It’s too bad - between the new US rules on passports, and the Canadian near-elimination of the tax rebate, it will be hard for us to convince anyone they should travel to Canada.

And finally, in regards to HSBC increasing foreign transaction fees on their banking and ATM services, several readers have written comments or emails to confirm this reality.

Thanks eveyone who takes the time to send tips and updates  — they’re what keep this site trucking!

Hardly a week goes by when I don’t hear another horror story about flying in the US. Long lines, grumpy crews, flight delays, and overbooked flights are just a few of the issues. But that still doesn’t seem to stop people from flying, and it certainly doesn’t stop them from looking for the absolute cheapest flight they can find. When I’m asked who I book with, I give my usual run around — I say it depends on where you want to fly, which airlines serve those areas, and what level of service you’re looking for. But that doesn’t stop me from having a favorite booking service. I can’t guarantee I’m getting the best deals when I use it, but I have an account setup there, and I like the user interface. That’s probably not the best criteria to use for deal-hunting, but it is what keeps me coming back.

In case you’re wondering (and in the interest of not biasing anyone), I’ve made my vote below just like everyone else!

 Loading …

It’s not uncommon for me to get “best of” questions, such as:

• What is the best travel insurance?
• What is the best debit card?
• What is the best way to exchange currency?
• Where is the best place to get discount airline tickets?

I believe these question do have answers, but I also think that “the best” product or service also varies depending on individual needs. Secondly, while I often have my own opinion regarding what the best product or service is for my own particular situation, I can see other products being better for people in different circumstances. That’s why I’m usually very tentative when answering “best of” questions.

That said, in my experience, the most informative answers to “best of” questions come from communities such as this one. In my view, groups offer the best answers to “best of” questions — the best of the best if you will. That’s why we’re adding a new polling feature to answer frequent “best of” questions. To get things rolling, our first user survey will answer perhaps the most common question I’m asked: “What is the best credit card for international travel?”

A few obvious factors to consider include:

• What kind of travel benefits does the card have?
• Does the card have travel rewards?
• How much does the credit card company charge for foreign currency transactions?
• Can the card holder be charge for dubious DCC transactions?
• How good is the credit card’s customer service — especially when it comes to reporting theft or loss from a foreign country?
• What is the card’s annual fee?

Anyway, you get the idea. Here’s the poll:

 Loading …

After waiting months I can finally estimate how much money I’ll be earning from a settlement that has been reached between several major credit card companies and consumers.

The lawsuit is about the price cardholders of Visa-, MasterCard-, or Diners Club-branded payment cards were charged to make transactions in a foreign currency, or with a foreign merchant, between February 1, 1996 and November 8, 2006. Plaintiffs challenge how the prices of credit and debit/ATM card foreign transactions were set and disclosed, including claims that Visa, MasterCard, their member banks, and Diners Club conspired to set and conceal fees, typically of 1-3% of foreign transactions, and that Visa and MasterCard inflated their base exchange rates before applying these fees. The Defendants include Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, Bank of America, Bank One/First USA, Chase, Citibank, MBNA, HSBC/Household, and Washington Mutual/Providian. They deny the Plaintiffs’ claims and say they have done nothing wrong, improper, or unlawful. [read more...]

Many of us should start receiving claim forms in the mail, but if you can’t wait for yours to come, you can download a claim form here [.pdf file].

CCFSettlement.com will also allow you to submit claim forms online.

Here are a few important items from the FAQ that stood out to me:

• Do I need to list the dates of my foreign transactions?

  No. However, you must separately total up your transactions for the period 02/01/96 to 12/31/96, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 1/1/2006 to 11/8/06, and list the totals for each period in the appropriate space on the claim form.

• Will my claim be audited?

  All claims are subject to audit. Please keep proof of your eligible transactions until your claim has been processed. By submitting a claim, you authorize your bank and the settlement administrator to provide and share information to verify your status or claims.

• May I submit more than one claim?

No, you must submit all claims you have at the same time. You may, however, attach additional pages to your claim form if all of your transactions do not fit on one form. Do not submit more than one claim form.

• How will the amount of my refund be determined?

If you are eligible for a refund, the amount of the refund will depend on the bank that issued your credit and/or debit/ATM card, the dollar amount of your foreign transaction fees (apart from any alleged increase in base exchange rates), the amount of money available to pay claims and the number and total dollar value of all valid claims filed. You might get only a partial refund, or, in some circumstances, your claim might be adjusted upwards.

• Who will determine the amount to be refunded to me?

  A third party administrator will review all claims and determine the refund amounts.

This is an important settlement for all those who have traveled internationally and used a credit card anytime over the last 10 years, and I’d encourage everyone to take advantage of this opportunity to recoup some of those fees.

Finally, I’ll be setting up sections in the forum so that we can discuss the lawsuit outcomes further, keep tabs on what other people are earning, and to answer questions about how to file claims. Sharing information about credit card foreign transaction fees is one of the main reasons I setup this site, so this is a great day for me…and hopefully just the beginning!