I've done a lot of research, and I've discovered the absolute best Debit AND Credit Cards for foreign Travel.

All the cards listed below meet the following qualification:

• No annual fee.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Refunds for ATM fees, both domestic and international.
• No Cash Advance fees (credit cards)
  

I'll start with credit cards:

Pentagon Federal Credit Union

Pros:

Offers a variety of cards, from low interest rates to cash back to travel.
Chip AND PIN technology, making these cards perfect for ATM's.
Both Visa and American Express.
Credit Cards for those with excellent or average credit scores.

Cons:

• Some cards are only available to those with a military and/or government background.
• Those without a military background must make a one time donation one of two non-profits, either $14.00 Voices for America's Troops OR $15.00 National Military Family Association.
• You are also required to have a $5 savings account with PenFed (can be opened online with your application)
  

Another great set of cards for international travel are any of the Stanford Federal Credit Union Cards.

Pros:

• Wide variety of cards, from rewards cards to secured cards.
• Even someone with no established credit or poor credit can qualify for a secured credit card.
• Chip Technology.

Cons:

• Must be a member of either the Stanford Community, Friends of Palo Alto Libraries (FOPAL), the Museum of American Heritage, or an employee or volunteer of the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce. Anyone can join FOPAL ($15) or the Museum of American Heritage ($20).
• Only Visa cards are offered.

That covers the best Travel Credit Cards.

Now lets move on to our best Travel Debit Cards...

By far, the absolute best Travel Debit Card is the Charles Schwab Investor Checking Debit Card

This card is amazing. It features:

• No foreign Transaction fee.
• Unlimited fee rebates from any ATM worldwide.
• No monthly service fees.
• No minimum balance.
• Worldwide Expedited Rush Shipping replacement cards.

It doesn't get any better than that.

Now there is one slight con to Schwab Bank.

They do a hard credit pull when you open an account with them. (Even for a checking account). So be aware of that.


Next, Fidelity Cash Management Account.

Don't let the fancy name fool you. This card features:

• No foreign Transaction fee.
• Unlimited fee rebates from any ATM worldwide.
• No monthly service fees.
• No minimum balance.
  

There you go! I hope this list is helpful to the RVF travelers here. Obviously this list only covers American Credit and Debit cards, so for those of you from Australia, Canada, etc, please feel free to add your own datasheets to this thread, so that we can create a comprehensive worldwide thread on the subject.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

Standard Citibank account. No losses of any form.

The most important factor OP has left out is "spread". Some companies weasel their fees by saying "no transaction fees", but exchange at 10% below market rate. Always check the difference between their price and the market rate. A simple google search gives you the approximate current market rate.

Quote: (10-08-2015 05:57 AM)Phoenix Wrote:  

Standard Citibank account. No losses of any form.

The most important factor OP has left out is "spread". Some companies weasel their fees by saying "no transaction fees", but exchange at 10% below market rate. Always check the difference between their price and the market rate. A simple google search gives you the approximate current market rate.

This may be true if using a Citibank ATM, but when I was in the Phil and used a non-citibank ATM I had to pay a large ATM fee and I also felt their exchange rate was not as good as that of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

Perhaps a certain type of Citibank account is required to avoid any kind of fee and get the best exchange rate?

I'm sure there is already a thread for this stuff..

But.. I'm seconding the Chase blue sapphire preferred card.

The best travel cards are not necessarily "just" the ones with no fees. You should also be looking at ones with good rewards programs-transfer partners and other benefits such as travel/rental car insurance and the like. There is much more value you can extract from these, even with an annual fee.

Quote: (10-08-2015 01:31 PM)Mr. A Wrote:  

The best travel cards are not necessarily "just" the ones with no fees. You should also be looking at ones with good rewards programs-transfer partners and other benefits such as travel/rental car insurance and the like. There is much more value you can extract from these, even with an annual fee.

The best rewards programs only offer 1-2% cash back or equivalent in miles or other rewards, which is canceled out or even super-ceded by any foreign transaction fees you pay.

Aside from that, this list focuses on getting hard cold CASH in foreign countries, and given that Credit Cards have a MUCH better fraud protection than debit cards, I believe these cards are superior for travel if you think your odds of getting robbed/mugged are decent.

The seasoned RVF traveler has Global Entry's frequent traveler thread bookmarked.

Quote: (10-08-2015 04:45 PM)Onto Wrote:  

The seasoned RVF traveler has Global Entry's frequent traveler thread bookmarked.

I see no mention of any of the credit cards I mentioned above....the thread doesn't even seem to be about cards....

Edit: I just searched. This is the first time either of the two credit cards I mention above have ever been written about in the forum ANYWHERE.

You're welcome.

What about Charles Scwhab investor's checking account? The card is a chip and pin debit card. No ATM fees + it refunds fees by other banks for ATM usage, including abroad. The only thing that I heard (haven't checked myself) is that exchange rates for foreign transactions are not market rates and may include a hidden fee by Schwab. I'd like to know if this is true.

