If you're traveling in less than a week, you probably don't have time to open a new account with a new bank and get the cards before traveling, but you could try (Schwab is my favorite for both ATM and credit accounts, with no fees, unlimited ATM fee rebates, and 2% cash back on the credit card). See the wiki to see how Citi stacks up against other options. It's definitely not ideal, but it's still probably better than trying to exchange cash, so go with it if it's your only choice.

There are no published exchange rates. They change constantly (from moment to moment) along with the foreign currency markets and there is no way of knowing what rate you will get until the withdrawal/charge hits your account. When you withdraw 100 euros from an ATM or make a 100 euro point-of-sale purchase on your credit/debit card, your account will be hit for the equivalent amount in dollars using whatever exchange rate the bank uses + any fee the bank tacks on.

There are some instances in which you can find out immediately. One, that should be avoided because of its unfavorable rates, is so-called dynamic currency conversion. The converted amount is displayed immediately and your credit or bank account is charged immediately in its native currency. Another is when withdrawing from a Citibank account at a Citibank ATM. I'm sure there are other cases that don't come to mind.

The 2 % does make the Visa credit card a better financial deal. However in many foreign situations, even in major cities, people do not use credit cards for small transactions the way we do in the USA. You'll be slowing down the line and likely get a scowl from the merchant in these cases, so I use cash much more than I do here (which is almost never).

Years ago, Schwab gave out big Delta miles for adding assets to one of their brokerage accounts. I know of no way now to get miles from Schwab but please send me a PM if you find one.

When you get to www.oanda.com go to Currency Tools on the left-hand side and click on "FXHistory".

This brings you a page with a bunch of menus. You can select the "from" and "to" currency, the date or dates you want information on, and the type of rate you want (click on the drop-down menu defaulted at "interbank rate" and you'll see whole list, including "interbank rate: +3%"). (The "interbank rate" is sometimes called the "base" rate. It's the amount one bank charges another for transactions of -- I think -- $1 million or more, before adding any conversion fees or charges.)

Fill in the blanks and click on "get table" and you'll get a table including the average, high, and low.

For example, for conversion of US dollars (USD) to Polish new Zlotys (PLN) on 04/18/2009 to 04/18/2009 (i.e., that date only) at the interbank rate, you get:

Sorry if this has been covered many times before, but I'm not clear what rate on oanda.com I should be using for Cap1 Visa card transactions. I had thought that the great advantage of Cap1 was that there were no FX surcharges, and therefore wonder what rate I should be looking at on oanda.

The object of my research is in regard to a 30 million KRW (South Korean Won) purchase made on April 9, posted in USD on April 11. The Interbank rate tables that I see on oanda.com for April 9 - 11 are:

Conversion Table: USD to KRW (Interbank rate)

April 9:
Time period: 04/9/09 to 04/9/09.
Daily averages: 04/09/2009 1350.260
Average (1 days): 1350.26000
High: 1356.12000
Low: 1324.50000

April 10:
Time period: 04/10/09 to 04/10/09.
Daily averages: 04/10/2009 1325.030
Average (1 days): 1325.03000
High: 1352.81000
Low: 1316.83000

April 11:
Time period: 04/11/09 to 04/11/09.
Daily averages: 04/11/2009 1323.450
Average (1 days): 1323.45000
High: 1324.50000
Low: 1316.66000

and Cap1 used a rate of 1326.998154 when reserving my credit immediately following the transaction, and used a rate of 1300.099283 when posting to my statement. (The difference between the reserved USD amount and the posted USD amount was approximately $250).

To my eye the 1300 rate is 2% below the base rate at the time of the transaction, and is more than 1% below the lowest low on any of the 3 days.

I'd appreciate thoughts about how the oanda.com tables should be used.... and also whether there is any possibility that Cap1 may have started adding a 2% add-on of late. Thanks!

Four Cards Tested:
1) Capital One No Hassles Cash Signature Visa
2) Capital One No Hassles Cash Business Platinum Visa
3) Charles Schwab 2% Cash Back Signature Visa
4) Citibank Chairman American Express


Four separate and identical purchases made for $20.52 on afternoon of 4/22/09 (Australian East Coast Time) at Woolworth�s in Potts Point (Sydney). All purchases made within a two minute period.


