Due to the varying fees/conversion rates its very hard to find the optimal way to access your money internationally. I've done a lot of research, and capital one looks good...but honestly I'm still pretty lost. I'm the kind of person who wants to get the absolute best deal possible and don't want to make a mistake.

What, in your opinion, is the best way to get money while traveling?

Important for me:

MUST be able to cash out poker winnings into chosen bank for a US player (New England)

Lowest possible fees/conversion rates/anything else I'm not thinking of that will cost me money - but will sacrifice a LITTLE bit of money for the following.

Strongly prefer a large international presence international (going round the world through Europe/India/SE Asian/Japan) for ease of access

Like I said, I've done my research and don't expect anyone to do it for me, but maybe anyone who has experience in this and already knows the answer could help me out.

charles schwab personal checking account.

no foreign atm fees
no foreign conversion fees
refunds ATM fees charged by ATM.

+1 on the schwab, top notch CS too

+2 on Schwab. The card worked every time. Never paid a dime in fees, even in oddball places like Zimbabwe and Kosovo. I even had a ridiculous situation where an ATM in Mozambique failed to give me any money but still printed out a receipt with the withdrawal, so I called them and they dealt with the Mozambican bank and even gave me a credit for the money as soon as I reported the problem, long before they sorted the problem out with the bank.

Ridiculously good product.

I've had a Schwab brokerage account for a few years now, but you guys just sold me on the checking product. I'll just keep my local account for the rare times I need to deposit cash (like I ever win at live poker, rigged ldo)

you have to get a schwab brokerage account in order to get the online checking account, but you don't have to keep any money in it.

wow do i do it from home or do i need to find a schwab location?

i signed up on the web, plus a phone call. i think i had to email them some documents, also.

You have to be american to use this account right? I went to have a look at their page and it asks me for a US social security number.

Please tell me this amazing facility is available to non-US ppl?

http://www.schwab-global.com/public/schwab-gcb-en

Im reading here to find out. I tried filling out an application form and this is where it sent me.

The guy that worked there told me you don't have to be a US citizen. Just call the number, their customer service is excellent.

And yes Schwab is excellent.

I want to hear about some options too... I did not do my research and got a little screwed via ATM and exchange fees. Fees abroad can be crazy - I no longer think $3 ATM fees in the US are outrageous after doing a bit of travel.

The ugly thing is that lots of international institutions don't actually charge ATM fees. It's your bank that's owning you to the tune of $5+ exchange fee every single time you use an ATM. The god schwab puts a stop to this racket.

Bank of America, for example, was terrible. Nowadays my banking relationship with BoA coud be characterized by me wondering how I can best screw them over by using their great ATM network and branch services while paying $0 in fees, keeping as little money in their accounts as possible, and never using any products they actually make any money off of.

**** you BoA.

It's nice to know that you've found your purpose in the world.

i also maintain a free BOA account for it's convenience, but keep no money in it. i think the average ATM withdrawal of 25k baht was costing me $15 with BOA.

Just signed up with Schwab. And yeah, the customer service is very impressive. Where has this corporation been all my life? It's a full notch higher than any other I've ever dealt with. Good for them. Good for me for supporting a corporation that does things right, but good for them for earning our business the old fashioned way.

Quick question:-

I'm in the UK will I be able to use it (charles schwab)?

I wonder if they will ever even realize how right they did this. It's obviously a way to get people to open an investment account with them, but i'll bet there are tons of people who are doing what i'm doing and not using it (I don't really invest, currently)

the thing is that one day, i'll have the urge to buy some stocks or something, and i'll already have this account set up, easy to move money to, with a very positive feeling towards the company it's with.... all things that are really important when dealing with financial services. it may take years, but if they don't screw up over those years, they've locked me in as a customer for life.

i guess there's a chance that investment companies are already so used to thinking in terms of long term customer service, that it's possible for them to realize how valuable these small things are to getting and maintaining lifelong customers.

it certainly can't hurt them that they create people like us who will prostelyze thier product to our friends. every time the issue of banking comes up, i bring up schwab. that kind of goodwill/natural advertisement is really hard to come by these days.

How hard is it to send money from neteller to schwabs?

the website doesn't mention that, are you sure?

guys, can you ship directly into the schwab account from a pokersite?

I've always wondered about it. Every time I've withdrawn money and then divided the nominal amount of money I withdrew by the currency spot rate it comes within a dollar or so of what was deducted from my account. But this it's always hours later the half dozen or so times I've actually bothered to do this, so it's hard to say.

The only time it was completely cut and dry was Malawi, where the bank rate is fixed against the dollar. It came out to the penny.

So yeah this has always been a mystery to me but it seems to work out quite well.

so wait, do i have to transfer money from my current checking account to the charles schwab brokerage account, then to the schwab checking account?

you can def withdraw from FTP and Stars directly to Schwab.

Seaside: there's some form you have to fill out to be able to transfer from an outside bank account directly to the checking account. after about six months, they just let me do it anyway.

+1 on Schwab

FWIW they also offer the best credit card for international travel, the Schwab Invest First Visa.

No foreign transaction fees
2% cash back on all purchases deposited directly into your brokerage account