Whathello

"For 0% foreign transaction fees, my no-fee Capital One ATM account requires a $5000 minimum balance at all times."

Interesting. I never have 5000 $ or on my bankaccount. Seems like rich guys are being targeted.

wesleymarsh

>>My Capital One account has no required minimum.<<

Capital One checking account services are determined by your location. They ask you for your zip code before giving you their terms and conditions. In my zip code, all their banks require a minimum balance to open a checking account.

My minimum is $5000 because my account is "high-yield." They offer the highest interest available for a checking account.

Capital One 360 is an internet only account, which I have no interest in. I do my banking at a local branch and prefer to work with a bank representative whom I know.

Whathello, I'm far from rich. I wasn't targeted. I sought Capital One because their high-yield checking gives me free foreign ATM transactions with no exchange fees.

thursdaysd

Capital One is my travel account, so I don't need any branches, and in fact there are none in my zip code. I have an account with a local bank for "regular" banking (and a safe deposit box, or the credit union would suffice).

Kathie

For travel, I use a checking account at my brokerage, as not only do they not charge for withdrawing cash from a foreign ATM (nor do they have any conversion fee), but they will also reimburse any charges levied by the foreign ATM I use. That isn't much of an issue in Europe, but in Asia now it has become common for ATMs to have a per use charge, often about US$5 per use.

indyhiker

Kathie, my regular bank charges a $5 fee per overseas ATM withdrawal and I'm not aware of them making any distinction based on where the withdrawal is made. My sense is that most banks charge a similar amount (plus a conversation fee between 1-5%). In advance of my most recent trip, I read a lot online to discern what alternatives there might be. Charles Schwab--which may be the brokerage you use--was mentioned, along with Capital One 360, as two of the better options.

FWIW, I do the rest of my banking at a brick & mortar local bank that I've been with since 1996. That's not going to change any time soon. The 360 account was opened just to be a travel account. Certainly, others are entitled to do what they want with their money, but I simply could not see a downside to opening the account given the fees that my bank (along with most other banks) assess. Like I said, I think I saved $60-70 in bank fees for just this trip. Maybe that's a drop in the bucket for any given trip when you look at the total cost, but for those who travel frequently, that would really add up to some savings over time.

Again, everyone is entitled to their own approach, but I'm sharing this information for anybody out there who is looking to understand their options.

wesleymarsh

>>The 360 account was opened just to be a travel account.<<

If you are OK with using an electronic checking account, then perhaps the 360 is a good alternative for travel. Relying on an internet connection and transferring funds between accounts via the internet is not something I'm willing to do.

360 offers a list of free Allpoint ATMs in the U.S. You can use ATMs abroad, but if you get charged for using them, you have to dispute the charge. That's not for me, either.

Most people I know don't want an official paper trail to their cash, so multiple checking accounts is not the norm. Clearly, there are outliers who post on this board. But I doubt multiple checking accounts is the norm for the vast majority of people taking vacation.

Kathie

My regular bank (and almost all of the US big banks) charge US$5 per withdrawal from a foreign ATM plus 3% conversion fee. The brokerage I use is E*Trade. I agree, Indyhiker, this saves me about US$100 or more each trip.

It is also interesting that some local credit unions don't charge for use of a foreign ATM. I encourage people to know what their bank charges and to investigate options if they use one of the big banks in the US.

Wesley, What does this mean? "Most people I know don't want an official paper trail to their cash" Are you saying that the people you know are trying to hide their cash|? Are violating currency laws? I doubt it. If you aren't comfortable using the internet to transfer money from one account to another, I understand that, but it is the cheapest, easiest and most convenient way to access your money in a foreign country.

hetismij2

DH's card was blocked because he forgot to turn on travel outside Europe on a business trip. I could still use my card at home. the entire account wasn't blocked - the cards have different numbers, in addition to the account number, and the bank knows which is which.
Same with our credit cards, both on the same account. His was compromised recently and blocked but mine still works just fine.
It depends entirely on your ban how they deal with such things. As I said I can turn on foreign travel with an app n my phone, even while travelling, and transfer money around accounts without the need for a VPN.

Anyway, as I said before hopefully Iowamom now has money and her problem is solved. I hope she comes back and tells us, when she has a breather from enjoying Ireland.

flpab

Oh my, hope all is solved, always take two debit cards and two credit cards. Had problems in France once but we used back up cards.

