International charges on credit card: any hidden fees I should be aware of?

[Fausto]

I'm about to order the rest of the components to build my new bike up from a shop in Ireland (best prices by far even taking shipping into account). Am I going to incur any kind of extra fee for this transaction on my credit card? I couldn't find anything on MBNA's website, but this was mentioned a few times in newsgroup posts I found while researching the shop to make sure they were reputable.

Thanks.

 

[Hoober]

Originally posted by: Fausto1
I'm about to order the rest of the components to build my new bike up from a shop in Ireland (best prices by far even taking shipping into account). Am I going to incur any kind of extra fee for this transaction on my credit card? I couldn't find anything on MBNA's website, but this was mentioned a few times in newsgroup posts I found while researching the shop to make sure they were reputable.

Thanks.

Are you going to have to pay any sort of import tax or customs garbage?

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Hoober

Originally posted by: Fausto1
I'm about to order the rest of the components to build my new bike up from a shop in Ireland (best prices by far even taking shipping into account). Am I going to incur any kind of extra fee for this transaction on my credit card? I couldn't find anything on MBNA's website, but this was mentioned a few times in newsgroup posts I found while researching the shop to make sure they were reputable.

Thanks.

Are you going to have to pay any sort of import tax or customs garbage?

Nope. Bicycle components (shifters, hubs and such) aren't subject to tariffs. Other things, like shoes and spokes (?) are.

List of what's subject to import duties and what's not.

 

[BCYL]

Yeah the customs in your country will probably add some tax on the packages when they come in....

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: BCYL
Yeah the customs in your country will probably add some tax on the packages when they come in....

Again. I'm not talking about customs. I'm talking about extra fees imposed by MBNA for making an international purchase with the card.

 

[Hoober]

Originally posted by: Fausto1

Originally posted by: BCYL
Yeah the customs in your country will probably add some tax on the packages when they come in....

Again. I'm not talking about customs. I'm talking about extra fees imposed by MBNA for making an international purchase with the card.

I would assume it's like any other purchase. It's usually best to pay for stuff internationally with a credit card. You get the best exchange rate that way.

 

[Vincent]

The conventional wisdom has been that credit card companies will get you much better exchange rates than if you went to a bank to exchange currency. However, I think there may have been a recent lawsuit challenging this.