Looking for US bank or credit union that has fee free ATM access in Thailand.

[cdemundo]

I am looking for US bank or credit union that has fee free ATM access in Thailand.

 

I have an account with Charles Schwab bank that refunds the ATM fees each month and has no foreign transaction fees, but I worry about what will happen if I have an unforeseen problem with access.

I am looking for a backup basically.

 

I belong to a CU that has no foreign transaction fees but I have only a savings account and a credit card there.

They want to run a credit check to open a checking account which I don't want to do. I guess I am stubborn.

 

Anyone know of any US bank or CU that meets these requirements?

 

 

Edited April 10, 2022 by cdemundo
specify US bank/CU

[sqwakvfr]

I think the best thing you will find is ATM fee reimbursement up to a maximum amount per month.  I have USAA and their ATM fee reimbursement is $15 per month.  Which comes to about two ATM withdrawals per month.  Each time I make a cash withdrawal in LOS the ATM fee is 220 Baht($6.54).  

[dddave]

TD Bank will reimburse international ATM fees as long as a minimum balance of $4000 is maintained. I don't actually know if there's a monthly limit to the number of reimbursed withdrawals.

I can't wholeheartedly recommend TD.  Their once very responsive CS has become a maze of menu's with calls frequently dropped.  They now also require 2 step verification using a US number. 

[mtls2005]

Most that offer fee-free/reimbursement ATM usage specify nationwide (so U.S. only).

 

A few offer worldwide reimbursement.

 

Schwab, Fidelity definitely.

 

One of a few sites which might help:  https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/banking/best-banks-for-atms

 

 

I think it will be challenging to find one which offers international ATM fee reimbursement, and no foreign usage fee (often 1%)

 

43 minutes ago, cdemundo said:

but I worry about what will happen if I have an unforeseen problem with access.

Can you detail this worry? Are we talking "lightning" or a coin-flip?

 

 

Re: TD Bank...

 

https://www.feeds.td.com/en/document/oao/pdf/PersonalAcctAgree.pdf

 

Will I be charged a fee if I use my TD Bank debit card at a non-TD ATM in the U.S. or abroad?

You get free ATM access at any TD Bank and TD Canada Trust ATMs throughout North America. 

Please note the following for non-TD ATM transactions.

Depending on the TD Bank account you have:

 You may or may not be charged by TD Bank for using a non-TD ATM to complete a withdrawal, transfer or balance inquiry.*
 The owner of the machine (or network) may assess a fee (surcharge) at the time of your transaction, including for balance inquiries.
 TD Bank may reimburse you for the fees charged by the owner of the non-TD ATM at the end of each statement cycle if you maintain a $2,500 minimum balance for the entire statement cycle.* 
 If you use any ATM in a foreign country, you may also incur international, currency exchange and usage fees regardless of the type of account you have at TD Bank.

 

 

Re: USAA (assuming the OP qualifies for membership)...

 

https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/no_fee_checking_main?akredirect=true

 

2 For withdrawals made at non-USAA ATMs, no ATM Service Fee is assessed by USAA for the first 10 withdrawals, then USAA assesses $2 per withdrawal (per monthly statement cycle). When you use a non-USAA ATM, you may incur additional surcharge, usage, or other fees charged by the ATM operator or network. FSB refunds up to $15 per monthly statement cycle in non-USAA ATM surcharge or usage fees for transactions made at non-USAA ATMs. This ATM Rebate does not apply to USAA Cashback Rewards Checking. A 1% foreign transaction fee applies to debit card purchases and cash withdrawals in currency other than U.S. dollars, or with a merchant, financial institution, or ATM in a foreign country. See Account and Service Fee Schedule for more details.

 

Edited April 10, 2022 by mtls2005

[cdemundo]

20 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

Most that offer fee-free/reimbursement ATM usage specify nationwide (so U.S. only).

 

A few offer worldwide reimbursement.

 

Schwab, Fidelity definitely.

