www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I have used my Citi debit card in San Jose, Medellin, Lima & Buenos Aires. I have never paid a fee and have never had a problem. You need to have a balance at Citibank; but that doesn't seem like a big problem.

Well, more correspondence from Schwab in my mailbox yesterday,
but no ATM card,
Time for me to call their customer service.
It's been 2 weeks.
Red

Schwab must know that you travel to Colombia...

"Schwab must know that you travel to Colombia... "

funny!! and she probably knows what I will be using it for.

I called today, and they say it has been mailed.
REd

If you have a CitiGold card there you can get up to $2,000.00 daily and no fees. Different from the Citicard.

_________________
I am NOT a Cien Boy!!

Call customer service and complain. They canceled the one originally issued for me and expedited a new one in 3 days at no extra charge last January due to delay.

CitiGold is still Citi

I was in a Schwab branch today and was told that if I need an ATM card ASAP they will overnight it. I believe I was told there would be no fee for this service. It goes without saying, though, that the checking account must be funded before they will send anything.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Finally received the ATM/Debit card basically 2 weeks after starting procedure.
Now to activate and test it at a nearby ATM.
RED

You will be glad you got it...it's the best ATM card out there!

Took it the ATM card to the ATM at my bank.
Did not work.
Called customer service at Schwab.
They said it did not show any blocks or that there was an attempt with an incorrect pin.
Suggested I try other ATM.
I just tried one at a Walgreens.
Finally it worked.
Thankfully it will get a test run soon in Costa Rica (where I won't need much cash)
Then in November to Colombia where I will need cash.
Red

When you say "zero commission exchange rate", are you referring to a "fee" charged for the currency exchange ? A better rate (as someone else I believe implied) on the currency exchange ?

I am moving to Thailand in November, possibly for good, and a friend of mine told me MY bank, BoA, charges a "foreign transaction fee" of 3% of the total withdrawn in addition to an ATM fee.

I'd been in Thailand for 5 months in '14 and, of course, used my BoA debit card to withdraw money at least thrice per month. I'd noticed the ATM fee of course but didn't see anything about any foreign transaction fee. I was surprised since I thought I would/should have noticed such a fee.

Upon checking my statements recently for that half of '14 I saw NO such fees. So I sent BoA an e-mail and asked about it and it turns out there are no FTFs IF you have a combined balance in all your accounts of $250K. And if I was charged a FTF it would be a separate line item on my statement(s). Well, there were no such charges.

I DID have that much in my IRA in years past but haven't had that total for at least 4 years and certainly didn't have it in '14. So I guess they phucked up.

Anywho, my buddy told me about Schwab and I have been looking for just this information.

So, just to recap,,,,,,,

1) you get a favorable exchange rate from Visa/MC when you take out money ?
2) Schwab doesn't charge you ANY ATM fees.
3) Schwab reimburses you for ANY ATM fee charged at the source.
4) There are no maintenance fees of any kind to keep open your Schwab checking and/or brokerage accounts.

Is that about right ?

A question though. How does Schwab know the amounts of any ATM fees. The Thai ATM tells me the exchange rate and that they are charging $5 for the use of the ATM. But how does Schwab know how much the ATM fee is and what does one have to do to get the ATM fees credited back ?

Must I produce them with "proof" of the total fees ? Or do they KNOW, via the transaction details themselves, the amount of the ATM fee charged by the foreign ATM ?

TIA

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Reviews with Name, Where we can find her, Description (Height, weight, measurements (best guesses will do just fine)), and a rundown on services provided (and yes, YMMV is understood) would be GREATLY appreciated.

Schwab knows about an ATM fee that the ATM owner imposes on you..... without you having to tell Schwab about it. You will see it "reversed" (as a credit) on your next monthly statement from Schwab.

If, by some chance, Schwab doesn't reverse an ATM fee automatically, Schwab invites you to bring it to their attention so they can credit your account. I've never had to bring it to their attention.

Keep in mind that you need to have a U.S. address and a U.S. driver's license to open a Schwab account.

Your recap points 1 - 4 are correct.

Thanks a lot. Appreciate it.

I am still in the USA and will have a FL driver's license and street address when I open the account(s). Ongoing ? Who knows ?

Thanks again.

_________________
Reviews with Name, Where we can find her, Description (Height, weight, measurements (best guesses will do just fine)), and a rundown on services provided (and yes, YMMV is understood) would be GREATLY appreciated.

If you are planning on moving to a foreign country, open the account before you leave the States. And no matter where you are... ALWAYS maintain a US address.