There was a time when Citi did not charge a fee if you used a Citi ATM in the foreign country. I opened a checking account with them for that reason. Now, they charge a hefty fee even if you use one of their branches.

The least expensive I found is a credit union. Mine charges 1% of the transaction. Also, some banks charge a flat fee. Wells Fargo charged me a flat $5 regardless of the amount I took.

True. I used my Citi ATM card in HK at a Citibank location and was charged 3%.

Now I think it may be better to bring US $100 bills and exchange them.

Unlimited ATM fee reimbursements worldwide. When you withdraw cash at an ATM and are charged a fee, that fee will appear as part of your withdrawal. You’ll see the reimbursement for the fee on your next Schwab statement. Use your card at any merchant that accepts Visa. Simply sign your name or use your PIN. Rest easy with our Schwab Security Guarantee.

1. Unlimited ATM fee rebates apply to cash withdrawals using the Schwab Visa Platinum Check Card wherever it is accepted. ATM fee rebates do not include currency exchange fees; fees imposed by merchants for POS transactions; or fees for stamp purchases, balance inquiries, or any transactions other than an ATM cash withdrawal from your Schwab One account. Rebates are applied automatically when identified by ATM and network operators to Schwab as an eligible ATM fee. In the event that you have not received a rebate for a fee that you believe is eligible, please call a Schwab Client Service Specialist for assistance. Schwab reserves the right to modify or discontinue the ATM fee rebate at any time.

If you bring $100 bill and exchange to local currency, there are two problems, first, depends on where you do the exchange, you get lousy rate and fees on top; second, due to the amount of counterfeit $100 bill, there are some groups of bills foreign bank just won't accept. You could be stuck with US currency with no where to go.

Happy Hunting

LuvAsian

Are you sure about that? I was at my Wells Fargo branch the other day and they tried to convince me to open a new "better" checking account. I asked them whether I will get free overseas ATM. They said no. They claim that the foreign bank will always tack on a fee.

My credit union said the same thing.

On my last few trips, I've been bringing more cash as the ATM fees were adding up. When using a foreign ATM card (US based bank), there are two fees:

1. Your bank may charge a foreign transaction fee.

2. Around April 2009 Thailand started a 150 baht ATM fee on foreign banks (for awhile Bank of Ayuthaya and one other bank did not charge this fee).

For some of my USA based banks, they will not charge for the first two foreign (or domestic) ATM usages per statement period or some never, but this may not affect the 150 baht Thai charge (I'll try it tomorrow with my U.S.Bank ATM).

For other banks, I get charged both fees which added up to quite a bit a few trips ago as I was withdrawing from the ATMs every few days.

I've never tried my CitiBank ATM nor even setup an ATM on my Charles Schwab account, but that'll be on my list for next trip.

When I contacted HSBC, they said if I used their HSBC banks or ATMs in Bangkok, then there would be no fees, but indicated if I used other bank ATMs, they would charge a fee even if I had a 'Premier' Account - bummer; but I want to check with them again as there was some language difficulties.

As I indicated earlier, I've been bringing more cash (bring crisp, clean, no markings, no tears 50 and 100 dollar bills dated after 2000; just forewarn your bank and they will prepare) and after exchanging it in-country, depositing it into Thai bank accounts (so you don't have to carry all that cash around) and using their ATMs w/o any charges except for the initial one-time ATM card fee of 300 baht). This works the best, but for longer stays, I'll either have to wire transfer or use one of the US based bank ATMs. (I guess for those on short trips, the 300 baht ATM card fee and time to open an account might be steeper than just paying the 150 baht per ATM transaction fee).

Well, we can prepare (that's one of the reasons I got an Etrade ATM card which worked great for a few years) and then the rules changed (Thai banks add in this other 150 baht fee). Getting a Thai bank account is really convenient (Kasikorn Bank just started putting your photo on your new ATM card for 350 baht; though I think it was free for my B of A and CitiBank cards).

Be safe and take care of yourself.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!! Happy Chinese New Year!!

P.S. I tried to apply for a USAA.com bank account, but I didn't meet the qualifications so I guess I'll wait for their next promotion.