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A related question: are there any credit cards which don't charge exorbitant fees when used abroad? A friend of mine is planning on travelling extensively in Ea

by ajays 14y ago

A related question: are there any credit cards which don't charge exorbitant fees when used abroad? A friend of mine is planning on travelling extensively in East Asia, South Asia, Turkey, etc. for several months, and I'm looking for recommendations for her.

jbeda 14y ago
Yes -- the Capital One cards are well known for not charging a foreign transaction fee. I keep one just for international travel.
saryant 14y ago
Several of Chase's better cards offer no forex fees. I've spent most of the last few months in Southeast Asia and India and I used a Chase Sapphire Preferred card and a United MileagePlus Club card. Both waive forex fees. Another card to look at is Charles Schwab's checking account. No forex fee and they refund all ATM fees, including foreign ATMs. No monthly fees or minimums on the account either. Those two cards have saved me a ton of money in the last few months.
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kingnothing 14y ago
Charles Schwab Bank refunds all ATM transaction fees, domestic and international, and uses VISA wholesale currency conversion rates. It isn't a credit card, but it's probably the cheapest way to get cash short of taking it with from the start.
- zrail 14y ago
  I have an account with this card. I called them before travelling internationally one time and made the customer service rep repeat the "no fees" part at least three times before I was satisfied I wasn't hearing her wrong. Great card and wonderful customer service. I highly recommend it.
xiaoma 14y ago
My Chinese cards (ICBC and Bank of Shanghai) charged nothing even remotely close to these fees when I used them in Taiwan, HK or Singapore. None of them had visa or mastercard logos though. They were on the UnionPay (银联). Similarly when I used my Taiwanese card (Fubon I think) in the US, I was only charged 70NT (~$2USD) for using an ATM as long as I could find a US ATM that didn't charge me. In short, my experience has been that East Asian banks don't rip you off with exorbitant fees. They have terrible wait times and truckloads of annoying paperwork to do anything, but they're very restrained about fees.

by ajays 14y ago

jbeda 14y ago

Yes -- the Capital One cards are well known for not charging a foreign transaction fee. I keep one just for international travel.

saryant 14y ago

Several of Chase's better cards offer no forex fees. I've spent most of the last few months in Southeast Asia and India and I used a Chase Sapphire Preferred card and a United MileagePlus Club card. Both waive forex fees. Another card to look at is Charles Schwab's checking account. No forex fee and they refund all ATM fees, including foreign ATMs. No monthly fees or minimums on the account either. Those two cards have saved me a ton of money in the last few months.

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kingnothing 14y ago

Charles Schwab Bank refunds all ATM transaction fees, domestic and international, and uses VISA wholesale currency conversion rates. It isn't a credit card, but it's probably the cheapest way to get cash short of taking it with from the start.

zrail 14y ago
I have an account with this card. I called them before travelling internationally one time and made the customer service rep repeat the "no fees" part at least three times before I was satisfied I wasn't hearing her wrong. Great card and wonderful customer service. I highly recommend it.

xiaoma 14y ago

My Chinese cards (ICBC and Bank of Shanghai) charged nothing even remotely close to these fees when I used them in Taiwan, HK or Singapore. None of them had visa or mastercard logos though. They were on the UnionPay (银联). Similarly when I used my Taiwanese card (Fubon I think) in the US, I was only charged 70NT (~$2USD) for using an ATM as long as I could find a US ATM that didn't charge me. In short, my experience has been that East Asian banks don't rip you off with exorbitant fees. They have terrible wait times and truckloads of annoying paperwork to do anything, but they're very restrained about fees.