 

One of a few sites which might help:  https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/banking/best-banks-for-atms

 

 

I think it will be challenging to find one which offers international ATM fee reimbursement, and no foreign usage fee (often 1%)

 

Can you detail this worry? Are we talking "lightning" or a coin-flip?

 

 

Re: TD Bank...

 

https://www.feeds.td.com/en/document/oao/pdf/PersonalAcctAgree.pdf

 

Will I be charged a fee if I use my TD Bank debit card at a non-TD ATM in the U.S. or abroad?

You get free ATM access at any TD Bank and TD Canada Trust ATMs throughout North America. 

Please note the following for non-TD ATM transactions.

Depending on the TD Bank account you have:

 You may or may not be charged by TD Bank for using a non-TD ATM to complete a withdrawal, transfer or balance inquiry.*
 The owner of the machine (or network) may assess a fee (surcharge) at the time of your transaction, including for balance inquiries.
 TD Bank may reimburse you for the fees charged by the owner of the non-TD ATM at the end of each statement cycle if you maintain a $2,500 minimum balance for the entire statement cycle.* 
 If you use any ATM in a foreign country, you may also incur international, currency exchange and usage fees regardless of the type of account you have at TD Bank.

 

 

Re: USAA (assuming the OP qualifies for membership)...

 

https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/no_fee_checking_main?akredirect=true

 

2 For withdrawals made at non-USAA ATMs, no ATM Service Fee is assessed by USAA for the first 10 withdrawals, then USAA assesses $2 per withdrawal (per monthly statement cycle). When you use a non-USAA ATM, you may incur additional surcharge, usage, or other fees charged by the ATM operator or network. FSB refunds up to $15 per monthly statement cycle in non-USAA ATM surcharge or usage fees for transactions made at non-USAA ATMs. This ATM Rebate does not apply to USAA Cashback Rewards Checking. A 1% foreign transaction fee applies to debit card purchases and cash withdrawals in currency other than U.S. dollars, or with a merchant, financial institution, or ATM in a foreign country. See Account and Service Fee Schedule for more details.

 

"Can you detail this worry? Are we talking "lightning" or a coin-flip?"

 

Lost or destroyed ATM card from Schwab.

Periodic replacement card delivery delayed.

 

As I said, unforeseen, unable to access funds at the ATM for whatever reason.

Unlikely but I have had this problem an ATM in Argentina, just couldn't recognize my card.

Happens to me occasionally at POS ("point of sale", maybe the other POS as well) card readers at gas stations in the US.

 

If checking account funds are not available I have cash advance from CCs but expensive.

One time ok, but what if I am waiting for a replacement ATM card?

 

 

Edited April 10, 2022 by cdemundo
clarify point of sale

[cdemundo]

26 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

Most that offer fee-free/reimbursement ATM usage specify nationwide (so U.S. only).

 

A few offer worldwide reimbursement.

 

Schwab, Fidelity definitely.

 

One of a few sites which might help:  https://www.nerdwallet.com/article//best-banks-for-atms

 

 

I think it will be challenging to find one which offers international ATM fee reimbursement, and no foreign usage fee (often 1%)

 

Can you detail this worry? Are we talking "lightning" or a coin-flip?

 

 

Re: TD Bank...

 

https://www.feeds.td.com/en/document/oao/pdf/PersonalAcctAgree.pdf

 

Will I be charged a fee if I use my TD Bank debit card at a non-TD ATM in the U.S. or abroad?

You get free ATM access at any TD Bank and TD Canada Trust ATMs throughout North America. 

Please note the following for non-TD ATM transactions.

Depending on the TD Bank account you have:

 You may or may not be charged by TD Bank for using a non-TD ATM to complete a withdrawal, transfer or balance inquiry.*
 The owner of the machine (or network) may assess a fee (surcharge) at the time of your transaction, including for balance inquiries.
 TD Bank may reimburse you for the fees charged by the owner of the non-TD ATM at the end of each statement cycle if you maintain a $2,500 minimum balance for the entire statement cycle.* 
 If you use any ATM in a foreign country, you may also incur international, currency exchange and usage fees regardless of the type of account you have at TD Bank.

