Worldwide without any fees*
It’s one of the few biggest institutions in the world for large individual investors. It’s like advertising you have money
Worldwide without any fees*
It’s one of the few biggest institutions in the world for large individual investors. It’s like advertising you have money
Never use your debit card for everyday spending
Keep most liquid cash in high-interest savings
Have a minimum of 2 checking accounts with 2 debit cards from entirely separate banks
Have a Wise account because bank transfers arrive in seconds and you can make foreign transfers to yourself or others quickly
Keep <$2000 in your “cash withdrawals abroad” checking account, transfer more as needed
Pay for everyday spend with credit cards, rack up points, request credit increases regularly
Carry Mastercard and VISA. I have Amex too but it’s not accepted in a lot of places. Some places accept Mastercard or VISA but not both. Best to have something of everything
Pay off credit cards every few days
Use a permanent VoIP phone number for 24/7 ability to contact your bank if you’re compromised. Americans can use Google Voice. Highly recommend it.
Keep €500 in cash tucked away somewhere for emergencies.
If an ATM ever swallows your card and you have to retrieve it from a technician, consider your card already compromised. Motherfuckers lol.
Use safer ATMs* - mine was only ever skimmed when I made a withdrawal in a shady neighborhood.
*Someone recommended locking your debit card before and after withdrawals but I don’t necessarily recommend that - then you’ll never know if and when your card was compromised. If possible, turn on SMS alerts to ping you every time your card is used anywhere for anything.
A few years back I withdrew some cash in Spain then left and arrived in South Africa to discover $1200 spent on my debit card in a Walmart in Utah lmao. My bank reversed the charges immediately and sent me a new card in 2 days - that shipment alone must have cost them $80. Pleasantly surprised.
All of this is the most thorough way
Solid points all around!
However, I don’t really understand the ‘pay off your credit card every few days’ thing. Unless there’s something I don’t know about from a security standpoint, it’s good to keep transactions unpaid-off on your card until your statement comes in and then pay it off then (<~25% utilization), so that the card issuer sees that you’re utilizing the card.
Just a good financial habit to help manage your spend if you keep your cssh/credit balanced as often as possible :)
The card issuer definitely sees that you’re using the card regardless of whether or not you carry a balance. I carry $0 balance but my card limit is regularly increased. 800 credit score, etc.