problem with French Visa card in the USA

[cell]

Bonjour everyone,

A few months ago I moved to a new job in France and have to go to the USA and Canada quite frequently.

So far I have been using La Poste Visa in France (not Premier account) but after checking my bill

after recent trip to the USA found out that their exchange rate is ridiculous and they charge you

for any transaction a minimum fee of 2$. I got used to use Visa all the time in France and did the

same in the USA but lost lots of money on that. So, I would like to ask if someone can suggest

another French bank or solution to have a better exchange rate and maybe no transaction fees in the USA?..

Actually, I just had the same problem with money transfers to and from the USA using La Poste recently.

They claim that they have a very low fee for transfers but they really get lots of money on a very

bad exchange rate. For example, my colleagues sent me 2000$ and payed just 25$ for that, but I got

only 1300 euro instead of 1450 euro (official exchange rate). I will be very grateful for suggestions

to minimize my losses during money transfers between US and France?..

Thanks a lot in advance !!!

[Payrac-man]

Hi

Open an account with Bank of america or another bank and transfer money with Hifx or similar. you then have a debit card and chequebook

[cell]

Do you mean to open a bank account in the French branch of the Bank of America

or while in the USA (in the last case I guess I will not be able to do it since I am not

a US resident?). If in France, will this account be in $?.. But do they have a good

rate to convert from $ to euro?..

Thanks!

[LangeHaas]

I actually looked into opening a US bank account a few months ago, and to make a long story short: you have to be a US resident (has to do with the usual anti-terrorism-stuff). PO Box will not work either. Local branches can't do it either.

Maybe it's possible in Canada?

Do you go there for your job? If so, maybe your company can get you a card?

You can open a US$ account at a major bank in France. This way you will not lose money on the exchange rate, but they do charge a hefty transfer fee (I paid $60 at the US bank and $200 locally once). Cheapest way is to bring cash and deposit it yourself.

[Russethouse]

 I opened an American bank account in 2004, there is more paperwork but I didn't have to be a US resident. I was there when I opened it so they saw me in person.

[minnie]

How about a Caxton fx pre-paid currency card. You load it up before you go on your trip with the currency you want and just use it whilst in America. Have a look on Caxton fx website.

[Pads]

Open an account with the HSBC they dont charge for using in USA and the exchange rate is good , I have a dollar euro and pound accounts with them so I can transfer money between them when the rate is good aswell for no charge

[cell]

Thanks a lot for all your replies!

If HSBC doesn't charge for using card in the USA, it can be a good option if they exchange

rate is good too, but from what I heard they have a very high annual fee for most of the accounts

(which drives me mad because I had HSBC account while staying in Edinburgh many years ago,

it was totally free and they continuously upgraded my Visa to golden and then platinum

for free while I have been just working at the University so didn't have lots of money ;) )

I will try to check it out ...

I will also check Caxton fx pre-paid currency card.

As for getting a company card - they are thinking about introducing it in the future

but for now we have to pay ourselves and of course the company will not cover

non-job related spendings (outside working hours or weekends). Also my relatives

moved to the USA so I plan to visit the USA more often now ...

Thanks!!!

[Steve Hardy]

Hey

I checked out Caxton some time ago - they're good, one of the better cards available, but the one I went for was the FairFX card. Their exchange rates always seem to be a bit better. Get all 3 of their cards (euro, dollars and anywhere) to save you the most money. Have a great trip!