US ATM/Credit Card Choices
If using an American ATM or Credit Card, you should monitor any international fees as well as the exchange rates you’re getting through your bank. Many collaborators recommend (not exhaustive):
Credit
- Bank of Americard Travel Card - No annual fees. Reasonable exchange rates. No foreign fees.
- Capital One Credit Cards - Some no annual fee cards. Reasonable exchange rates. No foreign fees.
- Chase cards - Reasonable exchange rates. No foreign fees.
Checking Accounts / ATM Cards
- Schwab Bank - Free account if you open up a free brokerage account. Reasonable exchange rates. No foreign fees. No ATM Fees for using external ATMs and they reimburse any ATM fees charged by the other bank, foreign or domestic.
- Capital One Checking - Similar to Schwab. Potentially only reimburse ATM fees while abroad.
- Other free ATMs (with no residency or affiliation requirements): Associated Credit Union, Marshall & Isley, First Republic, Schwab, United Bank, Webster Bank.
Bank of America is used by lots of people traveling to CERN. If you use a bank in the Global ATM Alliance (BNP Paribas, BNL Italia, Barclays, Deutsche Bank), then there is only a 1% conversion fee. There are BNPs all over France. There do not appear to be any partner banks in Switzerland, though; so no free way to get francs. At the CERN onsite bank, a Bank of America ATM would therefore cost 5 CHF + $5 to use at the CERN bank.
Credit unions tend to have good ATM fees. Some people report paying no ATM fees worldwide with their university credit unions or state credit unions, so you may want to check if you have access to one. See the link below. Foreign banks often charge monthly or yearly fees. In Europe, UBS charges 40 CHF per year for Maestro card – Charges 1% for conversion to Euro. BNP in France charges about 11 Euro per month for 2 credit cards and check book. No charges on ATM transactions in Europe. Charges 1% in non Euro charges except in corresponding banks.
As mentioned above, there is a good wiki table of rates for credit and ATM on the web site: http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange
Look into these banks/cards or your current ones to make sure you have a reasonable deal.
Using your American Cards
These days, most American cards have chips or contactless which will make them compatible with POS (Point of Sale) devices at most stores. Most stores and machines now take mobile device payment methods (e.g. Apple Pay and similar), so you can save a lot of time if you add your cards to your relevant digital wallet in advance.
If a POS asks what currency to charge your card, you’re almost always going to get a better rate from your bank than from the store’s POS. So choose the local currency and not USD.
You may want to inform your banks and credit card companies that you will be traveling internationally. Some people find that they can have their cards cut off for unexpected international activity. Some companies will allow you to add a foreign address which may be helpful with some vendors who may be unable to take an american address in their checkout forms.
Opening a bank account in Switzerland
If you’re moving to Switzerland, it may make sense to open up a bank account. If you’re a user in possession of a Swiss card, you are eligible to open an account with a Swiss bank. If you’re just visiting for a shorter amount of time you may be ineligible for an account.
If you’re a US citizen, your application for an account may require further approval from an office specifically for Americans, which may take an extra week or so. Most banks will be able to open an account for you. Opening an account with the Post Office (PostFinance) is particularly convenient with the ability to do banking at any post office (including at CERN). Also with a branch at the Meyrin site, UBS is also a good option.
Transferring money between the US and Europe
Most people use Wise.com to easily move money between banks internationally without needing to do a traditional wire. European banks tend to use the IBAN account identifier, but most US banks don’t. This makes moving money between the two difficult in a way that Wise simplifies.
Links
http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange
http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/foreign-exchange-fees-going-up-1267.php#foreignfeecharts
This guide was originally written by Ben Kilminster and has been since updated.