Post: #26

Citi Prestige:

No Foreign Transaction fee
Admirals Club lounge access (free drinks, showers, good place to relax, etc.)
$250 airfare credit every calendar year
3x points booked for airfare
50,000 sign up bonus after 3k spend = $800 at American Airlines

Post: #27

[quote][quote='churros' pid='1177721' dateline='1451063311']
Nice thread. Thinking of applying for the Schwab debit card. Any more positive experiences with this?

Yes, got it recently, used in the US and overseas.

They refund atm fees on the first day of the next month.

So far, I believe they refunded all my fees without any issues.

Make sure you tell them in advance if you travel overseas, just like with other debit and credit cards.

I linked it to my main checking account, so now I deposit just enough for the trip + a few hundred dollars for emergencies.

It takes a few days for the deposit to clear.

Post: #28

Pnc also does the same if you have a certain minimum in your account.

Post: #29

That's interesting Brodiaga. Is there a reason you wouldn't make if your primary account? Just safety?

Post: #30

^yes, just safety. I had money stolen from debit cards before.

Post: #31

(12-25-2015 12:08 PM)churros Wrote:  Nice thread. Thinking of applying for the Schwab debit card. Any more positive experiences with this?

My brother lost his card in BKK and they FedExed him a new one in two or three days with no issue. I have had great customer service with them as well for the last four years and now they have the chips in them.

A debit card is a little riskier than a credit card but what you can do is get two separate high-yield checking accounts with Schwab. Let's say you have account X with a $500 balance and account Y with $50,000 balance. Bring account X debit card with you on your trip and leave account Y card at home. Withdraw as you please and when you need more cash in account X, you can use the app or transfer money easily online from Y to X. It will transfer immediately since it is within the same bank. That way, in the small chance you get mugged, dragged to an ATM, card stolen, or whatever, there is a cap on what they can withdraw.

Also, to Brodiaga wondering about the exchange rate, I have always gotten the real-time rate with zero fees attached.

Post: #32

^Didn't calculate the exact rate, but it seemed good enough. No additional fees.

Post: #33

I'm not including cards for earning points for travel here, because this seems to be more about cash, and well, I tend to deal with that in the thread I started, but I use the TD Bank card. I've found a decent amount of acceptance of the card in banks in China (which are often not on the same networks as western banks) and they promptly refund all ATM fees as well. I think its also possible to sign and fund these accounts online without visiting a branch (though I went into one to set it up).

I've had good experiences. Need to keep 3,000 USD in the account to be fee free, which isn't a big issue for me typically.

Post: #34

I'll second the Charles Schwab debit card. It's my primary checking account and I have used it all over the world without any issues

My primary credit card is Capital One Quicksilver. No international fees and 1.5% cashback. As a bonus you'll get 20% back on Uber rides until April 2016. Since I use Uber a lot this is great value.

Post: #35

(12-26-2015 09:41 PM)Global Entry Wrote:  I'm not including cards for earning points for travel here, because this seems to be more about cash, and well, I tend to deal with that in the thread I started, but I use the TD Bank card. I've found a decent amount of acceptance of the card in banks in China (which are often not on the same networks as western banks) and they promptly refund all ATM fees as well. I think its also possible to sign and fund these accounts online without visiting a branch (though I went into one to set it up).

I've had good experiences. Need to keep 3,000 USD in the account to be fee free, which isn't a big issue for me typically.

Is this the cash card you get with a TD Ameritrade brokerage account, or something separate with TD bank?

The TD Ameritrade card only advertises refunding ATM fees domestically, but would be great if that applies internationally as well.

Do they refund ALL fees like Schwab (for instance, Schwab even refunds the usurious fees at strip clubs, bodegas, etc)?

Post: #36

Anybody got a tip for no-fee credit cards with rewards on groceries?

Post: #37

The one with a bank account. I have had all fees reimbursed, but I have no clue about strip club fees etc. as I haven't used it in one.

(12-27-2015 10:51 AM)nmmoooreland20 Wrote:  

(12-26-2015 09:41 PM)Global Entry Wrote:  I'm not including cards for earning points for travel here, because this seems to be more about cash, and well, I tend to deal with that in the thread I started, but I use the TD Bank card. I've found a decent amount of acceptance of the card in banks in China (which are often not on the same networks as western banks) and they promptly refund all ATM fees as well. I think its also possible to sign and fund these accounts online without visiting a branch (though I went into one to set it up).

