by Alison Storm | 06/10/10

Lots of Americans will hit the road for a summer vacation, and some will head to another country. Using a credit card for purchases while on vacation offers extra assurance and peace of mind. Because if your credit card information is stolen, companies offer fraud protection that will make sure you don't get stuck with the bill. But if you're heading to another country there are some charges to consider.

Conversion Fees: Most of the time when you swipe your credit card at a restaurant, store or hotel to make a purchase overseas you'll have to pay a fee for the currency conversion. On top of what your credit card company pays to convert the amount to US Dollars, your bank may also charge a one percent fee for a foreign transaction.

ATM Fees: If you decide to use an ATM in another country, you could also get hit with ATM fees. Using a credit card to get cash out of an ATM is equivalent to getting a cash advance, which is more expensive when done in a foreign country. It may be a better idea to use your ATM card to get cash. You'll avoid the foreign transaction fee which is on top of the cash advance fee when using a credit card.

Total Fees: If your wondering how much to budget for fees, you can typically add about 3 percent on to every purchase made with a credit card in a foreign country. According to the experts, Capital One is the only major credit card company that doesn't apply a foreign transaction fee.

And don't forget to alert your bank or credit card company that you'll be traveling out of the country. If you don't, your card may get declined or frozen because of the unusual spending activity.