8 Essential Tips for a Seamless International Travel Experience

My International Travel Tips Based On Experience

Get Foreign Money From an ATM With a Bank Card With Refundable ATM fees

Bryan and I have a joint bank account with Charles Schwab, and it reimburses ATM fees anywhere in the world! Specifically, this checking account offers unlimited refunds for out-of-network ATM fees, and it doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees! Instead of carrying a bunch of $100 dollar bills with us and being afraid of being pick pocketed, jumped, or swindled of my cash, we just bring this ATM card and withdraw foreign currency at any bank. Oh you want to charge me $3-$5 fee? No problem because Charles Schwab got me! And since I know the fees are going to be reimbursed, I don’t have to pull out a big lump sum to avoid being charged multiple times through multiple withdrawals. I just pull out small amounts as I go, so I don’t get stuck with a whole bunch of foreign cash at the end. On top of that, the ATM actually pays me at the correct international foreign exchange rate, unlike the terrible currency exchange kiosks at the airport. Did you know that they will easily charge 14% more than the current International Monetary Fund (IMF) exchange rate? Outrageous!

Why I like using a bank card with refundable ATM fees:

• I don’t have to carry a lot of USD with me to exchange
• The bank will pay me at the correct international foreign exchange rate
• I don’t have to pay the ATM fees (or at least I get them reimbursed)
• I can exchange foreign currency as I go (I exchange about $100-$200 worth at at time) to prevent withdrawing too much and then being stuck with foreign cash or losing it when I exchange it back to USD

Bring a Credit Card With No Foreign Transaction Fees

Many places around the world from restaurants to stores take credit cards. In fact, when we were in London in July 2023, we used absolutely no cash! We used our credit card everywhere! Our friend who lives in London said that after Covid, they avoided exchanging cash. However, my experience in the other European countries and Asian countries is that you do need to have some cash on hand.

As an added bonus for using your credit card, you can get cash back for all your spending (and then later use those points to fly). Win win! When given the choice between using cash or credit card, I tend to use credit card for this reason. We have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which has no foreign transaction fees. Before you go on your trip, check which of your credit cards may have no foreign transaction fees. If you travel often, consider getting a credit card has no foreign transaction fees, but I believe most credit cards with no foreign transaction fees have annual fees (though correct me if I’m wrong with a comment below!).

💡 Pro-tip: at your vacation destination, when the card reader machines asks whether you want to pay in USD or the local currency, choose the local currency to avoid any additional conversion fees.

Call US Phone Numbers for Free Using Google Voice

At some point, you may need to call a US number either on your phone or laptop, probably because you’re “adulting.” When I was trying to add my credit card to the Grab app in the Philippines, it kept erroring out and required an additional call to Chase Bank. How was I going to call Chase Bank without being charged an arm and a leg? Then I met an expat friend in the Philippines who moved from Seattle, Washington, and she told me that she uses her Google Voice app linked to her US number to call. What an easy solution! She reminded me to download Google Voice and link it to your phone number while still in the US.

Get Data to Call Local Numbers and Search Internet On-The-Go

If you bring an unlocked phone, you can buy a local sim card at the country you’re visiting for the number of days you’re staying. This allows you to use your phone to call local phone numbers, like tour companies or hotels, without being charged for data roaming. Buying a sim card abroad is usually very affordable (roughly $20-$25 for 5g for a week), and you can use it the whole time you’re there to call and to search the internet.

Let Your Close Family and Friends Know You’re Leaving and How to Reach You

You can use free apps such as Viber and WhatsApp or social media apps like Facebook messenger and Instagram to keep in touch with your family and friends back home, including letting them know you have arrived to your destination and sending them pictures of all the fun you’re having abroad.

If you have an iPhone and are trying to reach another iPhone user, this is done on a separate network and as long as you have wifi, then text messages and facetime work the same (but not phone calls). (What is the difference between iMessage and SMS/MMS?)

Look Up Lounges (if you have a lounge pass)

Lounges provide some comfortable chairs and tables along with some food, snacks, desserts, and wifi for you to enjoy. It made the wait for boarding much more comfortable, especially with kids.

If you have a lounge pass, then look up lounges at the airport you will be going to. Since we have the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, we have the Priority Pass lounge pass, which is a benefit that comes with us paying the expensive annual fee. On our Thailand/Philippines trip, we were able to hang out at lounges in both Bangkok and Manila.