I thought I was going to cry the first time that I logged onto my Bank of America checking account while traveling in Slovakia and saw that the last three ATM transactions had been hit with $5.00 surcharges (on top of the $2.00 the Slovakian ATM had charged me). Basically, more than a day's travel budget had been blown on fees.
What, did the bank WANT me to carry around huge amounts of cash while I was traveling in order to minimize my withdrawals? Or did they want me to bring a bunch of money from the states and get hammered at the exchange bureaus (if you didn't know, ATM withdrawals give you the best rate of exchange)?
So that's why, after looking around, I settled on Evantage Bank.
Why?
Evantage reimburses your ATM fees, even international ones!
This was proven on a recent trip to Honduras and another one to St. Maarten. Rather than fearing the ATMs, I was able to visit them as often as I wished. True to their word, Evantage paid for my ATM fees.
That's the big one for me, because I live in the South Bronx, which has a cash based economy, so I find myself withdrawing money once a week even at home.
On top of that, Evantage has:
1. High yield checking (currently at 4%) up to $10,000.
2. Low requirement to get that rate (10 check card uses a month)
3. No phone tree when you call customer service! A real Oklahoman immediately picks up and answers your questions!
Obviously I can't use my check card 10 times a month abroad, but what that means is that when I'm in America, my liquid cash earns 4% and when I'm abroad I'm saving almost that percentage in ATM fees.
All in all, it's pretty sweet.
No comments:
Post a Comment