I know I'm going to sound like an advertisement, but I can't recommend Charles Schwab enough!
I may have mentioned it to a few of you here and there, but this financial has probably saved us over $100 in fees in the last few months!
- No international ATM fees!
- If a foreign financial adds on a fee, they reverse it!
- No Annual fees!
- .5% interest on your checking account
- Excellent online access 24/7
- You can open an account online!
- You can transfer funds from your local financial (hopefully Credit Union ;) in the same day and have access to your money a few days later
- Every time I email or call, I get an immediate response! Real people! No holding!
- When you open an account, you receive your card and all the information within the same week.
You are required to have/open a "brokerage account" in order to have a checking account with Charlie (we are that close - first name basis!) But! You don't have to have any money in it!
The other draw back - I remember trying to open an account in Thailand and not being able to - you may only be able to open an account in the States - but I'm not entirely sure!
I don't mean to be a total freak about this, I just hate how quickly and how high some of the fees can get while you are abroad just to have access to your money. I think it is an American thing to want the best bang for your buck. Rodolfo thought I was being ridiculous opening yet another bank account, but now even HE agrees that Charlie is the way to go!
Even if $2 seems like not so much to take out $50, it adds up extremely fast when you are traveling for an extended amount of time and $2 becomes $200!
I feel extremely adamant that local business/banking is the way to go, but! In this one case, when you become an international man of mystery, sometimes you need a more international friendly option! Just a little food for thought!
1 comment:
That sounds great: I may have to check it out. I use BankDirect, which has no fees and reverses up to three foreign fees a month. And it does not give interest, but does give American Airline points every month depending on how much money you spend/have in the account.
Have fun in the US!
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