Best bank account for Travelers?

I've been hunting around for bank accounts which do not charge international ATM use fees or conversion fees in countries outside of it's origin. My current bank charges $5 per transaction plus 3% to convert it to foreign currency.
While I don't like it, I'm willing to take a fee hit at a local ATM as long as my domestic bank doesn't charge them.
I already have a capital one credit card, but I'd like a way to pull our some cash. I've heard about Schwab's checking account though I'm interested in hearing about others.

Go for a credit union. Big banks suck. I've used my credit union account in over a dozen countries and I've only ever paid local ATM fees and get a great conversion rate.

Alternatively if you are traveling primarily in one region you can see if there is a US bank that has a presence there or has a sister bank that won't charge you. Or if you'll be there for a while you can open a local account.

For example, when I lived in Switzerland I opened an account with Credit Suisse for my salary to be deposited into and, now that I'm living full-time in Mexico I'll be opening a HSBC account here for my pesos income but I'll be able to use it in the US as well if I have to. I hate opening a new account with a company like HSBC but since they started charging for ATM transactions down here I have no choice plus I'll be earning in pesos and I don't want to keep large amounts of cash on hand.

excuse the dust wrote:I've been hunting around for bank accounts which do not charge international ATM use fees or conversion fees in countries outside of it's origin. My current bank charges $5 per transaction plus 3% to convert it to foreign currency.
While I don't like it, I'm willing to take a fee hit at a local ATM as long as my domestic bank doesn't charge them.
I already have a capital one credit card, but I'd like a way to pull our some cash. I've heard about Schwab's checking account though I'm interested in hearing about others.

I can wholeheartedly recommend Charles Schwab checking. They don't have their own ATMs but they refund all ATMs fees. I've used it in the US, Central America and Colombia and all of my fees have been returned, no problem.

Thanks all!

The Schwab account can't be beat. On my current trip I've had $100+ in ATM fees refunded to me. It's great to not have to worry about that when on the road. Plus, there is actually a small amount of interest that you earn.

Along the same lines, there are some good Chase credit cards that have recently waived the international processing fees.

Schwab seems to be the most recommended for (US based) traveler no matter where I look. Do I have to open an investment account, too? I don't mind, but I'd rather leave my investments where they are and not have to contribute to another account.

I didn't know about the Chase cards! Any particular recommendation?

Any advice for Canadians? From what I can find, Schwab mainly deals with US clients. I know that a few years back, Citizens Bank was the best choice, but they've since stopped opening accounts.

excuse the dust wrote:Schwab seems to be the most recommended for (US based) traveler no matter where I look. Do I have to open an investment account, too? I don't mind, but I'd rather leave my investments where they are and not have to contribute to another account.

I didn't know about the Chase cards! Any particular recommendation?

Yes you do but you don't actually have to put any money in the investment account.

You can also open a savings account which will give you a second debit card (just in case anything happens to the checking ATM card). And the two accounts are automatically linked so you can easily move money back and forth. And if I remember correctly there are no minimum balance requirements for either account.

mrdarcys_cravat wrote:Any advice for Canadians? From what I can find, Schwab mainly deals with US clients. I know that a few years back, Citizens Bank was the best choice, but they've since stopped opening accounts.

I've done a lot of research into this. I ended up choosing my local credit union, which has a fee structure pretty much the same as most bank, but 1/2 the price. ($4/month, $2.50/international withdrawal) Also, I get a dividend every year which partially covers those costs. (Once I move the mortgage, the dividend will exceed any service charges.)

However, the lowest fees I found were with ICICI. They offer $1.50 withdrawals internationally on their standard account ($5/month, but waived with $500 balance or a single direct deposit paycheque). ING Direct's new chequing service isn't far behind at $2/international withdrawal, and you're unlikely to ever encounter a fee for anything else. Like a few banks, ICICI also offers a premium account with free international withdrawals, but the $10/month fee is much lower than most other banks charge for that level of service.

I opted for the credit union mostly because I was frustrated by getting burned when Citizen's Bank closed operations...my account had only been open with them for 8 or 9 months, and moving banks is a huge hassle. Servus is well established and not going anywhere, and I must admit that having a brick and mortar branch to go to is nice sometimes.

I just wanted to thank everyone again for the suggestions (and keep those non-us suggestions coming for others!). I opened a Charles Schwab account and received my ATM card in the mail today. I'm so excited! No more bank fees!

I just opened one too!

For US citizens, Capital One (while crappy for use here) is great for int. travel.

I got a credit card (with stupid low limit compared to my other cards) and a money market account with debit/atm card.

Didn't pay many ATM or CC fees the whole trip. But I did have to use my Amex a few times to keep from getting near the very low limit Cap One gave me.

Having a Bank of America account that partners with WestPac in NZ/Aus helped too.

My debit card and credit card is with my credit union. Whenever I travel overseas I just use these two cards and with these I get pretty nice exchange rate.

HSBC is pretty convenient in Asia. There are HSBC ATMs in most places where you will incur no fees. That said, HSBC in each country functions essentially as a seperate institution such that if you have a banking issue they will not be able to help and all transaction fees apply (not ATM). For example, a bank to bank transfer will cost the same if HSBC to HSBC as some other bank to HSBC. At one point, my card was to expire and so I wanted to pick up the new one at the local HSBC. Very very difficult. Many many phone calls. Not so much on the receiving end but at the sending end. They would've rathered send it to my questionable hotel than to one of their own banks.

For Canadians I have been using a TD Select Service account all over the world and it has cost me nothing. You get charged nothing for ATM fees and also you get a free premium visa card, I picked the TD Gold Visa card with 1% cash back yearly. I also have over $5,000 in the account so I don't even pay the monthly fee for having the account. So for the last year I have used this account completely for free.

http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/products-s ... select.jsp