abk

I just completed my second trip with the Schwab card and couldn't be happier. You can set up travel notices on the website and if you need to speak to them it is painless. They do only reimburse fees at the end of the month so I was curious the first time to see how close to the true exchange rate I would be and was pleasantly surprised.

Dovster

I only use my Schwab card for ATM withdrawals. They refund the cost of the withdrawal (in addition to waiving the FOREX fees) from any ATM in the world. For everything else, I use my Bank of America Premium Rewards card, which has no FOREX fees and gives 2% cash back on travel-related expenses and 1.5% on everything else. (It costs $95 per year but has sufficient additional benefits which more than cover the $95.) Moreover, if you spend $3000 in the first 90 days you receive 50,000 points -- which can be converted to $500.

abk

I also only use it for ATM withdrawals. I use the CSR for 3% categories and I am back to my SPG card for the balance because of a promotion giving 3 points per dollar like in the pre merger days. I will say I am looking at that BofA card because that is my bank and I would qualify for the premium rewards bonus.

mjjckc

Just an FYI... Aspiration (which offered a MasterCard debit product with no forex fees and ATM fees reimbursed under the aegis of Radius Bank, but has now shifted to a new bank providing the back end services) has shifted to a new model where international ATM fees are no longer automatically rebated. "If you are traveling abroad and are charged a fee by a foreign ATM, you will be reimbursed within 2-3 business days. International ATM fees are reimbursed at a flat rate of $4.00 per transaction - please reach out to us with a photo of your ATM receipt if you were charged a higher fee, and our team will reimburse you the full amount! We unfortunately cannot reimburse third-party currency conversion or foreign transaction fees."

My recent withdrawals in Argentina (fees range from ~ $6 to 10) haven't received any rebates at all. Luckily I had the receipts and was able to request an adjustment. But considering how often ATMs don't provide a receipt, even when you request one, I'd recommend only using this product when you can confirm there are no ATM fees.

If you are looking for a MasterCard debit card in particular for international travel, I'd recommend the offering from Needham Bank (no account fees, withdrawal fees reimbursed the next day).

Whereas on the Visa side, Charles Schwab and Fidelity remain your main go to options, but Fidelity has been known to eventually shut down people should they be abroad for several months straight.

choff5507

LoneTree

I've been living abroad for four years now and can confirm no problems at all with the Schwab!

TravelinSperry

Yikes! If true, that's terrible! I've had to travel for several months straight and would be one pissed person should they stop reimbursing mid-stream. Glad I have Schwab, never had an issue with them. Great card - great company.

mjjckc

For the past several years I've been traveling abroad for 3-5 months at a time, then return to the US for a break for 1-2 months before setting out again. My strategy has been to have multiple debit cards with only a few hundred dollars in each account in case of theft or a compromised ATM (topping off twice a month as needed). I've been using Charles Schwab with no problem almost continuously since 2012, along with the grandfathered in Capital One pre-ING acquisition Mastercard debit card (Capital One has rebated me almost every time as well, save a few cases in Vietnam). I later added Fidelity and Aspiration for more backup, as if one card was out, that then left no redundancy. This year I also picked up Needham Bank and Radius Bank, but two weeks wasn't enough time for Radius to get their debit card to me before my latest trip so I don't have that one to test out yet.

Fidelity wise, I've talked with one random US traveler in person who had had a problem after several months of continuous use. Also, when I was in Romania and Moldova in 2016, some travel YouTubers that were basically on the same route as me also got shut down. So this is more anecdotal than anything, but in the last few years I'm pretty sure I've seen this mentioned somewhere online in forums too.

I actually have a spreadsheet to track my ATM withdrawals and then if the rebates come in or not (also is good for tracking the effective forex rate and if Visa vs MC is good in particular for a currency). Seeing that column all added up, I'm surprised at how generous the banks are in ~not~ shutting people down

Dovster

I haven't been in the States for over 3 years and have no problem using my Schwab card at ATMs. I believe, however, that there is a $2000 per day limit and a weekly limit as well. (The only limit in using it as a debit card in shops is the amount of cash I have in my account.)

The latter is theoretical for me as I use my BoA card in shops as it also has no Forex fees and gives me cashback as well.

tmiw

Monzo is starting to roll out in the US, so that might be another FTF-free option that some can use (at least for regular purchases; not sure about ATMs).

Boraxo

aGeist

this is my exact set-up as well. Schwab + Boa Plat Rewards..I should probably move some cash or a few stocks over to Schwab just because they are so great.

I'd look at fidelity but they banned me back in my MS days

mjjckc

Aspiration is announcing new restrictions on ATM rebates:
"At Aspiration, we are proud to say that you can use any ATM in the world for free. We are keeping that commitment because we believe you shouldn’t have to pay to access your own money. However, we've also seen a small number of people abusing this. In June, for instance, one person made 113 ATM withdrawals and we had to reimburse each one! That's not fair to us—or to you. Therefore, we are capping the number of ATM reimbursements at five per month per account owner. This will affect less than 1% of our customers, but means that we can continue to offer this valuable benefit to all. And we will never ourselves charge you a fee to use an ATM."

Earlier this year Aspiration switched to offering a flat $4 rebate for international ATM withdrawals (with the ability to complain and get the rest rebated through customer service). I recently spent two months in Brazil*, and Aspiration was randomly applying the $4 rebate to transactions that didn't even have ATM fees. This happened at least five times in my case. Perhaps this flaw is providing the flawed data that led to this decision?

* Banco do Brasil and Bradesco don't charge withdrawal fees, while Itau, Santander, and Banco 24 Horas do FYI

ATLflyer2017

Sorry to open this back up, but I’m going to Spain at the end of the year. I have several credit cards, USAA and Amex that don’t charge foreign transaction fees. I also would like to carry cash as we will be in small towns and I don’t want to rely on credit cards being accepted.

I primarily bank with USAA and I have a CapitalOne 360 account ($0 balance and not sure why I have it). I am assuming USAA charges 1% but reimburses all ATM fees? I’d probably open a separate checking account for safety purposes.

is there any reason to choose Cap1 over USAA? Thanks in advance.

st1575

No, they don't. The USAA surcharge rebate only applies to ATMs in the United States (and then only to its Classic Checking accounts):

"USAA Bank refunds up to $15 in other banks' ATM usage fees for transactions at ATMs in the United States."