OANDA Daily Exchange Rates for AUD $20.52 on different dates:
April 21, 2009: US$ 14.60
April 22, 2009: US$ 14.41
April 23, 2009: US$ 14.50
April 24, 2009: US$ 14.54

************************************************** ************
RESULTS:

Capital One No Hassles Cash Signature Visa
Temp Auth on 4/22/09 (US 4/21/09) immediately posted online: $14.60
Transaction Date: 4/23/09
Posting Date: 04/24
Actual Charge Listed on Statement: $14.64


Capital One No Hassles Cash Business Platinum Visa
Temp Auth on 4/22/09 (US 4/21/09) immediately posted online: $14.60
Transaction Date: 4/23/09
Posting Date: 04/24
Actual Charge Listed on Statement: $14.64


Charles Schwab 2% Cash Back Cash Back Signature Visa
Temp Auth on 4/22/09 (US 4/21/09) immediately posted online: $14.60
Transaction Date: 4/23/09
Posting Date: 04/24
Actual Charge Listed on Statement: $14.64


Citibank Chairman American Express
Temp Auth: None
Transaction Date: 4/22/09
Posting Date: 04/23
Actual Charge Listed on Statement: $14.44

************************************************** **********
Notes:

I didn't expect there to be a difference between the Cap One cards but wanted to check.

Perhaps the reason that the "Temp Auth" amount is different than the actual charge posted to my statements for the first three cards (Cap One, Cap One & Schwab) is because the banks use a different date to calculate the charge that posts on the statement than that from when the charge authorizes.

Also note that the $14.64 actual charge posted to the statement on the first three cards (Cap One, Cap One & Schwab) is almost exactly 1% more than the OANDA exchange rate from the "Transaction Date" date calculation ($14.50) for those charges. Not sure if this is relevant as I haven't seen a 1% charge in the Schwab ever before.

It took me almost 20 minutes on the phone with the rep from Cap One to get a travel auth posted to my two Cap One cards. I did not call for travel auth (I never do) with Charles Schwab nor Citibank Chairman Amex. All charges processed without any problems (and no "fraud" telephone calls (yet)).

I am very surprised that the Chairman Amex was the lowest (I was expecting it to be the highest) but perhaps this is a result of the lower exchange rate from the earlier "Transaction Date" of the charge on this card.

I will try and repeat with larger purchases on the Schwab and Chairman Amex cards to see if the pattern persists. I don't care to go through the travel auth procedure again with Cap One. Although the rep from the foreign call center was kind, being on hold and then being forced to listen to disclosure statements, etc., for each card was a waste of time.

Any other suggestions for a repeat analysis?

The American Express Accolades card has a 0% conversion fee for foreign transactions. It also has the Worldpoints Rewards program with travel benefits, etc including the Premium level priority pass membership. There is no yearly fee if obtained through your BofA banker.

I assume this is BofA's equivalent to Citi's Chairman Amex card? Interesting that it has no annual fee. What are the account relationship requirements to get it?

I think this is correct. Also, the authorization amounts aren't always the same as the actual charge. If you compare the authorizations on your Schwab account for domestic purchases, you'll see they don't always match up.

The oanda.com rate is the "average" rate for that day according to them. It's entirely possible that the rate Visa actually got in the currency markets when they converted the charge (as I'm pretty sure Visa does the conversions for CapOne and Schwab) was 1% different from oanda.com's average rate.

I'm surprised, too, but I'm pretty sure rate volatility explains it. It would be interesting to see how it stacks up in a long series of similar tests.

Thanks so much for doing this!!!

Thanks @themicah. So, Citi: use it as credit is best? And, withdraw cash from ATM only when necessary?

Backup: bring cash to exchange; where is the absolute best rate for this last-ditch cash exchange? Banks or just use the Airport exchange? Would doing an exchange be trumped by ATM withdrawal?

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.

seems that only the WOW Checking refunds any ATM from the other bank (the 1 you used)

min $2500 must be daily bal otherwise fees will be charged, it pays all of 1/2% seems unless one is planning on withdrawing a large amount of Ca$h overseas its best to get ripped off by the likes of Citi that charges 3%

Since I will need very small amounts for transportation on buses/subway etc everything else is CC. Seems best to go with Citi at least when its their ATM as Bureau deChange will cost more then 3% in most cases.

Will ask at the hotel if they will give me $20 US in their currency and put onto my room, been lucky at times where when its $10 US or less then usually did it for me

anyone have the TDB acct?

I have a TD Bank account. I agree that it's not worth maintaining a $2500 minimum to get a few ATM fee rebates, unless you know you're going to be hitting a LOT of ATMs.

But with just a $100 minimum balance, the account is essentially fee-free from TD's end. They won't rebate third-party ATM fees, but as long as you stick to ATMs that don't charge a fee, you won't be charged anything by TD for using your card at any ATM in the world. If you look back a few pages, I detailed a shootout a friend did between his TD, Schwab and Citigold accounts, all of which are purpotedly 0% for overseas withdrawals. He found TD and Schwab were almost identical on every ATM withdrawal (using ATMs in Thailand that don't charge any fees), and both beating Citi by a very small but consistent margin.

The snag is, I don't think we can get a Schwab card in less than a week. So, should we shop for exchanges in our home town? Would that be better?

Thanks.

You might be able to call in your application and request the card via Express Mail. I've received other cards (Hilton AMEX) like that...