I've had good experiences. Need to keep 3,000 USD in the account to be fee free, which isn't a big issue for me typically.

Is this the cash card you get with a TD Ameritrade brokerage account, or something separate with TD bank?

The TD Ameritrade card only advertises refunding ATM fees domestically, but would be great if that applies internationally as well.

Do they refund ALL fees like Schwab (for instance, Schwab even refunds the usurious fees at strip clubs, bodegas, etc)?

Chase Freedom (for one quarter per year, but you can stock up on gift cards in that quarter), or Amex Everyday. Others too, but these are the bigger players.

(01-24-2016 08:02 AM)churros Wrote:  Anybody got a tip for no-fee credit cards with rewards on groceries?

Post: #38

^
Just signed myself up for the Amex.

Post: #39

For those of you in Canada, our options are pretty limited compared to the US. Currently only Chase bank offers 0% foreign transaction fees credit cards:

Chase Marriott Premier VISA - $120 annual fee (waived for the first year), you receive Marriott points upon making your first purchase which is enough for 3-4 nights free stay, and you also receive one free night stay every year after. No foreign transaction fees.

Chase Amazon Rewards VISA - No annual fee, 1% cash rebate for all normal purchases and 2% cash rebate for all Amazon.ca purchases. No foreign transaction fees.


The Amex Gold Rewards Card is the best one for collecting flyer points/miles, but it has a $150 annual fee and has the standard 2% foreign transaction fee that all other Canadian credit cards charge. Currently not worthwhile for me but if I make better coin and travel more in the future I'd get one of these.

Post: #40

Chase is giving away $250 for opening a new debit and savings account. You have to keep the account open for six months. That's almost tempting me away from the Schwab.

Post: #41

(01-28-2016 11:15 PM)churros Wrote:  Chase is giving away $250 for opening a new debit and savings account. You have to keep the account open for six months. That's almost tempting me away from the Schwab.

Chase has been sending me promotions for up to 500 to open new accounts (checking + savings). I believe you can also buy a flyer on Ebay even if you don't receive one for the biggest amount.

Chase charges ATM fees for using non-Chase ATMs, though. There may be other fees as well, such as currency exchange fees.

You can open a chase account and keep if you have easy access to Chase ATMs day to day and keep the Schwab account for international travel. Link it to Chase and then send enough money to Schwab for the trip to protect yourself from ATM fraud.

Post: #42

^Thanks for the tip. Yeah some of their charges seem a bit dire. $5 flat rate for all withdrawls outside the US.

Post: #43

Credit card: Barclaycard Arrival Plus MasterCard. $89 annual fee, yes. But for 2 miles/$1 spent, it's worth it. No limit on how many miles you can earn. No rotating categories or any stuff like that. No foreign transaction/exchange fees either. And their customer service is really good.

They also have a non-annual fee, 1 mile/$1 spent card. For me and the amount of traveling I do, it's worth the $89 for the double miles.

Debit card: My local bank ATM card. There's a 3% fee, but I usually just take out enough "pocket money" once and am done with it. Pretty much everyone takes credit cards where I travel to (Europe); carrying cash has become a low priority for me, anyway.

Post: #44

Been using Schwab ATM for years now, literally used it with no probs in over 50 countries. Only time it didn't work was when I landed in Medellin once and I assume that's cause Visa has restrictions there cause of the drug trade. All my cards got blocked. Most of the time I don't even tell them where I am traveling and it's not prob. They always refund my ATM fees, there's no foreign transaction fee, and their CS is good. Once my card expired while I was in Asia and they Fedex'd the new one for free.

I also have Fidelity, Cap One High Yield Checking, and Cap One 360 as well as some BofA Cards. Only Fidelity comes close to Schwab as they also refund overseas ATM fees but they charge 1% FTF. The Cap One cards I don't believe refund overseas ATM fees and BofA is trash abroad cause they charge 3% FTF even if you use one of their sister banks in Europe or China, etc.

Cap One is good for CC's as they have no FTF and the cash back can be 1.5% to 2% and they usually have no FTF. I also use Barclays Arrival but will cancel after one year cause of the annual fee. A lot of CC's are starting to go 0% FTF so that is good