Andrew

Kathie: <i>My regular bank (and almost all of the US big banks) charge US$5 per withdrawal from a foreign ATM plus 3% conversion fee.</i>

Why reward them then with your business, when they offer you such lousy rates? Why not dump them for a good credit union? I dumped big banks years ago in favor of a good credit union, where everything is better than what my old bank was offering - better rates, fewer fees, etc. What supposed benefit was I getting for being their customer, besides paying more and getting less?

thursdaysd

@indyhiker - there is one potential charge made by your own bank for using an ATM they do not own. There is a second potential charge made by some ATMs for using the ATM. So you can be hit with two fees for one transaction. My Capital One account does not charge the first fee and refunds the second up to $25/month.

@wesleymarsh: "Most people I know don't want an official paper trail to their cash"

What exactly are you trying to say? You and your friends have no bank accounts? You are paid in cash and pay for everything in cash? Or perhaps bitcoins? If you have any kind of bank account there is an electronic trail.

wesleymarsh

>>Are you saying that the people you know are trying to hide their cash?<<

Not just the people I know. I think a lot of people try to hide cash, especially when banks pay so little interest. Frankly, I don't know anyone who wishes to give the government access to more financial information than necessary. I can imagine, the more bank accounts you have, the more eyeball attention you get.

I don't wish to speak for all people, but I've known siblings who didn't know how many bank accounts existed or what was in them when their parents died. There are thousands of bank accounts each year that are left in limbo with no claim to their balances. Life is full of surprises, and the details are often out of our control. I simply don't see much positive upside to multiple checking accounts.

thursdaysd

Unless you have offshore accounts, or you stash actual cash in a safe in your house, the US government knows about your money, assuming it is interested. These days, with FATCA, offshore accounts aren't what they were, either.

Thinking that having two or three accounts instead of just one somehow affords less privacy is ridiculous. I use different accounts for different purposes.

wesleymarsh

>>Thinking that having two or three accounts instead of just one somehow affords less privacy is ridiculous.<<

To each his own.

indyhiker

Of course life is full of surprises, but the simple answer to that is to keep good financial records. Even with just one bank account, I still have life insurance, retirement accounts, a brokerage account, etc. that I have to keep track of for my own benefit and for the benefit of my heirs. The fact that some people lose track of what they have is their problem.

And I can't figure out why simply having two or three (domestic) bank accounts would garner extra attention from the Feds. With all due respect, that's ridiculous. I have seen no evidence of that after 16 years in a job that puts people under a microscope in terms of their finances. The number of accounts in and of itself has never been made an issue.

iowamom

Wow - great exchanges of information!

Short update is we finally got cash from an ATM machine!

Moral of the story is to notify credit union when we travel overseas... DH called when they opened (2pm Ireland time) from his cell which is our old home number (so we think that made the prove its you part easier) to figure out why it wasn't working - sure enough, not authorized for international usage. He made them stay on the phone with him until he was able to withdraw cash from an ATM. Trying to do a withdrawal at the Dublin airport triggered a fraud alert and they claimed they tried to contact us but we have no record of phone calls, texts or emails from them. It's the only ATM card we have (each of us has one) and it's a Visa debit card with Plus, accel, co-op and STAR logos on the back.

We are now in Kenmare (via Cork) and had to pay tolls along the way - not sure if they would have accepted a credit card. Good thing we brought some Euros from a previous trip.

Lesson learned!

thursdaysd

Glad you got it sorted!

sassy27

I also have a credit union and just came back from Canada. I never had to inform them of my travels in the past as when I tried, I was told no need. Well, I am back in the US and it won't work. I called my CU and was told they can't do anything and will call me tomorrow. What makes me mad is when my ATM card got skimmed in Scotland last year, they kept letting it go through. This time it's me using it and it's now barred but at least I am heading home. There is nothing worse than being far from home with no access to cash so glad to hear you got it resolved.

jane1144

This is an interesting discussion. We have always notified our credit card providers and our bank when we plan to travel. We have recently received notifications from both Visa and Mastercard that these notifications are no longer required. Possibly because we are Canadian and all our cards have a chip and require a PIN?

sundriedtopepo

jane1144 I have found the same thing, Visa has told us that we no longer need to inform them if we leave the country. It could be the chip and pin, both our Visas and Debit cards now have them. It's a Canadian thing apparently...