Is there anything I can do to reduce FX & ATM charges when travelling? In the UK I used to have a Natwide account which was free and charged very little for transactions abroad. Here I have a CS account and seem to get charged a lot more when I go abroad.

Nationwide have recently increased charges on the Visa Delta: not impressed. The credit cards still seem OK

I use a Euro CS account and euro cash from here. Or my UK Nationwide credit card. I don't use my CS cards abroad at all.

Thanks, I'll look into the euro account. Are other Swiss banks comparable to CS in terms of charges abroad?

I know that UBS charges a fix CHF 5 for each withdrawal, however I don't think they charge anything else besides the conversion rate in case of payment. Might have a look at their offers, I'm not familiar with all account types.

Swiss Post Finance are about the cheapest and won't go bust!

https://www.postfinance.ch/pf/conten...priv/prod.html

Luke, I have a very anal retentive husband and he has determined (after much fiscal consternation) that he saves the most money by using only our US credit cards while in the Americas and our Credit Suisse credit and debit cards in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Ask Credit Suisse about their gold Bon Viva credit cards. We have those (both American Express and Visa) and they seem to have the least amount of additional charges when we are traveling in the UK and EU. Don't use them in the US, however. Beaucoup charges. Use a US card over there, if you have one. Hope this helps.

In a recent personal comparison, withdrawing euros from a back machine in italy, post finance gave a better rate than ubs.

And recently there was a survey done, and the sbb visa gave the best overall conversion (rate + surcharge) for foreign transactions.

My experience has been (in general, as a rule of thumb); the higher the yearly credit card fee, the lower the transaction fees (e.g. FX rates, etc.). I know, I know, doesn't always hold true, but quite often does. As an example, Migros credit cards cost very little if anything (yearly fee), but you get absolutely scr&%ed on the FX rate for foreign transactions. Btw, the FX rate is one thing to look at very closely, as some credit cards have a huge spread!! So, do some double checking on your statements, cross check the FX transaction rate with the Spot rate (if you can) on that day/time. If there is a huge difference then maybe think of changing.

I opened a euro account in europe and change money using a broker. The FX rate the banks use are just insane and then they charge a transaction a well.

Its not tricky, can do as little as 1000 at a time

If anyone wants a link to the company I use (and had checked out by regulator) PM me

I have the following (and I am not sure if it's optimal, though, but has some savings):

- bank account in EU

• debit card (MasterCard) linked to bank account there

- two bank accounts in UBS

• one bank account in CHF, and one bank account in EUR. Bank account in EUR is in SEPA system, so transactions within EU in EUR are rather cheap (or free)

The rule that I am applying is basically trying to minimize FX changes and fees from banks. Therefore, I am using:
- Swiss Maestro card, when paying in CHF in Switzerland
- never ever withdraw EUR in Switzerland (the rate used is 'banknote exchange rate'' which is much worse than normal bank rate)
- withdraw EUR when in EU from local ATMs. No fee at all (if you withdraw from account with EU bank. If you withdraw using EUR account from UBS; there are fees)

Transfer fees:
- from CHF to EUR account at UBS: exchange rate applies, but much better rate than if you pay in EU with CHF card. This means it is worthwhile having two accounts in Switzerland alone (EUR and CHF). Pay with CHF bank card when in CH; and with EUR bank card when abroad.
- payments abroad from UBS EUR account are having 1% additional fee; but it is still better than paying with card associated with CHF account


Sounds somewhat complicated, but hidden fees from cards are extraordinary high if there is conversion applied; so I try to minimize it.

Hope this helps!

It seems that the