At the moment I'm researching credit cards and bank cards, trying to find ones with minimal currency conversion fees. I found a couple great articles on Bankrate.com. Thought they might be useful.

This explains the scam:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20050624a1.asp

And this explains the best ways to avoid it:
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20050624b1.asp

Looks like Capital One is a good deal.

Capital One is good for a credit card. Wells Fargo (surprisingly) seems good. They charge the foreign ATM fee ($5), but not another conversion fee on top of that. Bank of America charges BOTH a currency conversion fee AND a foreign ATM fee.

Bank of America's fees have been a constant thorn in my side during my RTW. I am switching banks as soon as I get home.

My Capial one card seems to offer a very good rate, and only charges fees for cash advances. Regular purchases have no fees. So I basically just put everything on the Capital one, and pay it off over the internet.

It is definitely worth it to switch banks before a RTW if you can find one that will give you an account without a foreign ATM fee.

I use BofA in Europe; they don't charge ATM fees for withdrawals from several major European banks. They still have a 2 or 3% currency conversion fee. I think all debit cards charge at least 1%, if only because visa and mastercard automatically charge that amount for currency conversion.

All my research had pointed me to HSBC being the best option for the banking side. Unfortunately after I opened the account, I learned they have no ATMs in Switzerland or Italy, so now I'm nervous about getting hit with the other bank's fees. HSBC charges $1.50 per withdrawal, bud does anyone know how much most banks will charge for using their ATM if you don't bank with them?

So any idea which banks don't charge a conversion fee on debit cards?

Fudd - They all seem to charge the MC/Visa 1%. Some charge more than that, though. I know offhand HSBC only charges the 1%.

quote:

Originally posted by Fudd:
So any idea which banks don't charge a conversion fee on debit cards?

Best bet is to use the CapitalOne credit card and then pay it off over the interent.

Bideshi is right on. I called my CU this morning and I wont be charged any fee for currency conversion either. Only the local branches non-member atm fees apply. One less thing to worry about.

Credit Unions are the way to go. Mine charges me only a $1 per transaction foreign ATM fee if I use my ATM card. If I use my debit card, Visa also charges a separate 1% fee whether I use it for an ATM or for purchases, so I've switched to carrying my ATM card as well. One MC credit card I have charges 3%... so I don't use that one abroad, but you should check with your banks to be sure of their fees.

As for no HSBC's in Switzerland or Italy, I haven't made it there yet so I don't know for sure, but I've never had a European ATM charge any extra fees. I heard something about there being laws against it, but I don't know that for sure. So, you should just have to worry about the $1.50 HSBC will charge you for using a foreign ATM.

I just called Bank of America last night and asked them if they could waive my foriegn ATM charges for the 6 months I will be away and they told me no. Then I asked if I could be transferred to the retention department to close my account. I told them my situation and that I really enjoyed doing business with them but if they can't accomodate me I have to switch to a competitor that has already agreed to offer me free ATM withdraw on other ATM's. Well, she immediately said "hold on let me see what I can do" and within minutes told me from 12/5/06 to 12/5/07 foreign ATM charges have been waived from my account.

So, try this. It actually works.

Someone else on the board posted a thread about it but I couldn't find it.

There U go Joey with K4

If you live in the UK NationWide don't charge you for taking your money out abroad...

I don't have an account yet, but I'm certainly going to get one before I go on my RTW!!

im sorry BOA sucks...they kill you with 5 dollar fees from taking out money...they do have a deal with barclays where they dont charge you and some other banks in europe...I used to have independance bank, which got bought by soverign and they only charged me 1 dollar per transaction...

also most credit cards charge between 1-3 percent, some do it per transaction some do it per bill