 

 

Re: USAA (assuming the OP qualifies for membership)...

 

https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/no_fee_checking_main?akredirect=true

 

2 For withdrawals made at non-USAA ATMs, no ATM Service Fee is assessed by USAA for the first 10 withdrawals, then USAA assesses $2 per withdrawal (per monthly statement cycle). When you use a non-USAA ATM, you may incur additional surcharge, usage, or other fees charged by the ATM operator or network. FSB refunds up to $15 per monthly statement cycle in non-USAA ATM surcharge or usage fees for transactions made at non-USAA ATMs. This ATM Rebate does not apply to USAA Cashback Rewards Checking. A 1% foreign transaction fee applies to debit card purchases and cash withdrawals in currency other than U.S. dollars, or with a merchant, financial institution, or ATM in a foreign country. See Account and Service Fee Schedule for more details.

 

I don't qualify for USAA.

I will look into Fidelity.

Looks like fee reimbursement and 1% foreign transaction fee at Fidelity.

Thanks.

 

[mtls2005]

6 minutes ago, cdemundo said:

One time ok, but what if I am waiting for a replacement ATM card?

Request a new card well before the current one expires?

 

How often do you use this ATM Debit Card here in thailand?

 

Might be better to transfer funds into a local bank account then use an ATM?

 

You can get a counter withdrawal up to $15,000 (USD) with that card here in THB with no fees and at the prevailing VISA rate.

 

 

 

 

[cdemundo]

5 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

Request a new card well before the current one expires?

 

How often do you use this ATM Debit Card here in thailand?

 

Might be better to transfer funds into a local bank account then use an ATM?

 

You can get a counter withdrawal up to $15,000 (USD) with that card here in THB with no fees and at the prevailing VISA rate.

 

 

 

 

"Request a new card well before the current one expires?"

Again, unforeseen, Murphy's Law type <deleted>s.

Request a card and it doesn't arrive as expected, how long to get that corrected?

 

As you suggest, use of local bank may be best.

Thanks.

Edited April 10, 2022 by metisdead
Profane acronym removed.

[mtls2005]

Just now, cdemundo said:

1% foreign transaction fee at Fidelity

That's for a purchase.

 

I am not charged the 1% on an ATM withdrawal, reimbursement takes up to 48 hours.

 

 

[buick]

you could try etrade if you need a back up.  more of a brokerage like schwab but serves the purpose you are looking for.   i've had the issues you note, ATM kept my card once.  i couldn't get it back.  twice i left my ATM in the machine, my fault.  a couple times, my ATM expired while i was here in thailand.  this is all etrade cards over a 15 year period.  i used my wells fargo bank ATM as the back up, i think i paid the ATM fee but i don't think i paid the foreign transaction fee.  the ATM fees are tough but it wasn't that bad.  but you definitely need a back up ATM card, that's for sure.

[mtls2005]

3 minutes ago, cdemundo said:

Request a card and it doesn't arrive as expected, how long to get that corrected?

Without a lot more detail this is challenging to address. In my case I use a U.S> address, aggregate cards and have them re-mailed to me here. 

 

I think Schwab will FedEx a new card to you here at little to no cost.

 

 

[mtls2005]

1 hour ago, cdemundo said:

I belong to a CU that has no foreign transaction fees but I have only a savings account and a credit card there.

 

It sounds like you are in thailand temporarily, have no local bank, and rely on accessing USD for expenses while here in thailand?

 

And your only low/no-cost access to USD is via your Schwab ATM Debit card?

 

 

Without reading the terms/conditions of your Credit Union's CREDIT CARD, and assuming it really does have no foreign transaction fee, then as back-up you could use it to get a fee-free cash advance at a counter here, and then immediately repay it avoiding any interest payments. Does this CU offer an ATM Debit card?

 

I see Schwab only offers AMEX, but maybe research those cards to see what they offer in terms of ATM, cash advance etc.

