Banks. Here and in China

[Dan777]

Looking for a bank I could put my retirement in to and withdraw money in China with no or low fee. I know bank of China has a couple of branches in New York. Any one with experience? And any cities in southern China with low smog and mosquito population?

[fluffyballs]

Whenever me of my wife traveled to China for extended periods of time we just put a bunch of money in a Charles Schwab checking account. No fees whatsoever and my wife would just withdraw RMB at her bank's ATM, and immediately redeposit it into her Chinese back account using the same machine.

 

There's probably a more efficient and elegant way to do this but this is one way to do it without and fees.

[Randy W]

In order to get free withdrawals from your Charles Schwab checking account, you have to save your receipts and apply for rebates every month, no? I looked into that at one point and decided I didn't want to bother.

 

 

Unlimited ATM fee rebates apply to cash withdrawals using the Schwab Bank Visa® Platinum Debit Card wherever it is accepted. ATM fee rebates do not apply to any fees other than fees assessed for using an ATM to withdraw cash from your Schwab Bank account. Schwab Bank makes its best effort to identify those ATM fees eligible for rebate, based on information it receives from Visa and ATM operators. In the event that you have not received a rebate for a fee that you believe is eligible, please call a Schwab Bank Client Service Specialist for assistance at 888‐403‐9000 (or for clients of independent investment advisors, a Schwab Alliance Service team member at 800-515-2157). Schwab Bank reserves the right to modify or discontinue the ATM fee rebate at any time.

 

 

 

I used to get free wires from TDA Ameritrade, until they told me they didn't want to send me any more money after we started work on her building. Now I go through BofA (the same bank account I've had for 45 years - the account is free with my monthly SS deposits) - I can arrange the transfer online (using a SafePass card) for $55 per transfer. We send dollars, and convert to RMB at the CCB bank. I'm just now working on downloading another $10,000. This works out to a little over ½%.

 

ATM's are also limited as to how much you can withdraw in a single day.

 

The BofA/CCB free ATM agreement was the best deal, and best conversion rate, but it now has a 3% foreign conversion charge.

You might also investigate some of the online wire transfer services, such as Xoom - Xoom is a good deal, but they get you on the conversion.

[fluffyballs]

In order to get free withdrawals from your Charles Schwab checking account, you have to save your receipts and apply for rebates every month, no? I looked into that at one point and decided I didn't want to bother.

 

 

Unlimited ATM fee rebates apply to cash withdrawals using the Schwab Bank Visa® Platinum Debit Card wherever it is accepted. ATM fee rebates do not apply to any fees other than fees assessed for using an ATM to withdraw cash from your Schwab Bank account. Schwab Bank makes its best effort to identify those ATM fees eligible for rebate, based on information it receives from Visa and ATM operators. In the event that you have not received a rebate for a fee that you believe is eligible, please call a Schwab Bank Client Service Specialist for assistance at 888‐403‐9000 (or for clients of independent investment advisors, a Schwab Alliance Service team member at 800-515-2157). Schwab Bank reserves the right to modify or discontinue the ATM fee rebate at any time.

 

 

 

 

All ATM fees are automatically rebated once a month. Although we weren't charged an ATM fee by the Chinese bank, and since Schwab doesn't charge either, we were fee-free the whole time.

 

The card also doesn't have foreign transaction fees or conversion fees. It's generally regarded nowadays as the best card for travelers. Although yes, there is a daily withdrawal limit, I believe it was 5,000 rmb/day last time we went. I believe Fidelity offers a comparable product.

 

We've also used TransferWise as well for larger amounts of money.