International Banking Fees...For the banking crowd........

[grr456]

My daughter is a senior at Kettering and will be taking a semester as an exchange student in Germany. She will need to be able to access her (my) money thru a bank. I want to keep it local, so does anyone know the cheapest bank to do this thru? I also told her to get a charge card and they all seem to charge a new 'transaction' fee when used overseas......Does anyone know which card shee can get that doesn't charge these fees?

Gary

 

[Topless_Pony_00]

Bank of America has international affiliates. I'm not sure what the banks are but I used them when I went to Europe.

 

[sofa king]

I think most CC companies charge either a 1 or 3% fee for each transaction.
Best bet would be to open an account there, then try to use cash. CC and Debit is not as popular there as it is here, for the most part everywhere can be used, sometimes though it is not an option. Then you can use an ATM and have cash, only having bank fees once in a while instead of every transaction.
I guess you'd have to be confident she is able to limit herself with the cash though.

It is awesome, where is she going? What is she going to school for?
She will have a good time, it is really an awesome place just about everywhere. Lots of history there, way different than it is here.

 

[86iroc305]

when i went over sea's all i used was my debit card at the atm pulled out a few hundred dollars at a time, (i think i had comerica @ the time, i hate comerica and no long bank with them i currently use DFCU ) i just called them said i was going abroad and was able to get money that way. the exchange rate wasnt that bad just the few dollar atm fee.

 

[Killjoy]

She needs to get at least one credit card that has no foreign transaction fees as a benefit. The best one in my experience is the Capital One Cash Rewards.
I always take 2 of these "no foreign transaction fee" cards with me on trips, just in case one screws up the international travel notice that you need to give them prior to leaving. Capital One has never screwed up for my 6-7 trips, but I've had my alternate card denied on multiple trips despite calling them beforehand and telling them I would be traveling. That can get resolved with a call, but that can a PITA when you're in a foreign country w/o a working cell phone, etc.

As far as cash, don't convert any USD to Euros before you leave. Fees are killer here, even at most banks. Just get an ATM card from your bank/credit union that has wide affiliations with ATM networks. Then once she lands there, she can just withdraw local currency at the day's bank exchange rate w/o any fees - 99% of time. I just use my normal credit union ATM card and I've never had a problem, and never been charges an ATM fee... just the straight exchange rate.

You might also want to think about cell phone coverage for that semester. It's probably going to be way cheaper for her to buy an unlocked quad band phone here before she leaves, then buy a prepaid SIM once she gets over there. Skype is also a good option to augment cell minutes. If all you do is simply call your provider and add global coverage, don't be surprised when her cell phone bill is $100s of USD.

Good info here too: http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/travel-discussion/1213071/

 

[ricefed]

You have any military or DOD time or and immediate family in either? Navy Federal Credit Union is awesome if you can get in.

 

[Killjoy]

Pentagon Federal Credit Union is my alternate NFT fee cc & was unusable for my entire trip in northern Europe last month. I even called them twice before leaving to make sure they had the travel notice in place. So, you never know... I would take 2 cards for sure.