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Avoid Bank Fees While Traveling

You probably know all about the ATM fees your bank charges. But you may be in for a surprise if your bank adds an additional 3% foreign exchange fee on top of that for ATM withdrawals made overseas. Thats pretty common so it pays to check the list first and go with the bank that has competitive rates. The same applies to your credit card. Some credit card companies charge as much as a 3% adder for overseas purchases while there is at least one company that charges a 0% adder and gives the best available exchange rate on the day of purchase.

ATM Withdrawals

In many countries using your ATM card is convenient, safe and you receive a better exchange rate than cash or travelers checks. Take the fun and exotic destination of Thailand, for example. ATMs are plentiful throughout the country, even in small cities, and there is no local ATM fee charged. Changing cash or travelers checks is convenient only in heart of the major tourist destinations and only during opening hours of the exchange windows. Elsewhere youll need to visit a bank branch during normal banking hours. So use your ATM. But check this list first:

ATM Withdrawal Foreign Exchange Fees

• Citibank - 3%
• WaMu - 1%
• Fidelity Investments - 0%
• Bank of America - 1%
• CapitalOne - 0%
• Chase - 3.5%
• E*Trade - 1%
• HSBC - 1%
• PayPal - 1%
• Wells Fargo - 3%

The fees charged by the first three banks in this list are from my own recent personal experience. I got burned by the Citibank 3% fee when they changed their fee structure in late 2006. When you make a sizable withdrawal that 3% fee ends up being far more than any normal ATM fees. WaMu (thats the online banking division of Washington Mutual) has a competitive 1% foreign exchange fee. I call this the standard fee because it is the fee that Visa international charges on foreign money transactions and the banks charge this fee to recoup that cost. Interestingly, although the Fidelity representative I spoke with said that this 1% fee is included for ATM withdrawals from a Fidelity core account I have made many withdrawals and there is no fee! Is this a mistake? Probably not. Perhaps it is related to the type of account, such as a Premium Services account. The other notable point is that many ATM withdrawals from Fidelity and WaMu within a few minutes of one another always show a 0.3% better exchange rate from Fidelity.

Note that many banks list the foreign exchange fee as a separate item on your statement so its easy to see how much they are charging. If your bank doesnt then its probably buried in a reduced exchange rate so check the rate they are giving you carefully. Since exchange rates fluctuate it is sometimes it is difficult to confirm the exact amount of the fee.

Credit Cards

Now for credit cards the story is similar. Different issuers charge different fees on overseas purchases made with your credit card. But the fees on credit card purchases are lumped in with the purchase price so its more difficult to determine exactly what they are. Heres what my research has uncovered:

Credit Card Fees on Overseas Purchases

• Chase Visa - 3%
• Citibank Visa - 3%
• CapitalOne Visa - 0%
• American Express - 2%
• Bank of America Visa/MC/Amex - 3%
• E*Trade Visa - 1%
• HSBC Visa - 3%
• WaMu Providian - 1%
• Wells Fargo Visa - 3%

Again, the fees for the first three credit card issuers in that list are from my personal experience. I was asleep at the wheel for the longest time using my Chase Visa instead of my CapitalOne Visa, paying an extra 3% on purchases when I did not need to. What seems sort of amazing is that CapitalOne somehow absorbs the 1% Visa money exchange fee. So purchases I have made on the same day with my Chase Visa and my CapitalOne Visa show a 3% difference in the exchange rate.

There is another little trick that you need to watch out for when you make credit card purchases. Some merchants will offer to charge your purchase in your home country currency rather than the local currency. From what I have experienced and read this is always a rip off. Theyll give you a much lower exchange rate than Visa will when the transaction books. Youll usually get this offer from large merchants who have many foreign tourists. Its easy to avoid. Just be aware of it, decline the offer, and be sure the purchase is charged in the local currency.

Offshore versus Onshore Exchange Rates

Heres one more important tip about exchanging money. This definitely applies to Thailand and may apply to some other countries. There are really two exchange rates. The so-called offshore rate is what you will get if you purchase Thai money outside of Thailand. This rate is about 10% lower than the onshore rate. Thats huge, a 10% difference. So wait until you arrive in Thailand to exchange money. You are getting ripped if you do it at your departure airport. There are exchange booths and ATMs all over the airport in Bangkok so youll have no trouble changing money when you arrive no matter what time it is.

This issue can be particularly important if you are transferring a large sum of money by bank wire from a U.S. bank to a bank in Thailand. A lot of expats who are purchasing retirement homes in Thailand are finding this out the hard way. Typically the U.S. bank is going to give you the offshore rate and you are going to get ripped off big time. But the picture is a little fuzzy now because there have been reports of people doing bank wires from U.S. banks to Thai banks and receiving the onshore rate. In particular, a recent bank wire from Washington Mutual to Bangkok Bank was completed at the full onshore rate, and on top of that there were no fees at either end. Thats worth investigating if you are in that situation.

Conclusion

So use your ATM and credit cards when you are traveling overseas. It is safe and convenient and you get a good exchange rate. Just be sure to avoid those banks that charge excessive fees for foreign transactions.

Mark George is an American expat who has been living in Thailand for more than five years. Hes not working, but enjoying a (very) early retirement, made possible by smart money management. He also has a keen interest in Thailands booming medical tourism industry where world class health care is available at a fraction of western prices. If you found this article useful and would like to learn more visit The Medical Travel Site

Copyright 2007 - Mark George. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, give author name credit and follow all of the EzineArticles terms of service for Publishers

posted by triciachua3836 @ 9:11 AM