American Express® Serve

Fee on Domestic Purchases. A domestic purchase is a purchase that is made locally. Credit cards usually never charge a fee for domestic purchases but this fee could be charged by an intermediary.

Domestic ATM Withdrawal Fee. ATMs that are owned by your network or issuer or are in partnership with your card's issuing bank will usually not charge a fee. A domestic ATM is an automated teller machine that is under the umbrella of your bank's network and therefore may offer free withdrawals for customers.

Fee on International Purchases. A foreign transaction fee will apply to purchases made in another country, unless your credit card offers no foreign transaction fee. Most cards charge around 2-3 percent for this fee, of which 1 percent may go to the credit card issuing network and 1 percent will go to the bank.

International ATM Withdrawal Fee. All ATM withdrawals from foreign countries carry fees. When you visit an ATM in another country, you are likely to be charged a foreign transaction fee as well as a foreign ATM withdrawal fee. These fees can really add up, so customers should always be aware of the terms and conditions regarding use of ATMs abroad and avoid it except in case of emergency.

Foreign Exchange Fee. A fee charged by a credit card company on purchases made in a foreign currency. Usually foreign exchange fee is 3% of the amount of each foreign currency purchase after its conversion into U.S. dollars with no minimum or maximum. There are no credit cards that do not charge a foreign exchange fee.

Online Balance Inquiry Fee. There may be a fee for checking your balance at an ATM owned by a different bank, so be sure you're not paying to make a balance inquiry. Check your balance for free online and avoid this fee, which may be anywhere from 50 cents to two dollars. Almost all prepaid cards carry a balance inquiry fee, no matter which ATM you use, so try to avoid checking your balance at an ATM.

Activation Fee. This is a one-time fee charged to activate a new card and may range anywhere from $20 to $450 depending on the card. Premium cards often carry an activation fee, as do cards for people with limited or no credit history, or who have a low credit score. Many cards offer no activation fee; those that do are usually targeted toward a specific consumer demographic, such as elite customers or people building or repairing their credit history.

Monthly Fee. A monthly maintenance feel may be charged by some credit card issuers for processing and issuing billing statements. A credit card issuer may charge a monthly fee instead of an annual fee, since a smaller fee may be more palatable to a consumer than one large yearly fee. Some monthly fees can be avoided by getting statements online rather than having paper statements mailed.

Paper Statement Fee. Most credit card companies will send you a paper statement in the mail unless you sign up for electronic billing, or statements by email. Some companies are starting to charge for paper statements, so check and make sure you aren't getting billed for receiving your bill in the mailbox. A better option is to save your wallet and the environment by signing up for emailed statements.

Card Cancelling Fee. When cancelling or closing an account, you may be charged this processing fee. This fee can be $295 or more for traditional credit cards so be sure you know what the card cancellation fee is before you close any line of credit.

Card Replacement Fee. Most credit card issuers will issue replacement cards for free, but there can be costs associated with lost cards, such as checking an account for fraudulent charges, closing it if necessary, and issuing a new card number. A bank might impose a fee after a certain number of replacements if a card is lost repeatedly.

Prepaid Cards Daily Deposit Limit. Prepaid cards may have a limit as to how much money can be loaded onto the card each day. Prepaid cards can usually be loaded at an ATM or by direct deposit.

Daily Cash Withdrawal Limit. Every card has a limit on how much cash you can withdraw from an ATM each day. The terms and conditions of your card agreement will say what this daily limit is, and it will depend on your bank and on your account type.

Card Loading Options. These are the ways you can add money to a prepaid card account. A prepaid card comes loaded with the money you put on it and must be reloaded when the balance is gone. The card loading options tell you how to put more money on the card. Options might include using direct deposit to transfer funds from your bank or employer, moving money from PayPal to your card, or reloading at a Green Dot, Western Union or Money Gram location.