laurie_ann

A friend of mine lives in Germany. He is an American citizen but hasn't lived in the U.S. for 20 years. He inherited some US$ funds when his parents passed away in the U.S. He would like to get a U.S.$ credit card that he could use when he travels here or shops here. Then he would pay the bills with those inherited funds. Any suggestions on how he could most easily get a credit card that would bill him in U.S.$? I suggested Citibank or American Express which certainly have retail branches in Europe but perhaps others on this forum have other ideas. Yes, he has a Euro credit card he could use here but he wants to match his U.S.$ assets with U.S.$ liabilities and save the costs of exchange both directions.

kybourbon

Most US credit cards have fees tacked on to overseas purchases so I don't think it would really save him much. Maybe an ATM card would be better.

ellenem

I'm with kybourbon. Why not just deposit it in a US account that has low/no foreign exchange fees and withdraw cash with an ATM card?

laurie_ann

laurie_ann

I wasn't clear. My friend has U.S.$ in a U.S. bank account. He would like to spend it when comes from Germany and travels in the U.S. He would like to spend it on a credit card rather than carry U.S. cash around. Then he would like to pay the U.S$ credit card bill from his U.S.$ account. But, because he is not a U.S. resident the bank in the U.S. where he currently has this U.S.$ bank account won't issue him a credit card.

Otherwise, if he uses his German mastercard or visa credit card in the U.S. he pays the exchange fees both ways 1. when he makes the charge on his card in the U.S. and 2. when he transfers U.S. funds to Germany to pay his credit card bill in Euros.

kybourbon

Whatever bank he has this money in, he needs to get an ATM/Debit card. A debit card is just like writing a check for something. It's deducted from your account the minute you make the purchase. Most places in the US take debit cards.

Michael

With the credit card from the right bank, he does not have to pay fees. On the other hand, he will be charged fees using an ATM at a non-member bank.

Melnq8

laurie_ann -

I suspect the issue has more to do with him not having a US billing address, than where he actually lives.

I've lived outside of the US for years and I only have US issued credit cards, which I use absolutely everywhere. The billing address I use is a US based company pouch mail PO box.

Does he know someone in the US whose address he could use to give to the bank? If so, he can use that address, then pay his credit card bills online from Germany using his US account or arrange automatic payment when the bill comes due.

ellenem

<<he will be charged fees using an ATM at a non-member bank.>>

This is not true for all banks, but for most.

kjalaska

How about something like a pay ahead VISA account. He could load it at the bank and use it while he's in the USA and then put any excess back into his account when he leaves. I think most banks have those. I found one called Netspend on Google, I know others offer the same thing.

sashh

What about a prepaid card? You can get them in Euros, sterling and dollars here.(UK). OK he would be loading the card before use rather than paying a bill but would that make too much difference?

kybourbon

Prepaid cards (such as Visa Travel Card)waste money. There is a fee to load them (around 7%), a fee to use them and they give a lousy exchange rate. They are probably the most expensive option you could choose. I was surprised how many Aussies were using these in Italy last fall and thought they were a good idea. Oh and if you attempt to use it and the transaction doesn't complete you are charged a fee for the attempt.

kayd

I think the debit-ATM card from the bank where he already has an account would achieve what he wants: a convenient way to use funds from his US account while he is in the US.
There would be no difference from using a credit card at the point of sale, the only difference is that with the debit card the funds are moved out of the account right away instead of waiting for a bill and paying several weeks later.

laurie_ann

Thanks for all the responses.

I was thinking the debit card too, except I have found in the U.S. that sometimes you get a "hold" like at a hotel check in or the commencement of a car rental which isn't a problem when it just ties up your credit line on your credit card but if it ties up your "real" money in your bank account then it can be a constraint. The other limitation is even if they have visa or mastercard logos I believe the merchant can tell they are debit cards and they may not be accepted like for a car rental.

I might ask him if tried giving our address in Chicago it would work. That would be easier than establishing and paying for a P.O. box. We could either forward his paper statements or he could go paperless like I do.

Sarastro

I fail to see the advantage to his using a debit card. The downside to these cards is the unlimited liability in the event of fraud. Credit cards have a maximum $50 loss liability in the event of fraud.

There are many disadvantages to using a US bankcard. There are no pin and chip cards available to US banking customers which means a US card cannot be used in a RATP or SNCF kiosk, on many autoroutes toll booths, or gasoline pay at the pump locations in Europe.

I agree with the poster who points to his lack of a US address as perhaps the reason for his difficulties in obtaining a US issued card. He might be able to use the address of whatever trust fund is handling his US funds. If he does apply for a US bankcard, he will want a Capital One card which is the only card which not only adds no international transaction fees of its own but actually absorbs the 1% Visa/MC international currency exchange fee. Capital One users pay no fees of any kind for using their cards outside of the US. Many banks add fixed fees to a 3-5% international transaction fee.

For a summary of what many of the most popular banks charge their customers for international transactions, check here:

http://www.indexcreditcards.com/inte...ansactionfees/

ellenem

Sarastro,
The person who needs this card does not need it for use in European transactions--only for U.S. transactions. The person has money in a U.S. bank but resides in Germany and is looking for a solution to access the money while traveling in the U.S. that featuring no fees and no need to carry large amounts of cash.

Getting a U.S. address seems to be a key.

Sarastro

<b>ellenem</B> - you are right of course (too many heres and theres in the original question). However, I should not change my response. Having a feeless US bank card will afford this individual the added option of using his US funds outside of the US which may become more important to him as the US dollar continues to climb against the euro.

molker

In todays environment what US Bank is going to approve and issue a credit card to someone it seems lives and thus most probably works in Europe and also has little or no crdit payment history.
Even with a U S accomodation address - no credit or residence history when bank checks this before approval and issuance of a credit card will resultin a clear rejection of the application in my opinion.
A debit card is the best and easiest alternative to me.
He only needs to find a bank with minimum charges and one that may still exist in the near term future.

kayd

To minimize risk of losing a large amount via debit card fraud, he could open a second account for keeping the bulk of the money and only transfer to the debit card account as he anticipates using the card.

ellenem

Sarastro, and that's why I made my earlier comments about the fees being true for most but not all. I have U.S. credit card with no fees.