How to Avoid Paying Bank Fees While Traveling (Updated 2025)

Finding money for travel is one of the biggest challenges that people face when it comes to a trip. It may take years to provide this dream journey!

And when people finally save enough and strike the road, most of them end?

They throw money away from the banks that can be avoided !!

Banking services abroad are more than just putting your card in ATMs and taking out money. When you travel with a limited budget, it includes knowing how to avoid banking and exchange rate penalties and make your money work for you.

I know many people who travel abroad and end up paying outrageous bank fees when traveling.

These days, there is absolutely no need to do so. Not all this money is provided to give it to banks, right? I know I didn’t. I want to keep everything for myself because every fee has been avoided is more money for food, drinks and activities on the road!

Here’s how to eliminate all banking fees when traveling in 5 easy steps:

1. Eliminate the fees of ATMs

It can really add automated ATMs – especially if you are traveling for weeks or months at a time. Let’s think about it: while you are on the road, you can withdraw money from ATMs twice a week. If you withdraw money from international ATMs using your regular debit card, you will be exposed to three different fees:

• Your bank fee to use ATM devices outside its network (usually $ 2.50-5 USD)
• ATM fee (usually 3-5 USD)
• International transfer fees (usually 1-3 % of transaction)

As you can see, these drawings add very quickly. The fees differ all over the world, but let’s say that you eventually pay about $ 7 US dollars for each withdrawal. This is $ 14 a week, or $ 56 a month, or $ 672 a year! Do you know how many days you can spend in Southeast Asia for this amount? Almost three weeks!

Even if you use the ATM only once a week, this is still 364 USD per year. Most of the travelers I know go to ATMs more than twice a week, which only increases the amount in the fees they pay. Why do banks give money you need to travel? You have worked hard to save your money – do not waste it by giving it to the bank.

To help you avoid drawings, here are four things you want to do on your next trip to eliminate these annoying fees:

First, you can join a bank that is part of the World ATM alliance, the main international banking network. The banks mentioned below have agreements with each other where if you belong to a bank, you can use ATMs for all other banks without imposing fees on ATMs:

• Bank of America
• Barclays
• BNP Paribas
• German bank
• Scotiabank
• And Testabak

Note: Bank of America receives 3 % transaction fees on all non -USD withdrawals, even for banks within the alliance. (Advice: Often, if you call the Bank of America, they will return most or all these treatment fees.)

Besides these banks, members of the individual alliance have additional partnerships. For example, Bank of America also waives the ATM fee with TeB in Türkiye and Ukrasipbek in Ukraine and the Chinese Construction Bank in China. Westpac has an agreement with CIMB, a bank in Indonesia and Malaysia.

It is important to note that some companies affiliated with the above -mentioned banks may not be included in the ATM alliance. For example, if you have the bank of America, the assignment of BNP Paribas only works in operating France (not anything else) while Westpac only works in Australia and New Zealand but not Figi.

However, in my opinion, the best American bank is Charles Schwab. Although Charles Schwab does not have deals with any banks abroad such as the above mentioned, they do not charge any ATM fees and will display any ATM fee from other institutions at the end of each month. You will need to open an individual examination account to qualify, but there is no minimum deposit and there is no monthly service fee.

You will never pay fees with Charles Schwab, and their ATM card can be used in any banking machine around the world. If there is no branch near you, you can open an online account by moving to their website. For me, this is the best current ATM card. I never thought about the drawings because of it.

Here are some of the proposed ATM cards for non -United States travelers:

• CanadaScotia and the tongue are both part of the global ATM alliance.
• Australia: G, Sigitank, or HSBC have no graphics cards.
• UKStarling allows you to avoid ATM fees abroad. Monzo has international fee -free transactions for the first 200 GBP withdrawn every 30 days.

2. Avoid credit card fees

The following main fees that we need to get rid are the external treatment card fees for credit card. Several credit cards receive 3 % fees for purchases that were performed abroad. It can add this because most of us use our credit card to everything. It has become common for credit cards “no foreign transactions fees”, so it is unlikely to have a work card but make sure of the question.

My favorite transactions abroad are the Sapphire Preferred, Capital One and Citi Premier, but there are tons and tons of options and you should choose the card that does not only contain fees, but it is good to gain points as well.

For more suggestions about credit cards, including the best current offers, you can find all my favorite travel cards here.

For non -American citizens, check the following websites that list cards that may not receive any fees abroad:

3. Reduced the exchange rate “punishment”

Every time you use your card abroad, your local bank turns the treatment to your local currency for bills and takes the top a little to do so. Thus, the official rate you see online is not what you really get. This is the rate of banks, and unless you become a major bank, you will not get this rate. All we can do is get Closing For this rate as possible. To do this, you need:

Use a credit card Credit card companies get the best prices. The use of the credit card will obtain a exchange rate closer to the official currency price between banks, so avoid ATMs or cash if possible.

Use ATM devices ATMs offers the best exchange rate after credit cards. They are not as good as credit cards because commercial banks take a little more than the top, but they are much better than money exchange. Exchang Money offices offer the worst prices because they are very far from the food chain, and they cannot get the best exchange rate (in addition, it usually receives a commission as well).

Do not use ATMs in strange locations Use the ATMs that you find in hotels, hostels, local 7-11s, or another random place is a bad idea. It is comfortable, but you will pay for this comfort. They always receive high fees of ATMs and offer terrible conversion rates. Express these ATMs and find a main bank.

4. Do not change the money in airports

Most airport exchange offices are far from the financial food chain, they have no influence to provide good exchange rates. The prices you see in airports are the worst – never use an exchange office there unless you have to do so.

Another advice: Avoid using Travelex at any cost. They have the worst prices and fees. Never use it. Avoid their ATMs too!

5. Always choose the local currency

When you use your credit card abroad, you often give you the option of accountants on the main currencies (that is, instead of imposing fees on you in the euro, they will receive you in US dollars). Do not say yes. The currency conversion rate in the currency is always worse than the rate that your bank will offer.

Choose the local currency and let your credit card company convert. You will get a better price and save some money in this process.

6. Do not get the currency at home (and skip foreign currency cards!)

Although buying the currency at home may seem a good idea, you will end up getting a worse exchange rate. Unless you are 100 % sure that you will need money upon arrival, avoid money exchange in your country.

All airports have ATMs where you can withdraw money if you need them very much. (However, I suggest you to wait until you reach your destination and withdraw money in the city center/from an automatic ATM away from the airport. ))

In addition, avoid any “foreign currency cards” where you can download money in advance and lock the exchange rate. It looks a good idea, right? mistake! You are mainly trying to predict the exchange rate and bet, you can overcome the market. You say that this rate will not get worse, but what if it is better? You don’t know! (And if you know, you should put bets on the market.) Moreover, these cards come with a lot of drawings that do not make them worth it. Just avoid them.

Reward: Make your money work for you

Save a handful of money for your trip? Make it earn additional money! Infinite prices are about 4 % at the present time so that you can get your money earning something while you are far away. It is not as if you were withdrawing it at one time, right? Maintain my money in a high -return savings account instead of a large bank! Below is a list of some of the highest current revenues that you can get:

***Banking fees can add some dangerous money over a long journey. If you want to save money, it should be proactive when it comes to bank exchange and currency. Little planning can make a long run and save you a lot of money over weeks, months and years of trips.

Be smart and smart bank. I haven’t paid banking fees while traveling around the world for more than fifteen years, and you shouldn’t.

With these simple tips, you will never have to do so again.