Purchases Overseas

Day by Day it's getting pricier to charge
purchases overseas on your credit card. For
years some credit card companies have
charged a 1 to 2 percent fee for converting
purchases into dollars. Now the weak greenback
makes those fees even more painful.

Currency exchange fees are also becoming
more widespread. MBNA just initiated a 2
percent conversation fee for the first time; MasterCard and visa are
expanding their fees to include foreign purchases made in U.S. dollars.

What can you do? There are still companies that don't charge the added
fee, including Capital One and HSBC. Just keep an eye on the fine print.

In related news on dollar value ...
In currency trading, the dollar bought 110.62 yen on the Tokyo foreign
exchange market Tuesday morning, up 0.34 yen from late Monday and
above the 110.61 yen it bought later that day in New York. The euro fell
to $1.2224 from $1.2326 late Monday.