Best rtw bank?

My online bank is Ally. They charge 1%, but they refund any ATM fees that you may be charged anywhere.

If you are planning on waitressing in Europe you should know its impossible to live on scant wages and meager tips. I've seen young Americans waiting to pounce on tips however little they were. You could be stting yourself up for some hard times. Also, the Shengen Treaty may be a stumbling block if you are going to Europe.

In which country will you be working?

I'll be working in Australia and have the proper visa etc. Just trying to get a better ATM/ Foriegn transaction fee than Chase bank :/

Check out USAA. They charge a flat one percent on ATM withdrawals, which is fair IMO. They offer a deposit option using a smart phone application - I think basically photo it and send it. I haven't used it so can't give you more details.

Credit unions are a good bet. Checkmout BECU ( Boeing Employees Credit Union). Any Washington resident can join. Their foreign transaction fees are under 1% ( I think it waa 0.8% when we were in Spain last May). No ATM fees at all.

Thank you for all the prompt responses :)

Okay, Ally, Schwab, and USAA cannot accept cash deposit and transferring from brick and mortar to online sounds complicated and expensive. Anyone do this regularly? iQ credit union turned me off from credit unions, but I'd be willing to listen to any suggestions regarding a different one.

I suggested BECU above. Did you checkmate out? I never heard of IQ credit union, but I have belonged to one for 23 years and another (BECU) for 5 years and have been very happy with both. Very happy with the rates and the customer service.

It is simple to transfer money from my credit union accounts to my Ally account, and it costs nothing (not sure why it sounds "complicated and expensive"). I do it all the time. My paycheck is direct deposited into both, as well. I believe that you can mail deposits to Ally (never done it). They also have live 24/7 customer service available via chat or telephone. My local credit union charges nothing for foreign ATM withdrawals. I have been a member for 25 years, and would never go back to using a bank (except for Ally).

Have you thought of opening an account at an Australian bank when you get there? They will have all the facilities you need. We have several Australian contributors here. Perhaps if you PM them?

"It is simple to transfer money from my credit union accounts to my Ally account, and it costs nothing (not sure why it sounds "complicated and expensive"). " My problem I seem to be facing isn't transferring US dollars to an account but foriegn (specifically Australian -though same would apply if it were Euro) to an account in the US (Wire transfers being the exception to the rule but for $20 fee or a percentage and days waiting I'm about to give up.) Even to transfer $ from Paypal Aus to Payal Us has a cross boarder fee of .05% -2% "
Have you thought of opening an account at an Australian bank when you get there? They will have all the facilities you need." yes, that is the plan so far, however I guess I just assume that with most branches any use of my au dollar will be raked in fees if taken out of the ATM let alone exchanged in euro, rupee, etc.

Why don't you contact Ally live chat and ask what they can do for you? There might be an option you can't see.

Nancy, no luck but thank you for your input. The response I got was some thing like, " money transfers must come from a US bank."

Have you looked at a foreign exchange service such as OzForex? Their minimums for occasional transfers are high, but if you want to do regular transfers such as payroll or loan payments, I think it's cheaper. Not a bank though - but it might be worth a look.

Samantha, The banking services that you will need as an expat are somewhat different from what you will need as a traveller. Some of the great discount banks people use while travelling don't have all the things you need when you are living overseas. 1) Open an account with an Australian Bank as soon as you can and try to get a debit card with Visa/Mastercard logo. It is very hard to pay your utility bills, phone, etc. without a local bank. Find out what documents you need to open an account. For example, to open a bank account in the UK, I needed a letter of reference from my employer along with my work visa and copies of my U.S. bank statement. 2) See if there is a Citibank Australia in the town you will be working and see what they offer and what their fees are. While I would never recommend Citibank US to the average traveller (3% foreign transaction fee on ATM), I had an account with Citibank UK which had excellent options for a U.S. expat (e.g. no fee debit card, ability to have a U.S. dollar account along with my local currency account, etc. Additionally, they do not charge any fees to do a wire transfer between Citibank accounts in different countries. 3) Make sure your U.S. bank has SWIFT code and no charge for incoming international wire transfers. Wire transfer really is the easiest way to move money between accounts in different countries. If your U.S. bank has a SWIFT code (most full service banks do), the foreign bank should be able to transfer directly. For example, my credit union does not have a SWIFT code. When I had money transferred from my Swedish account to my credit union account, I would always incur an extra charge. The Swedish bank had to send the money via a U.S. bank with whom they had a relationship which in turn did a U.S. federal transfer to the credit union. That intermediary bank took $15 for every transfer.

Laura, that is some great advice thank you!

I completely agree with Laura. I didn't realize that Citibank had an Australian arm. The UK arm took really good care of me in the UK. Fee free banking, no fee (no interest either) Euro chequing accounts and US$ accounts, no ATM fees anywhere in Europe, and free transfers between accounts domiciled in the different arms. BTW - what do you mean by "rtw" bank?

'round the world :P