Which CC to use in NYC?

[elisa]

Sorry if this topic has been rehashed (i did do a search and couldn't find anything) but i'm going to NYC for the long weekends with friends. Is there a particular credit card that's better to use in the states due to lower commission? I have all the major ones (AMEX, MC and visa) but wasn't sure what the fees were on currency conversion.
And while we're at it, does anyone know how much i can claim for a 4 day trip? My friends says $300 but can someone confirm this?

Thanks!

[cadave]

Check your cardholder agreements, but the standard foreign exchange conversion commission is a 2.5% fee that is automatically incorporated into the exchange rate at time of conversion. I found that all three cards were equally accepted at merchants in NYC, with the exception of small vendors who tend to not like AMEX (one or two merchants during my trip, in my experience)

Your friend is slightly off for the Customs allowances since they were recently increased. If you spend more than 48 hours outside of Canada, you can bring back CAD$400 worth of goods free of duties and taxes.

See http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/media/facts-faits/060-eng.html