Travel Banking Tips
There are many different opinions on how to manage your finances while on a foreign trip. This is the way I do it.
First, I keep a separate checking account for travel purposes only. If my ATM card gets compromised somehow, my regular account is safe from any potential harm. Throughout my trip, I will deposit my travel budget into this travel-only account. So at any one time, there is not more than about $2000 in this travel account.
When you travel around the world, ATM fees can add up quickly. This is why my travel account is a Schwab Investor Checking Account. The bank will refund any ATM fees that other banks may charge you for using their ATMs, anywhere in the world. You’ll save a ton of money off ATM fees when you use this checking account. I also set it up with direct deposit from my normal account, so I don’t have to worry about remembering to replenish it each month. This helps me stay within my travel budget, it’s like a monthly travel paycheck that I can’t easily increase.
I also link an ING Direct Savings Account to this travel checking account. It has the highest interest rate around, and it’s easy to link it to any other account, from any bank. I use the savings account as a backup, in case I need to transfer some emergency funds over to my travel account. Transfers can be done online.
I carry a credit card too, for it’s consumer protections and to use for emergencies.
All my important account numbers and customer service phone numbers are in a text file that I attach to an email and send to myself. This way if my cards get stolen, I can find an internet cafe and pull up all the info to call and cancel the cards right away.
Great tips, thanks! I’m taking a 3 month trip later this year, and that checking account looks perfect for me. Are there any catches?
Hi Amy,
Checks, ATM card, everything is free.
They do sign you up for a linked brokerage account automatically, but you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to, and there are no fees involved with that either, unless you decide to buy some stocks or bonds.
Wow this is really awesome info! When I went to Vienna this past summer, those ATM fees really did add up.
Great info I am actually writing this down! Thanks~