conversation: User (unoffensivename): "So I am in a position to budget monthly for a once-a-year international vacation. I have done plenty of travel so I know what it takes. I am looking for some good ideas of how people have utilized their money/accounts while abroad to avoid conversion &amp; withdrawal fees, etc. An example I am thinking of is putting my vacation money into a Charles Schwab account as they dont have a lot of fees on their debit card when withdrawing internationally. \n\nAny suggestions/ideas? Love to hear them!"
  Self: "I have Charles Schwab and it works great for me when traveling. You can use it at any ATM and they refund any third-party charges. Usually the exchange rate you get by just making an ATM withdrawal is the best you can get and much better than any over-the-counter bank or airport counter."
  lifelovers (lifelovers): "agreed - schwab is the way to go for international travel.  "
  User (unoffensivename): "question - do you still get charged for currency conversion when you withdraw with Charles Schwab?"
  wijwijwij (wijwijwij): "Charles Schwab is the way to go for ATM withdrawals for spending cash. No foreign exchange or currency conversion fees, and if by chance there is any surcharge applied by the ATM, you get that amount refunded by Schwab at end of month. This sounds too good to be true, but it is true. Schwab makes you open an affiliated brokerage account, but you do not need to fund that account. This may be the reason they offer these perks, to get people exposed to and possibly interested in using their brokerage offerings. It takes a little time (almost a full week) for your deposits into a new Schwab account to clear, so fund that account several weeks before your trip.\n\nIf possible, use a credit card with no foreign transaction fees (such as Capital One) with charges in the local currency for big things like hotel, car rental, and meals where credit card is taken. Use the Schwab card for getting cash from ATMs. No need for travelers checks, and no need to hunt down any particular bank's ATMs.\n\nAlso, very important: Don't forget to call Schwab, and your credit card company or your bank and tell them you are traveling and the dates and countries you're going to. They all have travel alert or fraud detection departments that handle this. If you don't do this, the very first time you try to use your cards internationally, it's quite likely they'll be declined and possibly unavailable for your entire trip. This is for your own protection against fraud."
  Self: "I've never figured out how necessary the proactive travel notification is. I've definitely gone overseas and forgotten to do it, and not had a problem withdrawing money."
  