When was the last time your bank deposited ATM fees into your account? If you bank with PNC you probably already know that PNC refunds all ATM fees incurred when withdrawing cash from another bank’s machine. While this is a nice benefit when I am at home and a PNC ATM is not nearby, it amounted to no more than a $3-5 refund each month. However, last month PNC refunded $69 in international ATM fees to our account. This excellent customer service is in stark contrast to our extremely frustrating experience of banking with TD Bank, as Amy documented here.
ATM fees can be a major monthly expense that is largely unavoidable when traveling for extended periods. You simply cannot safely carry enough cash to avoid having to use foreign ATMs regularly. There are two drawbacks that come with nearly all foreign ATMs. First is the withdrawal limits. In many countries the amount of local currency you can withdraw in a single transaction is relatively small. For example, in Vietnam many ATMs have a 2,000,000 Dong ($107) limit per transaction. The reason this withdrawal limit is a problem is the second drawback: transaction fees. The fees associated with withdrawing that $107 are $3.50, or 3.2% of the transaction. And when viewed as a single transaction that does not seem to be such an onerous fee, but compound that by the fact that nearly all of our transactions while traveling are done in cash[1]. Over the course of a year this would effectively make our trip 3-4% more expensive. ATM fees are not something I am willing to spend our hard earned money on.
Here are my banking tips for international travelers:
Ensure you have a trusted family member or friend sign your bank’s POA (Power of Attorney) form, versus relying a general form POA.
Finally, open a PNC checking account for the cash you’ll need to withdraw from foreign ATMs, avoiding substantial transaction fees.
Did I miss any other invaluable tips? If so, be sure to let me know in the comments below.
[1] When credit cards are able to be used for transactions there is often a surcharge of 3-4% added to the price to cover the amount the credit card companies take out when they reimburse the merchants.
Our eight days in the northern Vietnam were spent among three cities: Hanoi, Sapa and Halong Bay. We did quite a bit of sightseeing, trekking and soaking up the feel of the north. Below you will find a brief overview of the highlights and a selection of our favorite pictures from these cities. Enjoy!
In Hanoi, some of the most interesting tourist attractions provided insight into the views and beliefs of the ruling Communist party. While Vietnamese Communism seems to be largely relegated to politics with few of the self-destructive economic reforms of the former Soviets of Khmer Communists, there is no shortage of Communist propaganda in both the Hoa Lo Prison and the Ho Chi Minh Museum. The Prison museum focuses largely on the crimes committed against the Vietnamese people by the French during their occupation. It contrasts this brutal treatment with the “wonderful treatment” afforded the American pilots captured during the American War. There are pictures of Americans playing volleyball, celebrating Christmas and even being given souvenirs upon their release. I would bet most of the pilots would not find this a fair or balanced depiction.
We left Hanoi on a comfortable overnight sleeper train to Sapa in the mountains of the northwest. Our two days were spent trekking through green terraced rice paddies and small ethnic minority Vietnamese villages. Our guide for the two days was a Black Hmong. In addition to our guide we also had a whole troop of Black Hmong women and girls that escorted us the entire first morning. They would help us across tricky parts of the path, make us animal shapes from fern leaves and practice their English by asking an endless stream of questions: “How old are you? How many brothers and sisters do you have? Are you married?” and Amy’s favorite, “How many kids do you have?” It did not come as a surprise when the hand embroidery came out as we got close to our lunch stop. And since it was handmade and they had walked nearly three hours with us we both bought a small belt. While very attractive I have no idea what we will us them for, but it was hard to say no. Our escorts are quite the practiced saleswomen.
After Sapa we were off to Halong Bay. While the unique rock pillars and cliffs were amazing, the weather was not very cooperative for pictures. It was overcast and hazy for nearly three days, so we did our best trying to get a couple of shots when the sun would peek through. We had a great time cruising on our boat and seeing the National Park on Cat Ba Island. After a brief stop back in Hanoi it was off to Hue by overnight bus. This bus was not your standard motor coach. The seats were on two levels and all reclined to nearly flat beds. This made the average speed of 25mph fly by as we slept in relative comfort with the help of ear plugs and Benadryl. At some point in the night we crossed the 17th parallel and the former DMZ, marking our arrival in southern Vietnam.
Coffee was a very important part of my morning back home, so I wanted to write a quick post about the most potent and delicious caffeine delivery systems we have yet encountered on our trip. To set a base line on my level of caffeine addiction, back home I would start each day with a large, 24oz Dunkin Donuts coffee, either store bought or home brewed. So I am no stranger to a big shot of caffeine. Admittedly, in the last four months of travel I have been somewhat irregular in my caffeine intake so I may have become more sensitive to a big caffeine rush. However, I am no novice. As we have traveled I have had to get my morning fix in a myriad of ways, including: Turkish coffee, hot Lipton tea, Coke, and even occasionally the horrid Nescafe instant coffee. The most remarkable brew so far was the Luwak coffee in Bali.
Luwak coffee, or Civet coffee, is coffee made from coffee berries which have been eaten by and passed through the digestive tract of the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). The civets eat the berries, but the beans inside the berries pass through their system undigested. Interestingly, these animals will not survive in captivity so thier poo has to be collected in the wild, letting the civets roam and have pretty normal lives. For about $3 a cup the coffee was milder and a smoother brew than the regular Bali blend which went for $0.50.
Upon arriving in Hanoi, Vietnam I discovered the wonderful caffeine and sugar rush that comes from Vietnamese iced coffee. As far as I am concerned this is the perfect blend of a cool, sweet and even slightly chocolaty beverage. They start with a strong brewed local coffee which after brewing is kept cool in the fridge. To that they add a generous amount of sweetened condensed milk and ice to keep it cold. I enjoyed my first iced Vietnamese coffee during lunch at Cafe Paris in Hanoi and I made the mistake of having a second one. At only 12,000D ($0.60), why not? I will tell you why not, because at 1am that night I was still staring at the ceiling unable to sleep. On the upside, I was incredibly productive all day. I helped Amy write a guest blog post for Briefcase to Backpacker, edited and uploaded pictures from Indonesia and finished reading my latest book, When Broken Glass Floats. All of that on top of sightseeing and some provision shopping in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. I am not sure how the Vietnamese have not yet taken over the world. With this potent brew getting them going every morning I would think that there would be no limit to what they could achieve.
Lest you think this was a fluke, I had another iced Vietnamese coffee in Hue at a French bakery with the same results: high productivity all day until I finally drifted off at 1am. Maybe the best part of this caffeine rush is that I do not wake up exhausted after only five or six hours of sleep, and if I ever feel a little slow I know that a cafe is never far away with an iced pick-me-up waiting. With all the new parents I know back home maybe there is a market for this in the States?
I know there are lots of caffeine junkies out there, so let’s hear your best caffeine stories, or lack there of, in the comments below.
. All of that on top of sightseeing and some provision shopping in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. I am not sure how the Vietnamese have not yet taken over the world. With this potent brew getting them going every morning I would think that there would be no limit to what they could achieve.
