J62

I don't consider the 3% fee charged by banks unjustified. Profit is a perfectly acceptable motive in a free market economy.

Other banks offer an option and I and everyone else is free to choose a competitor who doesn't charge those fees. Or not.

Those that remain uninformed about money matters, or worse yet are informed yet choose not to act just as at fault as any "greedy" bank.

Heimdall

Let's put things in perspective. Last June, during my two week trip to Greece, I withdrew €1,200 from ATM machines, at a cost of $1,480. Of that, the 1% foreign transaction fees totalled less than $15. Had I paid an additional 3% in bank charges, that would have been a whopping $44.40 more!

Yes, it's nice to save a few dollars, and if your budget is larger than mine you will save a bit more. But is it really worth all that bother to open up another bank account to save such a small sum of money? If your answer is yes, go ahead. ;-)

BTW, those of you with a calculator to hand will note that the euro was only $1.23 last June.

ParisAmsterdam

>>>
found TD in Niagara Falls, Canada. That's the closest to me. I live south of Buffalo, NY so the NY branches are far away. Could I as a US citizen open the account in NF, Canada??
<<<

I have checked on this in the recent past and yes, a TD bank or Canada Trust in Canada will happily open an account for an American.

You will need your passport and one other piece of photo ID. You can even open a US dollar account. But you can only have an ATM card (chip and pin!) if you open a Canadian dollar account.
Still... worth your while to make the drive across the border.

Rob

thursdaysd

""foreign ATMs are charging me to use them." Not at all. They are no-fee." Well, some are, some aren't. My last trip I had several tell me up-front that they would charge a fee and ask me if I wanted to continue with the transaction. Since Cap One would be paying the fee for me, I said yes!

Heimdall - whether opening an account for a no-fee card (or switching to one) is worth the effort is an individual decision. How often you travel, how long you travel, how tight your budget, are all important considerations. I just got back from a six month trip - 3% fees would have REALLY hurt!

Heimdall

Thursdaysd, I couldn't agree more! I live in Europe on a dollar income, and must have saved a lot of money over the years by having an ATM card from a US bank that doesn't charge the 3% fee. My bank exchanges money at the market rate, and MasterCard adds a 1% foreign transaction charge, which I am happy to pay.

My point was: opening a new bank account and transferring money to it is time consuming, and probably not worth it just for a one-time short trip to Europe. Those of us who make repeated trips or actually live overseas have different needs.

chris45ny

Thanks for all the replies. I could open an account at TD in Niagara Falls, Canada but USD I deposit would get converted to Canadian $ in order to have debit for cash withdrawal linked to checking. That doesn't work because if you deposit $5000 USD that converts to $4783.50 Canadian. I have decided to open a Capital One checking with debit card. There is no fee and I can withdraw up to $600 at a time. CO will reimburse any foreign bank fees 10 per month. TD USA has no branches here-Albany and NY City area. I live south of Buffalo, NY. Decided to do this as we travel several times a year since husband retired in 2007. Daughter is moving to China to work so anticipate more trips overseas.

travelerjan

I'm glad you could work something out, Chris! And just think ... when you've drawn out $1800 in 3 transactions, you can think "Golly, if I'd used my old Greedykins HSBC debit card, (at @3% + $1.50 fee per withdrawal), it would have cost me $49.50 just to get my own money!!" And in Greek tavernas, that's dinner for four! Don't you feel smart!

chris45ny

Jan-When you spell it out like that-YES!! Thanks so much for the advice here and on the other posts/questions I have had.

Christina

I don't know if it matters, but I noticed several people refer to Capital One as not having real buildings or only being an online bank. This isn't true, they are my bank, and believe me, they are real. There are dozens of Capital One real banks where I live (Wash DC metro area) and there are in other states, also.