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best bank for intl travel

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Asailorshort
Regular Contributor

best bank for intl travel

this isn't FICO related, but it is financially related, so I figured all of the smart people on here would be able to help.

 

I'm not that happy with my current bank and need to switch.  As I intend to do LOTS of international travel in the years to come, I'd like a bank that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees for their debit card and, of course, has online banking.  On another travel forum I read lots of people use Charles Schwab as they not only don't charge foreign ATM fees but even reimburse  (up to a certain amount) if the local bank charges.

 

Howevver, because I'm in the Navy, I also have accts with USAA and NFCU (which many on the travel forum don't have access to).  So I'm looking into those as options as well.  It appears NFCU will not charge (and possibly reimburse) foreign ATMs but I don't like their online banking layout as much as USAA.  I'm uncertain what USAA charges, as I seem to only be able to find domestic info on their accts, but I definitely like their online banking layout better and their customer service is tops.

 

I suppose I should just call NFCU and USAA, but thought I might get some feedback from people on here, as well as possibly get suggestions for other banks.

 

Thanks in advance 

Starting FICO 667 (5/2012) EQ
672 (7/2012) EQ. 681 (8/1/12) EQ
Current FICO 682 (10/13/12) EQ; 718 (10/13/12) TU
Goal: 760+ but 700-720 by jan 2013
No new apps tll jul 2013
Message 1 of 2
1 REPLY 1
Asailorshort
Regular Contributor

Re: best bank for intl travel

Ok, after some digging on the web and phone calls to USAA and NFCU, I'm going to answer my own question and say Charles Schwab High Yield Checking is the way to go.

USAA only rebates ATM fees for transactions inside the US.

Navy Fed rebates up to $20 of atm fees anywhere in the world.  However, they have a 0.8% foreign transaction fee for any single currency transaction and a 1.0% foreign transaction fee for multiple currency transaction.

Schwab has unlimited reimbursement for any atm world wide and no foreign transaction fee.  There is no minimum balance requirement or fee associated with the acct.  They will, however, automatically open up a brokerage acct for me - but there is no requirement to ever use it.  The only downside is it will cost me a HP (I'm guessing ... can't believe I forgot to ask).

Starting FICO 667 (5/2012) EQ
672 (7/2012) EQ. 681 (8/1/12) EQ
Current FICO 682 (10/13/12) EQ; 718 (10/13/12) TU
Goal: 760+ but 700-720 by jan 2013
No new apps tll jul 2013
Message 2 of 2
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