No Foreign Transaction Fee = Why I Still Love My Schwab Invest First Credit Card
Posted by Cap on May 7, 2010 |Despite the fact that FIA (formerly MBNA, now owned by Bank of America), told me to bend over as they slashed my credit limit on my Schwab credit card, I still prefer to use the Charles Schwab credit card as my primary transaction card. It’s simply too hard to ignore the 2% cash back on any purchases, plus there’s the absolutely zilch foreign transaction fee when you use the card while traveling abroad.
While in Italy last month, I extensively used this credit card along with my Schwab debit card as my traveling pals and I roam around tourist traps in a decisively awesome country:
As you can see above, had the Schwab credit card emulated other Visa, MasterCard, and American Express credit card’s usual 3% foreign transaction fee, my traveling cost would have went up by an additional $21 or so dollars. Not a whole lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but that’s still three-and-a-quarter-less margherita pizza I’d be able to eat.
And that, my friends, is what personal finance should truly be about: how many slices of pizza you may be missing out on.
7 Comments to “No Foreign Transaction Fee = Why I Still Love My Schwab Invest First Credit Card”
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May 26th, 2010 at 8:47 am
should have used a eurail pass!!
May 26th, 2010 at 9:04 am
Good call there tim. Unfortunately I’m just a tad bit over the age of 25 (heh) and we ended up taking the high speed rail instead, along with an uncertain schedule, the Eurail pass wouldn’t have worked out as well for us. But yeah, that thing could have a been a big chunk of savings…
May 29th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
Bad news…I just received a revised terms and conditions statement for my Schwab Invest First credit card and the fine print says they are introducing the despised 3% foreign transaction fee.
June 2nd, 2010 at 2:52 am
I love that card. I don’t buy enough to justify a rewards card so the 2% is wonderfuly. I get a little sense of enjoyment when I buy something and know I’m getting money back. I’m a money nerd.
Austin @ Foreigner’s Finances
June 9th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Wow, no foreign transaction fee would be great! The only other card I’ve found that has that is Capital One, and they don’t have 2% cash back.
June 28th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
1. You can get a Eurail pass over age 25, though for travel within one country it’s not really worth it. I looked into it 2 years ago when I went to Italy with my mom.
2. For countries where credit cards aren’t accepted quite so readily, having access to a bank account that doesn’t charge foreign ATM fees comes in handy. Enter Capital One and their rewards money market account. We have their credit card too, but after 5 months in China, we’ve only used it for a couple of online purchases sent back to the US.
November 4th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
What is Tapioca Express ? Tapioca is a typical food from northeast of Brasil !