 

 

If living here then maybe best to get a local bank account with ATM card, deposit/transfer funds, and then use local ATMs. A WISE transfer or a counter-withdrawal on the Schwab card might be best?

 

[ThailandRyan]

25 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

I think the best thing you will find is ATM fee reimbursement up to a maximum amount per month.  I have USAA and their ATM fee reimbursement is $15 per month.  Which comes to about two ATM withdrawals per month.  Each time I make a cash withdrawal in LOS the ATM fee is 220 Baht($6.54).  

The issue with USSA is you must be a military member or a retired military member.  I have an account with a Federal Credit union that also reimburses 

[Guest truthman]

Citibank has an international account. You can use the Citibank ATMs here, which don't charge a fee, and also get a debit card, which is supposed to refund ATM charges at non-Citibank ATMs (though I haven't tested that yet). You do need a $25,000 minimum balance, however.

[sqwakvfr]

2 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

The issue with USSA is you must be a military member or a retired military member.  I have an account with a Federal Credit union that also reimburses 

Well,  been with USAA for 35 years and the membership criteria has really been “loosened”.  Many members are relatives of members who served.  Lot of unhappy people with USAA now(I’ve had a few screaming session when I called customer service). I have thought about switching to Navy Federal Credit Union next time I am in the San Diego area.  

[JimmyJ]

There are 3 open to all with no Minimum Balance, no Monthly Service fees - 

Betterment;

Fidelity;

Schwab.

[JimmyJ]

ctemundo and ThailandRyan - 

 

What is the CU with Foreign ATM Reimbursement?

 

Minimum Deposit?

Monthly Service Fees?

Edited April 10, 2022 by JimmyJ

[cdemundo]

36 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

ctemundo and ThailandRyan - 

 

What is the CU with Foreign ATM Reimbursement?

"I belong to a CU that has no foreign transaction fees but I have only a savings account and a credit card there."

Penfed has no foreign transaction fees for CC purchases but I don't know if they reimburse ATM fees.

I don't have an ATM card from them.

Sorry for any confusion.

The foreign ATM reimbursement I was talking about was Charles Schwab.

 

As far as Penfed

Minimum Deposit? $5.00

Monthly Service Fees? no

 

Edited April 10, 2022 by cdemundo

[skatewash]

47 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

There are 3 open to all with no Minimum Balance, no Monthly Service fees - 

Betterment;

Fidelity;

Schwab.

The Schwab account is free of minimum balance and monthly service fees, which I can confirm as I have an account there.  I believe the same is true of Fidelity as well, although I have no personal experience with that.  However, Betterment charges a 0.25% management fee to maintain an account and has a nominal $10 minimum account balance.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/investing/advisors/betterment

[ThailandRyan]

My Federal CU Minimum is to have a Savings account only, balance of 1k USD.  4 free ATM reimbursements per month internationally.  The unfortunate part is the stupid ATM fee the Thai bank adds to the amount you withdraw and is not reimbursable as it is their fee for the exchange rate.  Not sure what it is now as I have a K-Bank account, and SCB account and use my accounts with them for my withdrawals, the Visa Debit Card from my CU is used for purchases at certain locales maybe twice a month and their is no charge for its use as it gets reimbursed.

52 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

ctemundo and ThailandRyan - 

 

What is the CU with Foreign ATM Reimbursement?

 

Minimum Deposit?

Monthly Service Fees?

 

Edited April 10, 2022 by ThailandRyan

[JimmyJ]

42 minutes ago, skatewash said:

The Schwab account is free of minimum balance and monthly service fees, which I can confirm as I have an account there.  I believe the same is true of Fidelity as well, although I have no personal experience with that.  However, Betterment charges a 0.25% management fee to maintain an account and has a nominal $10 minimum account balance.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/investing/advisors/betterment

That is not referring to their checking accounts which are as I described .

 

Next time visit the website instead of a nerdwallet report on a different product.

 

[skatewash]

25 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

That is not referring to their checking accounts which are as I described .

