Best Banks for Travelers

Best Banks for Travelers

If you travel frequently, you’ll benefit from features such as fee-free ATM access and waived currency-conversion charges. And even if you’re not on the road much, the checking accounts from these banks are outstanding choices.

This is part of Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine's 2024 best bank for you rankings. See lower down on this page for more categories.

Capital One

Why it won: Capital One goes light on fees with its online 360 accounts, and its nationwide cafés provide travelers a place to relax.

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Standout account: 360 Checking customers can access more than 70,000 ATMs fee-free, and you pay no foreign-transaction fee when you use the debit card overseas.

Where it is: The accounts listed here are internet-based, but Capital One has more than 250 branches in a handful of eastern and southern states and Washington, D.C.

Overview:

Capital One’s 360 Checking account has no monthly fee or minimum balance requirement, and the debit card imposes no foreign transaction fees for purchases or ATM withdrawals abroad. Capital One also provides free access to more than 70,000 ATMs, including the bank’s own machines as well as those in the Allpoint and MoneyPass networks. If you withdraw money from an out-of-network machine, Capital One charges you no fee, but you’ll likely pay a surcharge to the ATM operator. If you’d like to earn a high yield on extra cash, check out the no-fee 360 Performance Savings account, yielding 4.25%, and the one-year CD, with a 5% yield (no minimum deposit required).

Capital One has a robust mobile app that you can use to manage your accounts and make transfers on the go. Plus, along with standard branch locations, the bank operates more than 50 cafés in cities across the country. Capital One Cafés serve up food and drinks (you get a 50% discount on handcrafted beverages, such as coffee and tea, if you pay for them with your Capital One debit or credit card), as well as providing workspaces and free Wi-Fi.

Charles Schwab Bank

Why it won: Schwab waives the surcharges that most other banks impose on international travelers.

Standout account: Users of Schwab’s Investor Checking account pay no ATM fees or currency conversion fees.

Overview: Globetrotters will find Charles Schwab’s Investor Checking account hard to beat. It offers unlimited reimbursement of out-of-network fees for ATM withdrawals worldwide, and travelers pay no foreign transaction fees when they use their debit card for ATM withdrawals or purchases. The account is free of monthly maintenance fees, overdraft fees and minimum balance requirements, and you get complimentary standard paper checks, too. The debit card comes with travel accident insurance as well as travel and emergency assistance services, such as referrals to English-speaking doctors if you become ill while abroad.

You must link your Investor Checking account to a Schwab One brokerage account, which has no minimum balance requirement, and you can transfer money instantly between the accounts. With Schwab’s mobile app, you can move money and check account balances.

Kiplinger's Best Banks 2024

Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine, a monthly, trustworthy source of advice and guidance. Subscribe to help you make more money and keep more of the money you make here.