Quote: (10-08-2015 10:09 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

What about Charles Scwhab investor's checking account? The card is a chip and pin debit card. No ATM fees + it refunds fees by other banks for ATM usage, including abroad. The only thing that I heard (haven't checked myself) is that exchange rates for foreign transactions are not market rates and may include a hidden fee by Schwab. I'd like to know if this is true.

I covered that in the second section, where I mention the two best travel DEBIT cards.

Quote: (10-08-2015 03:51 AM)whateverfuckit Wrote:  

Now lets move on to our best Travel Debit Cards...

By far, the absolute best Travel Debit Card is the Charles Schwab Investor Checking Debit Card

This card is amazing. It features:

• No foreign Transaction fee.
• Unlimited fee rebates from any ATM worldwide.
• No monthly service fees.
• No minimum balance.
• Worldwide Expedited Rush Shipping replacement cards.

It doesn't get any better than that.

Now there is one slight con to Schwab Bank.

They do a hard credit pull when you open an account with them. (Even for a checking account). So be aware of that.

Because people have found better offers with better benefits.

Quote: (10-09-2015 12:34 AM)Sourcecode Wrote:  

Because people have found better offers with better benefits.

Do feel free to share....

While fee-free debit cards present a valuable option for those visiting undeveloped nations for extended periods of time, there is still no real reason to use them over a fee-free credit card that can generate a greater return through transferable currencies such as Ultimate Rewards or AMEX points..

The main flaw in the debit card argument is the pegging of CC rewards' value at 1-2%. Any savvy traveler knows that they can get 5 cents (or 5%) out of their miles. The un-savvy travelers are the ones using 40,000 miles to travel to Colombia instead of looking up the prices and realizing that tickets to Bogota are $350.

These cards are good if one is insistent on using cash wherever they go. This could potentially be valuable if I'm running around rural Cambodia where cash is king, but I am a frequent visitor to countries such as China and Colombia, where I can use a credit card for all of my purchases.

Therefore, barring any issues with credit, I would always recommend to use a credit card (many of which offer no foreign-transaction fees) and then transfer their points to a valuable currency. That being said, any of these debit cards are useful for that first time when you land in the country when you should withdraw all of your spending cash for that particular trip, but still not more valuable than a credit card.

Quote: (10-09-2015 06:24 AM)elcidcampeador Wrote:  

These cards are good if one is insistent on using cash wherever they go. This could potentially be valuable if I'm running around rural Cambodia where cash is king, but I am a frequent visitor to countries such as China and Colombia, where I can use a credit card for all of my purchases.

Therefore, barring any issues with credit, I would always recommend to use a credit card (many of which offer no foreign-transaction fees) and then transfer their points to a valuable currency. That being said, any of these debit cards are useful for that first time when you land in the country when you should withdraw all of your spending cash for that particular trip, but still not more valuable than a credit card.

You do realize that half of the post is going over rewards credit cards that have no foreign transaction fees AND no cash advance fees, right?

Quote: (10-09-2015 12:23 AM)whateverfuckit Wrote:  

I covered that in the second section, where I mention the two best travel DEBIT cards.

My question is very specific. Has anybody who used a Charles Schwab debit card abroad noticed the difference between the exchange rate applied by Schwab and the market rate? Some banks do not charge the foreign transaction fee upfront but add say 2% to the exchange rate and make their money that way.

@Brodiaga

I have found the Schwab debit card to give me great exchange rates. Often times better than I thought the market price would be.

Using Charles Schwab as my bank has been the best experience of any bank I have ever had and recommend it to everyone.

Quote: (10-09-2015 09:39 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

Quote: (10-09-2015 12:23 AM)whateverfuckit Wrote:  

I covered that in the second section, where I mention the two best travel DEBIT cards.

My question is very specific. Has anybody who used a Charles Schwab debit card abroad noticed the difference between the exchange rate applied by Schwab and the market rate? Some banks do not charge the foreign transaction fee upfront but add say 2% to the exchange rate and make their money that way.

I believe the exchange rate is determined by Visa and not the bank. My ATM transactions with Schwab appear to follow the exchange rates provided on Visa's website exactly. (link)

I'm my experience if you have enough money in your account then quite a few banks will waive the foreign atm transaction fee.

Quote: (10-10-2015 08:42 AM)Mentavious Wrote:  

I'm my experience if you have enough money in your account then quite a few banks will waive the foreign atm transaction fee.

Sure, but not everyone is on a baller budget.

This is a big topic, and one that can't really be considered in a vacuum, for a few reasons. First, everyone has different circumstances, and the needs of someone living abroad, say, in Thailand, are quite different from those of a guy whose in Thailand for a week or two living in hotels or even AirBnb. Guy #1 needs more cash, most likely, than Guy #2, whose accommodation could and should be booked with reward credit cards.

Secondly, how much you spend is an essential part of the equation. For a generally frugal traveler, who flies economy on heavily discounted tickets, regardless of the duration of the flight, getting 1-2 percent back on spend and not paying an annual fee, and not paying international transaction fees, well, thats top drawer. For someone who spends more (even if that spending is work-reimbursed), desires to fly business or first class (at least on longhaul) and who prefers international hotels, a money-back, no fee card is not the best option economically. It just depends on the circumstances and the preferences of the traveler in question.

