BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi,

I'm planning a trip that will be at least 6 months, maybe as long as 9. This isn't my first time being gone that long, but the last time I did this, I was in one place for a long time and working so money was pretty straight forward. This time, since I'll be all over the place, I'm wondering what a good bank is to use that doesn't kill ya with fees. And one that is "connected" enough that I could use an ATM in Egypt and it wouldn't be an issue.

(I'm in the States)

In browsing some posts, I'm seeing that Nationwide comes highly recommended. Any other thoughts from ya'll?

I've saved about 10K for this trip over the course of 6 years. And this might be a dumb question but I'm a little unsure about just depositing all 10K of that into a checking account. Seems like the easiest way but if I lose a card....

So for you experienced long-term travelers out there, how did you manage the money? Did you use a savings account, keep most of it there and just transfer when needed? Did you take traveler's cheques? (I have found these to be almost useless most everywhere now).

Are there any RTW books ya'll would recommend which might discuss all the ins and outs of things to consider?

thanks!

Money is not important, I am thinking of taking what I have and burning it all so that the world does not have to worry about the relatively small amount that I have accumulated.

Also I would recommend "Vagabonding" by Rolf Potts

ok well if you think money is important look in to getting a charles schwab high yielding checking account...FREE atm fees worldwide and apparently the guy who opened my account said ANY ATM...i have a feeling it will be any atm on the interlink or plus system...still though you will find plenty on those, not sure if star system is on it though...but I Have his card so if he screws me over im coming back to get him...basically the amounts will be deducted initially and then credited to your account at the end of the money...this is the ONLY bank account like this I think in the country with free worldwide atm fees...you should probably link it with another bank account so you can move money between both in case someone in america has to make an emergency deposit...currently schwab doesn't have a bank, to make deposits is kind of tricky unless you have a linked "real" bank account to it...hope that helps

One way to manage money would be to put some in a CD which accrues decent interest..a 3 or 6 month CD. You can do that with banks like Citibank, HSBC and also Charles Schwab. You can then transfer this money to your checking accounts you use. Some checking accounts with schwab offer some decent interest rates.

Schwab waives away ATM fees all over the world and also at home.

I also some money in my normal bank so that I can still use that to pay my credit card bill. I tried to use my credit card where possible as it gave me the best exchange rate.I also transfer money between Schwab and my normal bank so that when needed I can transfer monies around.

Check out all this transfering process before you are on the road. Also check what the passwords need to be on the road.

USed Traverlers cheque for emergencies and also kept some big bills tucked away ONLY for emergencies. No touching that money unless its absolutely necessary.

simulatenous posts madhu pretty crazy

Wow. This thread makes me feel so old. When I last went travelling in Africa for six months (1990!), there weren't any ATMs or even really many banks where I was, so I had to carry travelers checks and cash in my money belt.

I wonder if Africa is still like that...

With the shorter trips I've taken since then, I've never thought about the issue because you can pretty much use ATMs and credit cards in the parts of the world I've been traveling. I wonder if some parts of the third world are still far far away from the electronic banking world. Anyone still finding places without banks?

quote:

i have a feeling it will be any atm on the interlink or plus system...still though you will find plenty on those, not sure if star system is on it though...

I have read that site pretty thoroughly, and I couldn't find any caveats re: system. I can check around though...I have a very strong feeling that several people I work with use that account, and some are probably experts on it

ING also has a high interest checking account, but not free worldwide ATMs. Also, the Capitol One credit card doesn't charge fees, so it is worth looking into that, as well.

I barely bring any cash with me when I travel abroad. Perhaps 2 100$ bills. I use the ATM as soon as I get to the airport, and then draw money as needed and my credit card.

I load money on to my visa and then with draw of of it when i need to. I try to budget my self for two weeks. so I make withdraws two times a month

What I do is have a Travelex Cash passport. You get two cards, the fees are 1% of the amount you deposit and you just withdraw the money from any Visa ATM and they have contacts (incase anything stuffs up, though that's never happened to me) all over the world they are great. They have a BPay number as well so you can transfer money from another account if you don't want to keep all your money there. It doesn't work as a debit card, its souly for cash withdrawals. So you can travel with both your Cash passport to keep your cash in and if you think you need it your Visa debt/credit card.

I find this the best way of dealing with cash/bank fund and you don't have to fart ass around with passport photocopy's and waiting in bank-lines in countries where you don't speak the language and what ever else that goes on with travelers cheques and inernational bank fees.

quote:

Originally posted by KathrynD:
I wonder if some parts of the third world are still far far away from the electronic banking world. Anyone still finding places without banks?

I was in Gabon in 2006 and there was close to zero banking infrastructure, we had to bring in large amounts of cash (Euro's since the CFA is pegged to the Euro) and change it with a merchant who runs an unauthorized money changing business. In the big city there were very few places that accepted Visa but you could count them on one hand.

