![]() Even if we said screw the minimum limit, our trip would only cost $180 in bank fees at most.įor the first 6 months of our trip, we were enjoying paying absolutely $0 to any bank to access our money. A low amount and a fee that is the same as only two ATM withdrawals? You cannot ask for much better. The catch? All we had to do was keep $1,500 in the account over the month or else pay a $10/month fee each month we were under. To our surprise, when we called PNC to put the foreign travel notification for the trip, they offered us an account upgrade that had NO FOREIGN TRANSACTION FEES and up to $8/month in foreign ATM fee returns. Since we had trouble opening a Charles Schwabb account, the only free service available as of now that has 0% foreign transaction fees, we decided to stick with it and deal with the fees. While a large amount on the surface, this would be less than 3% as long as the withdrawal was for more than $167 US, something we can easily handle in most countries.īut for the 18-month trip, being faced with hundreds of $5 charges, likely to the tune of $1,000+, was still not something we wanted to experience. Instead of the 3% fee other banks charge, we had the perk of having a $5 flat rate at foreign ATMs. Their staff were always wonderful, call centers seemed to actually be managed in the USA, and overall had no issues with our free accounts. In recent years we've been banking with PNC. PNC Comes In And Saves The Day, For A While ![]() (Ironically, this now makes Capital One a useless brand for travelers, too).īut having a credit card with no foreign transaction fees still doesn't cover the large amount we'd still have to pay to access our cold, hard cash. Since then almost every major travel rewards card we've opened for our points run has charged 0% in foreign transaction fees, and we've been using them more than ever while abroad. While the reward points were non-existent, it was a start. That would mean that the $75,000 trip mentioned above would have no less than $2,250 going to various different banks (not to mention the extra fees non-branch ATMs sometimes charge).Ĭonsidering $2,250 is as much as most travelers will spend on a whole two-week vacation (or longer if traveling domestically), we cannot help but feel insulted by paying this just to access our own money when we want.Ĭredit cards were first to start charging 0% in foreign transaction fees, with Capital One being the best for several years. In the past, it was practically impossible for travelers to get an ATM card or credit card that did not charge a minimum of 3% in foreign transaction fees. ![]() We thought we found a great policy with our bank, PNC, but the honeymoon was soon over just 6 months into our journey as the terms were recently changed back to the archaic fee structure we were trying to get away from. While the argument for how much a journey like this should cost is best served for other articles, one of the biggest struggles long-term travelers have to face are the bank fees that are associated with such a large amount of spending.Īfter many years of paying comically high fees without any other recourse, banks are finally starting to understand the fact that people do not want to pay foreign transaction fees to access their money. But for our 18 month trip around the world, we were faced with some new challenges for this same reason. The issues that go along with spending upwards of $75,000 on a vacation is not something most travelers ever have to consider. Listed prices and attraction details may have changed since our visit and initial publication. Please check out our Terms and Conditions for more information. Disclaimers: Our site uses demographic data, email opt-ins, display advertising, and affiliate links.
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