Bank cards with no foreign transaction fees?

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covid

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I'm looking for a good card to use while traveling that doesn't have foreign transaction fees, yearly fees, etc.

Any good offshore bank accounts that come with a card like this?

This is the type of thing I'm looking for, but it only works for Canadian residents (which I won't be soon), chequing account + cash card with zero foreign transaction fees: https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/spend

Last edited: Aug 22, 2024
 
covid said:
covid said:
I'm looking for a good card to use while traveling that doesn't have foreign transaction fees, yearly fees, etc.

Any good offshore bank accounts that come with a card like this?

This is the type of thing I'm looking for, but it only works for Canadian residents (which I won't be soon), chequing account + cash card with zero foreign transaction fees: https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/spend
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AU and beyond (need to travel there to open it)
https://www.hsbc.com.au/accounts/products/everyday-global/
HK
https://www.hsbc.com.hk/debit-cards/products/mastercard-debit-card/
UK
https://www.hsbc.co.uk/current-accounts/products/global-money/
DE, AT, CH
https://www.dkb.de/
US with SSN or ITIN for for non-residents
https://www.capitalone.com/bank/checking-accounts/online-checking-account/
US for non-residents
https://international.schwab.com/
You may also check Monzo, Revolut, Wise, etc. I personally cannot recommend them for more than a one week trip to all-inclusive in Egypt.

Last edited: Aug 22, 2024
 
All cards have FX fees charged by mastercard or visa.

The only option to not pay fees at all is a card linked to a multicurrency account (Singapore and HK banks offer this).
 
 
The markup is about 0.3%. Bu tplease keep in mind:
  • 0.3% is less than the daily fluctuation of the exchange rate
  • There is a delay up of to 2 days
  • The small markup is very fair as it just mitigates the risk for the card network
Of course, I personally would not necessarily recommending converting EUR to USD just to spend them in EUR again (although with 3% cashback in the US this still could be attractive). But if you have USD and want to spend globally, you can very well get a USD debit/credit card and spend it. You won't lose much instead of converting it to any other currency and then spend it.

If you want to maximise the value, I would recommend converting your currency to something stable such as CHF or USD and then use a card without fees. This gives you a lot of savings when you spend in devaluating currencies such as TRY, etc. Maybe some Swiss debit card such as the Swissquote one:
https://www.swissquote.com/en-ch/private/bank/products/debit-cardshttps://en.swissquote.lu/debit-card-0
 
daniels27 said:
daniels27 said:
No, you are wrong.

https://www.mastercard.com/global/en/personal/get-support/convert-currency.htmlhttps://usa.visa.com/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.html
https://nomadgate.com/visa-vs-mastercard-exchange-rate/https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/currency-conversion-rates-study
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Click to expand...
The exchange calculator literally shows the markup.

Depending on the currency pair it can be up to 1%

IMG_4529.webp
 
daniels27 said:
daniels27 said:
The markup is about 0.3%. Bu tplease keep in mind:
  • 0.3% is less than the daily fluctuation of the exchange rate
  • There is a delay up of to 2 days
  • The small markup is very fair as it just mitigates the risk for the card network
Of course, I personally would not necessarily recommending converting EUR to USD just to spend them in EUR again (although with 3% cashback in the US this still could be attractive). But if you have USD and want to spend globally, you can very well get a USD debit/credit card and spend it. You won't lose much instead of converting it to any other currency and then spend it.

If you want to maximise the value, I would recommend converting your currency to something stable such as CHF or USD and then use a card without fees. This gives you a lot of savings when you spend in devaluating currencies such as TRY, etc. Maybe some Swiss debit card such as the Swissquote one:
https://www.swissquote.com/en-ch/private/bank/products/debit-cardshttps://en.swissquote.lu/debit-card-0
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Clank said:
Clank said:
The exchange calculator literally shows the markup.

Depending on the currency pair it can be up to 1%

View attachment 7633
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

As per my repeated experience, it substantially depends on the currency pair.
For major vs. major currency, e.g. USD/EUR or USD/CHF the FX rate (<=> markup) is nice, for major vs. minor currency, e.g. USD/HUF or USD/CZK it is not nice at all (compared to other currency exchanges).
YMMV (observed with cards from Swiss banks).

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