Originally Posted by ajnaro

I have had an account at Citibank in the US for many years. The general principle is: never use any Citibank card, credit or debit, outside the US as it will charge you a 3% fee (except for an ATM associated with a CitiGold account when used at a Citibank branch). Another general principle is never exchange cash abroad, either at a bank or a kiosk, as the rates are very unfavorable. The best general principle is: acquire the Charles Schwab bank ATM and credit cards. Use them abroad and forget Citibank. In general, use the credit card whenever possible as it will provide a 2% rebate. Use the ATM card to get foreign cash for small expenses.

In fact, I can see no reason to maintain my Citibank account any longer even for the US. Schwab bank has bill pay and reimburses other banks' ATM fees. Perhaps Citibank will be useful to deposit occasional checks received in the mail. For credit card use in the US I prefer the Starwood AMEX or the Diners MasterCard.