Capital One Debit Card Woes

Many, many, many of us have discussed this and pretty much we all are staying away from this debit card now. And I had used the MC version for many, many trips but haven't even bothered to activate this new card, it's just not worth it.

The bank itself is largely irrelevant, but the ubiquitous payment networks are mastercard and visa - anything else has very low coverage in Europe. The nearest discovery atm to me in England is allegedly 17 miles away.

Our solution? I opened a Betterment Bank checking account dedicated to just the portion of money I want to allow for travel. They issue a Visa debit card to access that account. Even better? They refund ANY and ALL fees the very next day directly to you. So far it's worked out perfectly for us. The only drawback is that it takes several days for your personal money transfers to be deposited into your Betterment account. It was easier doing an instant Capital One transfer from their savings account to their checking account. You'll simply have to do it a few days in advance. One plus is that they will issue your spouse a debit card at the same time you request yours with no hassle. https://www.betterment.com/

Even using C1 guidance we couldn't find any ATM's that accept the new Capital One Discover debit card anywhere in Spain or Switzerland several months ago. So....I am also going to withdraw all of my HY savings from Capital One and be done with them. I might store some in a Betterment HY savings that can be instantly transferred to checking thus replicating Capital One functionality.

This made me feel much less anxious - it's nice seeing those refunds the next day!

Just fyi - Capital One's 360 Performance Savings account recently lowered it's rate with very little publicity to 3.2%.

Betterment Bank's High-Yield Cash Account remains at 3.25%. Currently you will get a 90 day boost of .65% to 3.9% when you open a savings account.

Of course there are several even better yielding options elsewhere but having the cash account with Betterment makes instant transfer of funds from savings to checking possible much like what can be done with Capital One accounts.

This way whatever money you want to make available for travel doesn't have to be placed in the checking account. You could incrementally add it thus replicating C1 functionality and at a better rate.

RJ thanks for reporting back about your experience in Germany. This is a prior thread on the subject that includes discussion of alternatives for future trips https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/budget-tips/capital-one-debit-card-question

And has been discussed here many times. Get a Schwab checking account, offered for free if you open a Schwab Investment Account, and you do not have to have anything in the Investment account. No FTF, in all networks, and refunds hostage ATM fees. Or Fidelity cash management account, same deal. There is no reason to have that Capital One bank account an6 longer, vote with your closing it. Note that the CapitalOne Mastercard is not yet defected by this, and it would surprise me if they rebranded these to Discover, as they would lose even more customers. Move money from your regular bank online as you need it, like before trip, so a balance is not even at risk.

For years and years I brought over the Capital One credit card. A debit card I don't take along, never did. I much rather take the Euro cash with me rather than having to do a cash withdraw over there with a debit card.

That Capital One credit card , however, has been replaced by another credit card with a higher limit for this coming trip in less than 2 months.

I just saw a second threat on this issue popped up. I am not working with Ray, but I wish him good luck.

On a personal note, I have several credit cards and some cash, and American Express is stepping up. International travel is still an adventure. Regardless of how many times you have done this or how thorough you think your preparation is, there always seems a surprising hurdle that pops up.

Yes, I should have had a backup for a debit card problem with getting cash from an ATM. Lots of things can happen. But I had never previously had a problem with my Capital One debit card. And the reason for the problem--Capital One intentionally switching to the much inferior Discovery network from the Master Card network--irritates the heck out of me. I lost several hours today on this.

RJ, I posted this on Ray's thread. Maybe it will give you another ATM option.

"I use Fidelity Cash Management ATM, linked to a small “travel” account. Have not had a problem. ATM fees are reimbursed, no Foreign transaction fees.
If I need a large amount of € or £ for cash only B&Bs, I buy it from my German neighbor or from BAC before leaving home."