When I went to Cameroon last year it was a pretty similar situation, pretty much all cash, nothing like hauling around several pounds of Central African Banks to make for an interesting journey

Also on the original question, I use an ING Direct account to electronically link all my other accounts, they don't charge anything for electronic transfer. I use a checking account from Commerce Bank, they don't charge fees. I also carry ATM cards for other banks in case my main card is stolen I can transfer money to alternate accounts using ING.

Is Schwab only for Americans? (I'm kiwi)

My assumption is that Schwab is for US-based folks. I could be wrong.

I still need to find someone to ask at work. Ok, looking at the site, it looks like perhaps UK, Switzerland, & Hong Kong - based folks can use some of their products. This may have to do with the trading issues. But you may be able to find more in if you dig deeper: www.schwab.com

Capital One No Hassle Direct Banking also has no fees at any ATMs worldwide --- but it is definitely not "no hassle" --- so I don't know that I would recommend them. I've posted on this before, so just search for my name, and it should pop up.

You've probably already thought of this but, just in case you haven't . . . the best way to manage ATM cards/credit cards/money while on the road is using a money belt (or some such similar method) and locks. Buy at least one good lock so that you can lock up any excess cash/cards inside your pack.

I use Fidelity, they don't charge ATM fees worldwide. I am not sure if it is for only US people or not. However it is all online, they make it really simple to transfer money from my main bank to my Fidelity account. This way if my cards get stolen they can only get what I have transfered into my Fidelity account without them having access to all my savings! I will also carry a spare Visa card not associated with my savings account as backup, kept in a different place.

chicademusica,

I did a tremendous amount of research into this topic before I left (there is nothing I hate more than unnecessary banking fees!). This is what I am doing:

1. ATM Card/Savings Account - I am using UFB Direct. They give over 3% on savings accounts, do not charge any fees for ATM withdrawals, give an ATM card for your savings account and most ATMs give me my balance (with reciept) in local currency!

2. Credit Card - I have a number of them but ONLY use my Capital One No Hassle Miles card - Visa and Mastercard usually charge 1% on foreign transactions and most banks that issue the credit cards charge an extra 1-3% on top of that - this means that if you charge anything in a foreign country you usually end up spending 2-4% more than it should actually cost because of fees. Capital One does not charge a fee and it actually WAIVES the Visa/Mastercard fees. I love this card for traveling and it is the BEST I have been able to find.

So far have been only in South America but everything has worked perfectly. Hope this helps!!!



Follow my journey around the world at tktravelthworld.blogspot.com

quote:

Originally posted by KathrynD:
I wonder if Africa is still like that...
Anyone still finding places without banks?

I just got back and I was really surprised in Tanzania--there was still essentially no banking outside of Dar es Salaam, Morogoro and the Kili-zone. I'm not sure why I thought there would be, but I certainly did even expect these towns that only had power 3 hours a night to have an ATM, not very realistic of me I guess. Thats how much I take it for granted: because its everywhere. My current card has been in hundreds of ATMs in a few dozen countries... I am definitely of the generation that doesn't know how they would function without Visa and Mastercard check cards.

Anyhow. I don't have any of these fancy ATM-fee free cards. I simply have a Visa debit card from my credit union's free checking account. Its linked only to my checking account and not my other accounts. I can put money from my savings into my checking via internet (or I can regulate it so that it just transfers so much every month). Reasonable overdrafts are okay for a month. Online, I can also keep them up to date on where I am traveling as they are very good about making sure there is no fraud, and will freak out if there is something from France on there when they know I've been in Asia for the last few months. This card charges no fees. I just have to pay what the ATM charge set by the ATM owner. Many places (Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia--certain ATMs come to mind) there is no charge. I also have a Mastercard debit card from paypal as backup. It also links to my checking account but it charges hefty fees.

Ditto on the Cap One suggestions.

We've been traveling for 6 months using an ATM card from our Cap One Direct online account and it has been fantastic.

Here in Argentina you are limited to 300 pesos per transaction (little less than $100). So, if you need more than that you have to make several withdrawals one after the other--this is annoying and seems to make little sense. BUT, if you had to pay ATM fees each time?! Brutal on your little travel egg. These multiple tiny withdrawals also threw up a fraud flag at Cap One and they contacted us to make sure everything was ok--much appreciated.

We have BOA also--and they suck for ATM fees. I got hit for around $40 in fees to take out a few hundred dollars in Peru last year (between BOA and the local machine fees).

The banks make enough money on the exchange--they don't need to ding you with nonsense fees as well.

Bottom line: It's well worth the research to get a ATM card with no fees--and even better to have 2 ATM cards with different banks if possible (in case one gets eaten somewhere).

For my 14 month RTW trip, I put most of my money in a high yield savings account and had my parents transfer money to my checking account (ATM card) as needed. So I wouldn't have to keep contacting them about this, I just gave them a minimum amount to keep in the checking account