 

Next time visit the website instead of a nerdwallet report on a different product.

 

I visited the Betterment website and found it wanting.  I went back after seeing your clarification and looked at their checking product for which they provide no information if you don't give them your email address.  Not impressed with Betterment's website at all in terms of providing information to a potential customer.  When the company does such a poor job of explaining their own product I turn to a third-party for a review (for which I don't have to give up my email address):

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/banking/betterment-cash-management-account-review

[Guest truthman]

21 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

There are 3 open to all with no Minimum Balance, no Monthly Service fees - 

Betterment;

Fidelity;

Schwab.

Technically, Fidelity doesn't allow foreign residences and Schwab does only in certain countries. So you need a U.S. address and if they find out where you're actually living, they might close down your account. It's the eason why I've been reluctant to use the Fidelity debit card much in Thailand.

[skatewash]

On 4/10/2022 at 1:21 PM, JimmyJ said:

There are 3 open to all with no Minimum Balance, no Monthly Service fees - 

Betterment;

Fidelity;

Schwab.

Fidelity's ATM/Debit card on their Checking Account currently charges a 1% foreign transaction fee:
 

Quote

For each foreign transaction, there is a foreign transaction fee (currently, 1% of the transaction for non-US dollar transactions), which may be included in the amount charged to your account. This charge may apply whether or not there is a currency conversion.

https://www.fidelity.com/cash-management/faqs-atm-debit-card#:~:text=For each foreign transaction%2C there,debit card fraud text alerts.

[JimmyJ]

1 hour ago, skatewash said:

Fidelity's ATM/Debit card on their Checking Account currently charges a 1% foreign transaction fee:
 

https://www.fidelity.com/cash-management/faqs-atm-debit-card#:~:text=For each foreign transaction%2C there,debit card fraud text alerts.

Once again, wrong product.

 

I went to Betterment website after your last post - no problem rapidly finding info on the Checking account - did not see a word about having to give email address to see info.

[skatewash]

13 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

Once again, wrong product.

 

I went to Betterment website after your last post - no problem rapidly finding info on the Checking account - did not see a word about having to give email address to see info.

If it's the wrong product, I would be interested in knowing what product you did have in mind.  A link to or even the name of the product would be most helpful.  Fidelity is a big company.

[JimmyJ]

On 4/11/2022 at 10:41 AM, truthman said:

Technically, Fidelity doesn't allow foreign residences and Schwab does only in certain countries. So you need a U.S. address and if they find out where you're actually living, they might close down your account. It's the eason why I've been reluctant to use the Fidelity debit card much in Thailand.

Most people give Fidelity rave reviews.

I had a terrible experience with them.

 

I opened an account with a minimal deposit - probably ~ $25.

No problems so I put 1k in there to make sure all is well.

 

Fidelity Fraud/Securitu then contacted me.

Even though I had been fully verified for my residence address, which I virtually always had to do, NOW they chose to not be satisfied.

 

They asked me for further address verifications which were impossible for me to obtain and in one case not even possible for anyone to obtain which they had to realize.

 

The account was locked at the time they initially called me.

If I could not obtain the requested further verifications, they would not release the funds. I think 7 years in the future it would go to my State and I could try to get it back then.

 

I ended up getting it back without a protracted fight but no thanks to the idiots in the Security dep't.

(I went over their heads.).

 

 

 

Edited April 17, 2022 by JimmyJ

[mtls2005]

4 hours ago, skatewash said:

Fidelity's ATM/Debit card on their Checking Account currently charges a 1% foreign transaction fee:

In my lengthy experience, ~ 20 years, Fidelity has not applied this 1% foreign transaction fee on any of my ~ 200-ish ATM cash withdrawals.

 

I assumed this was applicable to purchases? But maybe the liberal use of "may" means that this is waived for some account holders and/or types of activity.

 

 

4 hours ago, skatewash said:

which may be included in the amount charged to your account. This charge may apply whether or not there is a currency conversion.

 

YMMV.