Credit Card or ATM

Perhaps the question is old by now but will I generally be better off using
my VISA or AMEX card or my Bank of America ATM card (withdrawing cash daily
as required)? In the past, I have carried large US dollar notes and
exchanging locally for the best rate. I am trying to carry as little cash
as possible but will be carrying travelers checks as well. Thanks in
advance.

rg

On Aug 18, 6:23 pm, "Sharkbait" wrote:
Perhaps the question is old by now but will I generally be better off using
my VISA or AMEX card or my Bank of America ATM card (withdrawing cash daily
as required)? In the past, I have carried large US dollar notes and
exchanging locally for the best rate. I am trying to carry as little cash
as possible but will be carrying travelers checks as well. Thanks in
advance.

rg
In some countries, BofA has "partner" banks (check the web site for
the names of the banks). If my calculations were correct, the
exchange rate for ATM withdrawals at those banks was almost exactly
the same as published in the Wall Street Journal with no additional
charges. This worked for me in the UK, France, and China, and in
those three countries the partner banks were major banks with lots of
branches and ATMs that were easy to find.

My AmEx charges always seemed to have an extra 2-4% added on. I
recall reading that VISA now adds 2%, and your issuing bank may add
more.

wrote in message
...

My AmEx charges always seemed to have an extra 2-4% added on. I
recall reading that VISA now adds 2%, and your issuing bank may add
more.

So the ATM card, withdrawing cash daily seems to work out better for the
traveler and/or that will depend on whether Bank of America (in my case)
charges a fee for each transaction?

On Aug 18, 8:13 pm, "Sharkbait" wrote:
So the ATM card, withdrawing cash daily seems to work out better for the
traveler and/or that will depend on whether Bank of America (in my case)
charges a fee for each transaction?
I am not sure what you are asking. I only used my BoA ATM card at the
ATMs of the partner banks. I never used it at any other ATM, and I
never used it as a debit card. I don't know which countries you plan
to travel to, but I vaguely recall that China is the only Asian
country with a BofA partner bank. I assume that you will encounter
and pay the usual ATM charges if you get cash at a non-partner bank.
And, except for using a credit card for some big ticket expenses like
hotel room charges, I paid for almost everything with cash.

Depending on where you plan to travel, it might be worthwhile to open
an account at Cibbank, HSBC, or some other bank with branches near
both your home and your destination to avoid the foreign transaction
charges. The next best option would be to get an account at a place
like First Republic Bank, since they do not charge fees for using the
ATMs of other banks and will even refund the other banks' fees (you
may get the same deal from a credit union); I think this gets charged
the 1% network fee which is hidden in the exchange rate.

I cannot give you advice if you plan to get cash from ATMs where you
will have to pay fees, since my basic strategy is to avoid the fees.

Sorry,

The the card would be used solely in Vietnam. Thanks.

rg

In article 8gpqk.216$p72.92@trnddc05, Sharkbait says...
Perhaps the question is old by now but will I generally be better off using
my VISA or AMEX card or my Bank of America ATM card (withdrawing cash daily
as required)? In the past, I have carried large US dollar notes and
exchanging locally for the best rate. I am trying to carry as little cash
as possible but will be carrying travelers checks as well. Thanks in
advance.

I don't know about your bank, but since my bank charges a fixed fee of 4
Euro (=USD 6) per withdrawal, I tend to minimise the number of
withdrawals and usually carry largish amounts of cash with me. Which is
not a problem because security is good in SE Asia.
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

On Aug 18, 9:17 pm, "Sharkbait" wrote:
Sorry,

The the card would be used solely in Vietnam. Thanks.

rg
I don't know how comprehensive the list is, but if you go to
http://www.portalino.it/banks/_vn.htm you will see that three of the
banks in Vietnam are Citibank, HSBC and ING. All three have US
operations. Citi and HSBC have branches near where I live, and I
believe that ING is a bank-by-mail operation. You can surely get fee-
free withdrawals if you get your ATM cards from these banks and only
use their ATMs.

I only have first-hand experience with Citi. As I recall, when I was
a "regular" customer, there was a 1% fee hidden in the exchange rate.
When I was a preferred Citigold customer, the exchange was at the
wholesale rate with no additional fees.

On Aug 18, 6:23*pm, "Sharkbait" wrote:
Perhaps the question is old by now but will I generally be better off using
my VISA or AMEX card or my Bank of America ATM card (withdrawing cash daily
as required)? *In the past, I have carried large US dollar notes and
exchanging locally for the best rate. *I am trying to carry as little cash
as possible but will be carrying travelers checks as well. * Thanks in
advance.

rg

I would not use BofA ATM card. I use a bank card that does not charge
any fee from any other bank ATM, and gives me the best exchange rate.
Since I am not charged a fee for withdrawing I can do this
frequently. If you want to use your ATM card daily be sure to notify
your bank that you'll be traveling. I also charge items (such as
hotel) on my AMEX, again the best exchange rate of that day.

On Aug 19, 4:22*am, Alfred Molon wrote:


I don't know about your bank, but since my bank charges a fixed fee of 4
Euro (=USD 6) per withdrawal,

Myself, I would shred such a card this minute. My Visa debit charges
either 0.75 US $ or 1% per transaction, whichever is greater. My Visa
credit, same bank, charges 1%.

In answer to the original post: inquire about the given card's
conditions of use, and if you don't like them, choose another one. So
far, traveling through Thailand and Cambodia, I've never had any
problem getting cash from ATM, or being charged (other than the fees
above).

jrk


Alfred Molonhttp://www.molon.de- Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

In article de588a2d-b91e-4c0a-9c20-
, says...
On Aug 19, 4:22*am, Alfred Molon wrote:


I don't know about your bank, but since my bank charges a fixed fee of 4
Euro (=USD 6) per withdrawal,

Myself, I would shred such a card this minute. My Visa debit charges
either 0.75 US $ or 1% per transaction, whichever is greater. My Visa
credit, same bank, charges 1%.

Unfortunately all banks here in Germany charge this fee for ATM
withdrawals. There is no way to avoid it. You would have to emigrate.
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe