Can anyone recommend better Swiss Credit card. My current card not only charges me an annual fee but everytime I travel abroad I have to pay 1.5% fee on every purchase.

Also it doesn't really act as Credit card since at the end of each month it automatically withdrawals funds from my bank account to pay the balance.

There has to be something better out there?

Why don't you use your normal ATM card when you are shopping abroad?
By this way you won't pay 1.5% fee. I don't use credit card because of that fee

you cannot use debit card abroad...it does not work most of the time for payments

You are wrong!
I have a UBS debit card and I used it in more than 5 countries at different times without any problem.

On certain occasions I wanted to have the security of credit card vs. bank card. I might have to reconsider that in the future.

Works fine for me...

That I can understand; a friend of mine is doing the same, even in Switzerland he always uses credit card instead of ATM card. But frankly speaking I didn't have any issues up to now. Plus 1.5% is a fee I don't like to pay just for the sake of credit card usage.

The % fee on international payments (i.e. cross-currency) is, AFAIK, pretty standard across Europe.

The whole credit card thing is a bit back dated in CH - heck not many places still charge a annual fee for credit cards these days - but why not break the mould and try to live debt free?

As others have pointed out, this is a load of tosh. Have used by EC card in the USA, as well as every European country + a few others without issue.

Maybe you need to define "abroad".

I've found the UBS maestro card to be a bit fussy in the UK. Getting declined for some amounts which I know it shouldn't be declined for!

Yeah, regularely would refuse my ZKB EC in London, but no problem over in Melbourne....

My Swiss Maestro debit card does not always work in the USA. Therefore, I'm ofter forced to pay with cash or my Visa when I go back to visit.

*ditto* I had to switch to a credit card, or *gasp* paper money for a few purchases in the England earlier this month. ( it was so difficult finding THE right gift for Will & Katie )

I've used my UBS Maestro in Germany, Italy, France, Turkey, Holland and Singapore frequently without any issues. Does it differ with POS or with the country?

Using credit was never about debt for me. I always paid it off every month,

Also, US bank cards also would carry a fee on international purchases so I never made that switch in my mind when I moved here.

I'll see those and raise you France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Cezch Rep, UK, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Poland, Thailand and USA.

I've had problems in one or two places, but as you point out, usually related to the outlet rather than the card. Sometimes, it was the machine... (i.e. tried another one in the same shop and it worked fine).

So what's the problem?

AFAIK the 1.5% is applied to debit card payments also, as this is the currency exchange fee (which is on top of the buy-sell spread). So using a debit or credit card isn't much different.

Maestro.. that's your problem. Try a MasterCard and forget the hassle. But even so.. there are problems.

For banking issues you should always refer to the contract. They stipulate the fees there.

I have been amazed on how different Banking System is in Europe than in America. Back there, they don't charge you a thing, they actually encourage you to use it without hidden fees.. here they charge everything and horrible customer service/satisfaction.

For instance, I cannot use my DC in ATMs.. how unbelievable is that? My bank is Citi and Gold class. POS service and solutions compared back in America (Mexico, that is).

And I miss the American Express service.. so much

BKB offer a euro account for 20CHF per year. You can have a debit card and/or a credit card. the credit card is gold only and costs 200 per year, 50 more than the standard. If you are buying in Euro regularly it may be worth having a EUR account with a debit or a credit card and changing money with an FX broker such as Ozforex.com

Regardless of whether one wants debt or not, using a credit card for non-ATM purchases makes great sense. It would make sense for ATM withdrawals too, except the charges are very high.

First, they usually provide some insurance. Second, if someone scams the card they end up stealing the bank's money (which you can refuse to pay while they investigate/refund the balance) whereas if they scam a debit card they take your money immediately.

Have you reckoned with the commission charges? Always seem to be 2-3% on bookings, etc., whereas Visa and Mastercard are less than 2%.

The service with AMEX might be good but you bloody well pay for it!

To the OP, I think one of the supermarket credit cards (Migros or Coop) have pretty good deals on fees. Haven't got time to dig up the info but check out their websites.