Finally, and I've made this point before, I don't think a frequent traveler is best served by aggregating a single currency (and that includes cashback). The reason is availability in general. If one has Chase points, but Star Alliance awards for your chose route are overpriced or hard to come by, then you're stuck to a degree. But if you've also got SPG points, or Citi Thank You rewards, or Membership reward points, then you begin to have some options, including using some of those as cash for travel. And just using a card that is cashback only is leaving money on the table, when some no fee credit cards give upto 5 percent back in rewards (or cash back) are available for specific types of spending (i.e., Freedom Card, AMEX Everyday).

When I spend long stretches in China, and when I'm traveling around Asia, for on the ground spending at markets, for street food dinners in BKK or Phnom Penh, and certainly to be able to haggle on prices, I need cash as well. I've picked up the TD Waterhouse card, which also has no ATM fees. There is a fee to have the account monthly, if you fall below $3,000 I believe. So that may be a constraint for some.

I guess the takeaway is that the OP's card options look pretty good as part of an overall strategy for economization of one's travel, but there is no single card, ATM/debit or credit, that is the one stop-shop best option for every traveler. Rather, think in terms of portfolio and maximization given the needs you have, what you desire back, and the type of spend anticipated.

Quote: (10-11-2015 05:21 AM)Global Entry Wrote:  

This is a big topic, and one that can't really be considered in a vacuum, for a few reasons. First, everyone has different circumstances, and the needs of someone living abroad, say, in Thailand, are quite different from those of a guy whose in Thailand for a week or two living in hotels or even AirBnb. Guy #1 needs more cash, most likely, than Guy #2, whose accommodation could and should be booked with reward credit cards.

Secondly, how much you spend is an essential part of the equation. For a generally frugal traveler, who flies economy on heavily discounted tickets, regardless of the duration of the flight, getting 1-2 percent back on spend and not paying an annual fee, and not paying international transaction fees, well, thats top drawer. For someone who spends more (even if that spending is work-reimbursed), desires to fly business or first class (at least on longhaul) and who prefers international hotels, a money-back, no fee card is not the best option economically. It just depends on the circumstances and the preferences of the traveler in question.

Finally, and I've made this point before, I don't think a frequent traveler is best served by aggregating a single currency (and that includes cashback). The reason is availability in general. If one has Chase points, but Star Alliance awards for your chose route are overpriced or hard to come by, then you're stuck to a degree. But if you've also got SPG points, or Citi Thank You rewards, or Membership reward points, then you begin to have some options, including using some of those as cash for travel. And just using a card that is cashback only is leaving money on the table, when some no fee credit cards give upto 5 percent back in rewards (or cash back) are available for specific types of spending (i.e., Freedom Card, AMEX Everyday).

When I spend long stretches in China, and when I'm traveling around Asia, for on the ground spending at markets, for street food dinners in BKK or Phnom Penh, and certainly to be able to haggle on prices, I need cash as well. I've picked up the TD Waterhouse card, which also has no ATM fees. There is a fee to have the account monthly, if you fall below $3,000 I believe. So that may be a constraint for some.

I guess the takeaway is that the OP's card options look pretty good as part of an overall strategy for economization of one's travel, but there is no single card, ATM/debit or credit, that is the one stop-shop best option for every traveler. Rather, think in terms of portfolio and maximization given the needs you have, what you desire back, and the type of spend anticipated.

You make some really good points.

What I really wanted to get across was the best and most under-appreciated credit cards. Everyone and their brother knows about Chase Sapphire, or Citi Thank You, or Capital One Venture, etc etc...these are very well marketed, well-known cards. I'd be doing no one any favors by mentioning them here.

However, the two cards I bring up above are NOT well known at all, neither here, nor do the big "travel bloggers" mention them, but they DO have some EXCELLENT features that NONE of the big cards do when it comes to cash and ATMs. Since they are credit cards, they have a MUCH better fraud protection than debit cards, and my post was intended to bring these options to the attention of people traveling in places where cash is king.

American Express simply for the benefits of their system and customer service. They've saved my ass many times. My Visa card has had multiple issues when I tried to use it here in the UK mostly stemming from sites not liking my American address. Just take my f*cking money! In a pinch American Express processed every charge that they've received from me. I would have been royally screwed without them.

Finally, all credit and debit cards in the US are switching over to the chip technology this year. In fact if you have an older card notice how they all seem to magically expire in 2015.

I swapped all of my cards over before I left for Europe. When you use an American based card in Europe the machine will prompt you to put it into the card slot, but will still print out a recipe to sign. You'll get a lot of strange looks from cashiers when they try to fumble around for a pen.

OP you'll get your pats on the back. Stop being so touchy and let the thread grow with contributions organically.

Nice thread. Thinking of applying for the Schwab debit card. Any more positive experiences with this?