Thanks for posting that. So, if you are only using it for debit payments in the EU, it appears only the annual fee applies (although that balance management fee could apply - if anyone knows what that is). That explains why I haven’t been charged any other fees.
It appears the bison bank card has a 10k euro limit:
Currently, the specific limits associated with the
Bison Card are currently set at:Per Transaction: € 10.000,00
Daily limit: € 10.000,00
Daily ATM Withdrawals: € 750,00
Yearly limit: € 200.000,00
Please note that these limits may change at the will of
the Issuer. If such occurs, you will be informed of
such.
FAQs-Jan.2024_V6.pdf
Paying via US credit card would be optimal for me (location: Cascais). My contact states that an “international card with a Visa logo” will work. Looks like I’ll be bringing several cards just in case…
When you paid with a credit card did AIMA charge any type of processing fee? If so, could you let me know the approximate percentage? Weighing our options between US credit card or debit card.
Not that I recall, I really don’t think so. And actually I paid with a cash back rewards card so got a little chunk back
Be careful when paying with a US credit card (or any card not based in Portugal). It is very tricky. When they run your card, it asks if you want to pay in Euro or USD. Always say EURO because this is a scam to charge you a horrible conversion rate. You will get a better rate when your credit card converts the charge. Also, they try to get you again at AIMA because the next question is “Accept conversion?” - this is just another way of asking you the same thing. ALWAYS SAY NO! I made the mistake of listening to my attorney who thought it meant something else and I paid a $400 fee because I said yes. ![]()
I only ended up having to use my credit card because my WISE card would not work. Wise has a limit on how much you can charge per transaction or per day. This fee was beyond the Wise limit, so my payment got rejected.
In general on Portuguese payment terminals that ask about currency conversion, you click 2, then followed by 2 again. That will reject the conversion and you’ll be charged in EUR.
I was pretty sure that was the case when I was paying, but felt pressured by others standing around me to press 1. I won’t make that mistake again.