Have used the Cap One credit card for awhile while overseas and am quite satisfied. my son is now headed over but would rather not give him cart blanche . would rather let him use a debit card preload with a certain amount. any ideas of which is best for foreign exchange, fees, etc. I looked at cap one but you have to open an account in person either in La. or Tx. both of which i am not in.

When I go international I use my debit card from a local community bank. There's a flat $1.50 per ATM withdrawl. Worked great in the UK and Asia. Large banks tend to see international ATM as a profit center. Community Banks and Credit Unions generally don't see a reason to charge large fees on transactions that generally cost them very little.

Do you mean a debit card linked to a bank account or a prepaid card that has been funded with a specific amount, such as the American Express Travelers Cheque card?

http://www10.americanexpress.com/sif...1,18622,00.asp

Earn 2,500 Delta Skymiles with mininum $700 TCC purchase...

http://syndicator.www31.americanexpr...alone-fragment

I'm pretty sure most prepaid cards have a lot of fees for overseas use.

I'd get him a CapOne account (or a card on your account) and just make it really clear that every dime he spends on the card is one he has to pay you back.

For the complete flyertalk guide to overseas credit/debit card use, see our wiki:

http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php...reign_Exchange

Unfortunately we don't list too many prepaid cards, though.

great point about type of acct. i would do either prepaid or tied to bank acct. depending on which offers the best fee schedule. i would like it to be easy for him in stores , atm machines, etc. but still be capped by the amt. of cash behind it.i went through the wiki many times and it mostly deals with credit cards. a credit card in an 18 year olds hand is like one in my ex-wifes.

There are a number of banks listed on the wiki that offer ATM/debit cards with 0-1% forex vigs and no other fees. Commerceonline.com, FirstIB.com, BofI.com and umbrellabank.com are a few examples. Most local credit unions are also options.

I still think it's better to use a credit card overses if for no other reason than it's good to have a credit line in case of an emergency (but also because it's easier to dispute fraudulent charges). Also, the smaller banks that offer 0-1% forex vigs tend not to have customer service centers you can call collect like the big credit card companies.

Meanwhile, I fail to see what's so dangerous about giving a kid (or your ex-wife, for that matter) a credit card. As long as the cardholder understands that all charges are his/her responsibility, I don't see what the issue is. I know plenty of 18yos for whom it doesn't matter if the card says "credit" or "debit"--they won't spend more than they have in their bank account.

USAA bank refunds up to $15 per month in any atm charges that occur by using one that's not one of theirs, AND they do not charge you a fee on their end to have used a non one. This has worked for me in Holland and Canada as well as when in the states using it at some near by bank or something. You may need to be part of or somehow related to the military to get one of their checking accounts though.

MM

I like the AAA "TravelMoney" card. You can get on online or at any AAA branch and you don't have to be a member to buy.

go with any credit union, as they have the MOST expansive ATM network in the world. as a credit union member in alberta, I could get cash from credit union atms in Denver, LAS, even in Delhi and Mumbai using credit union ATMs without any ATM-fees.

Usually all banks in the US work with a debit system either with VISA or MasterCard brands. These cards are tied to the individual bank accounts and usually dont have huge fees. Especially for ATM transactions they are pretty good as Bank of America for example has big partners in about 7 countries.

This is the best way in my eyes, but forget about it to use it for car rentals or whatever requireing deposits except you hold your checking account around 2.000$ for this purpose !

TD Banknorth
free checking, no min balance, no fees
refunds all atm fees

I find BofA one of the worst. They charge $5 per transaction, plus the foreign exchange fee if you don't use one of their atms.

My citibank debit does not charge fees for using other ATM's, and last time I was in Europe, they don't charge fees for using other ATM cards at their bank. I don't know what exchange rate is currently being used, but I found it cheaper to use the ATM, get cash in the local currency, rather than using a credit card. But I agree, he should have a credit card for emergencies as well. Let him know you will have access daily to see expenditures. (It's also a good way to know he's OK when a charge, or debit shows up). Also, many countries have Citibank branches.

Pity you're not UK based-we have the Nationwide BS debit card-best on the planet!

have you noticed if they refund all the fees or just dont charge them. such as atm, maintanance, exchange. i will call and see what countries they are in. i like that its a major institution tho. downside is there are so many scammers using citibank as letterheads.