Capitol One and GMAC Bank: Best Credit and Debit Cards to Travel With
For those of you who would travel a lot may already know this but for the uninitiated I would like to share with you my favorite credit cards and (debit cards too) to use when I travel. Here are the problems I am faced with when travelling abroad as it relates to money:
A) I don't want to carry too much CASH on hand because I don't want to get loose them or god forbid, be robbed with a ton of cash in my pocket :P In general, I just don't like to have a lot of cash on me.
B) If the country I am travelling to uses a different currency -- I never feel like I am getting a great deal when I am exchanging the currency at the counters in the airport or even the local banks. The rates they have is below the exchange rates and they even charge a service fee on top of everything. I found that some banks will not even convert money for you even at discounted rates.
C) If I decided to use my debit cards, my local banks, WellsFargo, charged $5 for foreign ATM machines, and a conversion fee of something like 2%. Sometimes my debit card charges more fees then the people currency exchange counter.
D) If I use my credit cards -- a conversion fee, around 2%, applies on top of the currency conversion rates.
So the short of it is that I end up feeling nicked and dimed every time I need access to cash UNTIL I did some research and found a better system. Now I carry two cards with me whenever I travel:
1) Capitol One Credit Card - this card does not charge a conversion fee and gives great exchange rates. The company absorbs the cost of exchanging the currency. I have not found any other company that offer this service. As a result, I use this card primarily.
2) GMAC Bank Debit Card -- For access to CASH, before I travel I would set aside a certain amount of cash that I think I would need from my local bank and transfer the funds electronically to the GMAC account and take the debit card with me. GMAC does not charge an ATM service fee -- so all I have to do is use the ATM I come across in the foreign country.
Through this method, I minimize paying all of the fees and avoid carrying a large amount of cash on my body while having access to local currency (as long as there's atm around, of course.) I haven't figured out a way to travel to countries without a strong banking system other than carrying cash.
Anyone else have different ideas? Please comment!
A) I don't want to carry too much CASH on hand because I don't want to get loose them or god forbid, be robbed with a ton of cash in my pocket :P In general, I just don't like to have a lot of cash on me.
B) If the country I am travelling to uses a different currency -- I never feel like I am getting a great deal when I am exchanging the currency at the counters in the airport or even the local banks. The rates they have is below the exchange rates and they even charge a service fee on top of everything. I found that some banks will not even convert money for you even at discounted rates.
C) If I decided to use my debit cards, my local banks, WellsFargo, charged $5 for foreign ATM machines, and a conversion fee of something like 2%. Sometimes my debit card charges more fees then the people currency exchange counter.
D) If I use my credit cards -- a conversion fee, around 2%, applies on top of the currency conversion rates.
So the short of it is that I end up feeling nicked and dimed every time I need access to cash UNTIL I did some research and found a better system. Now I carry two cards with me whenever I travel:
1) Capitol One Credit Card - this card does not charge a conversion fee and gives great exchange rates. The company absorbs the cost of exchanging the currency. I have not found any other company that offer this service. As a result, I use this card primarily.
2) GMAC Bank Debit Card -- For access to CASH, before I travel I would set aside a certain amount of cash that I think I would need from my local bank and transfer the funds electronically to the GMAC account and take the debit card with me. GMAC does not charge an ATM service fee -- so all I have to do is use the ATM I come across in the foreign country.
Through this method, I minimize paying all of the fees and avoid carrying a large amount of cash on my body while having access to local currency (as long as there's atm around, of course.) I haven't figured out a way to travel to countries without a strong banking system other than carrying cash.
Anyone else have different ideas? Please comment!
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