SlowpokeBlog

This may be old news to some of you, but when Mr. Slowpoke and I got our credit card bill covering our recent trip to Toronto, we were shocked to find international transaction fees of 3% for every single purchase we made. This was not the case whenever we’d bought something overseas in the past, the last time being about four years ago. According to a writeup we found in Consumer Reports (subscription only), the international fees started taking off around 2005, much to the consternation of the Consumers Union. On top of the fees, the exchange rate we got was lousy.

Apparently most of the major banks are charging these fees now; Consumer Reports recommends getting a card through your local credit union. The credit card industry is a good example of why we need consumer protections.

I’m off to Portland, OR tomorrow for the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies convention. I hear they have some totally sweet public transportation out there, man.