International Travel - Transaction Costs

[ea1776]

So I am relocated for 3 months in Taipei Taiwan from Texas. What a big change! My wife and I are really excited about the opportunity and loving it so far.

However, one thing we should have planned better for was how to spend money here. Everyone on this board is probably aware of the international transaction costs credit cards charge you when abroad (not sure on exact amounts but they seem to be a large % of transaction!). I think that's probably the most expensive way to spend.

Then there is drawing cash out of my US bank account via ATM. That costs 1% of the total amount you withdrawal + $1.00. Not terrible I guess, but I was hoping to find something that is $0.00. So, I jumped through hoops to open a local account here (thinking I would just wire money online, then withdrawal through local ATM). And it _WAS_ a pain to open the account! Long story short, I can't wire money from my US accounts to my local account here (limitation of my US accounts, and I'm not sure of US accounts that can do that or not)! So, I'm sort of back at square one. Anybody have good suggestions for saving money on transaction costs for my particular situation?

As a sidenote, there seems to be a lot of HSBC's here. I think when we get back to the states, I'll set up an HSBC savings account or something, so when I travel to Asia, maybe this will be easier.

As a 2nd unrelated sidenote, there are at least 1 million 7-11's in Taipei ! wow, on every corner, seriously!

[JoshuaHeckathorn]

I just returned to the US after living in Beijing for the past year, so I know exactly what you're going through. And yes, they have 7-11s everywhere there too...and they're awesome compared to ones here in the US!

Anyway, I recommend applying online for a Capital One credit card, since none of their cards charge a currency conversion fee. That'll save you 3%. They have several no annual fee card options too. We used our Cap One card everywhere we could in China and then just paid it off every month from our US checking account.

I also set up a local HSBC account in China and one in the US, which allowed me to move money if necessary. The debit card I received from HSBC also allowed me to make unlimited ATM withdrawals with absolutely no fees. And like you said, there are HSBCs everywhere throughout China and most of Asia. They did offer a credit card that waives foreign transaction fees, but I believe it had an annual fee, so we took a pass since we had the Cap One card.

HSBC is a great international bank. I've had good experiences with them and highly recommend that anyone who travels internationally look into them. I also use their online savings account, which is pretty handy.

Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Taipei!

[kdice]

Cap One

I just wanted to second the nomination of the Capital One No Hassles card. For about two years I traveled internationally all over for work and the card lived up to its no hassle name... I never had a problem with them "freezing" my card because there were international purchases (happened with others), they don't have foreign currency surcharges, and also do not pass on the 1% fee that Visa charges for foreign transactions.

As others have said here, credit cards do have their place.

[kork13]

A while ago, I got the Charles Schwab credit card. One reason I chose it (besides the flat 2% rewards) was that it doesn't charge the foreign transaction fees that most other cards do. I'm moving to Japan this month for 2-3 years, so over time, that will save me pretty significantly. You sort of just need to look around for the right card. I didn't think about ATM withdrawals, though... I'll have to look into that, thanks for bringing my attention to it.

[red92s]

When I was gearing up for 2 years in India, HSBC seemed to offer the greatest flexibility when banking both abroad and back in the states. With branches in so mancy countries, they have special programs targeted at expats.

Expats experiences and views from around the world

[ea1776]

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'll just tough out the 1% ATM withdrawal fee and credit card fees for the next 2.5 months. It is a short stay, so I'll just bit the bullet. I can't open an HSBC account here now, and don't really want to apply for another CC at the moment, but I will keep those things in mind for future reference. Looks like what I should have done was open an HSBC account in the US prior to the trip (for $0 fees on ATM withdrawals) and also researched credit cards that don't charge international fees (for all other transactions). Well, lesson learned anyways.

[snafu]

Call your CC regional mgr [1-800] and ask him to waive the transaction fee. We told them we'd use an alternate card if they didn't want our business. Also, up the limit on daily withdrawl. As you've learned, they charge fees per transaction plus currency exchange fees so it helps to limit the number of transactions.