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Post by fsaeed81 on Jul 24, 2014 11:55:44 GMT
We're getting ready to arrive at KSA soon and I will be splitting my paycheck between a Saudi bank (for daily expenses) and US bank. Can anyone suggest which bank may work best for me. I suppose I will be transferring money, possibly using ATM for withdrawals and possibly purchases.
Possibly options are BofA, Wells Fargo, US Bank, Citi Bank, Chase, HSBC. I've seen on some other posts people using HSBC in US and SABB in Saudi, but I don't know what type of account works best. HSBC has Premier, Advance, Choice and Basic checking accounts.
thanks!
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Post by fsaeed81 on Jul 26, 2014 21:23:49 GMT
Any suggestions on this topic?
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Post by vpainter on Jul 26, 2014 22:07:04 GMT
You just need to look for a U.S. bank with the best or no international fees when using your credit card or ATM card. People use all the ones you have mentioned. Many have accounts with these banks and an account with a KSA bank on the compounds.
You can also bring checks from your U.S. bank and write checks for USD but given to you in SR's at the banks on the compounds.
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Post by joyzee on Jul 27, 2014 21:49:43 GMT
In terms of US banks, they mostly have similar fee structure and I am sure you will not go wrong with any if you have substantial amount in the savings + checking combined to qualify you to be, for example Citi Gold at CitiBank, when you will have some additional benefits. Hope this helps.
P.S. New to the forum. First post for me. Accepted the offer few days ago to come to KSA (from Houston).
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Post by dtromp on Jul 28, 2014 2:56:52 GMT
Welcome to the ride, Joyzee! As far as banks, one to avoid is Wells Fargo. I've been a substantial customer for many years, and they won't do anything to reduce the 3.49% foreign currency conversion fee.
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Post by joyzee on Jul 28, 2014 15:01:17 GMT
Thank you, dtromp.
I have CitiBank and have been quite pleased with them. Main reason for getting them was living in Singapore for 3 years and them being present there as well as in the US was a major factor.
Although, it all boils down to having enough in the accounts to qualify for higher level services that are free of charge such as money transfers, etc, etc. Was not aware of Wells Fargo - something to note going forward.
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rft
Member
Posts: 27
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Post by rft on Aug 1, 2014 15:06:13 GMT
I've lived in the middle east for 10+ years and have used USAA for most of my time. There are no foreign transaction fees and they reimburse ATM fees. They also process domestic and international wires over the phone. USAA can also provide chip/pin ATM cards on request, which is very useful when traveling in Europe. Only downside is that you, your spouse, or parents must have served in the military to qualify for an account. Since USAA is affiliated with the military, they are accustomed to dealing with Americans living overseas.
Prior to USAA I used Everbank and was also pleased with their service. They also do not charge foreign transaction fees and reimburse ATM fees.
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Post by ahmedkhan90 on Sept 3, 2014 11:10:55 GMT
I think citibank is good for trading purpose. I have account for more than 10 year it is best actually.
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Post by Fyrwerx on Feb 6, 2015 5:13:23 GMT
Credit Cards With No Foreign Transaction Fee These are all credit cards that charge no foreign transaction fees at all. www.nerdwallet.com/blog/top-cred ... edit-card/ List current as of June 10, 2014 - American Express Platinum and Centurion
- American Express Business Platinum
- American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles
- BankAmericard Travel Rewards®
- Barclaycard Arrival Plus World MasterCard
- Barclaycard Arrival – No Annual Fee
- All Capital One credit cards, including:
- Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Spark for Business suite
- Citi ThankYou Premier and Citi ThankYou Prestige
- Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve
- Citi Executive AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard
- Chase British Airways Card
- Chase Priority Club Rewards Signature
- Chase Hyatt Card
- Chase Fairmont Visa Signature
- Chase Palladium, if you’re one of the fortunate few (we’re not)
- Chase Ritz Carlton Rewards Card (though this has a $395 annual fee)
- Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier
- Chase United MileagePlus Explorer
- Chase United MileagePlus Club Card ($395 annual fee)
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Chase Military Star® Rewards MasterCard
- All Discover credit cards, such as the Discover It
- (An excellent option in China, but international acceptance is limited – check our list of which countries accept Discover for more information)
- First National Bank of Omaha Graphite American Express
- Marriott Rewards Premiere from Chase
- All Pentagon Federal cards, including the Pentagon Federal Promise (currently offering 4.99% balance transfers for 2 years) and PenFed Premium Travel American Express (5x points on airfare & Priority Pass lounge access when you spend $15k+ at 600 lounges worldwide)
- Harvard World MasterCard
- Hawaiian Airlines World Elite MasterCard
- HSBC Premier (you have to have something on the order of $100,000 deposited with them to qualify)
- Orbitz Rewards Visa
- U.S. Bank Skypass Visa Signature
- Wells Fargo Propel World American Express Card
- Wells Fargo Propel 365 American Express Card
- Most credit unions offer up no fees other than the 1% Visa charges them. Some even have “no foreign transaction fee”, including
- Northop Grumman Federal Credit Union (anyone can join by making a contribution to the Southern California Historical Aircraft Foundation)
- Andrews Federal Credit Union (any U.S. citizen can join)
- Vystar Credit Union (must live in FL)
- Texas Dow Employees Credit Union (TDECU) – anyone in the metro Houston area can join
- Truliant Federal Credit Union (membership open to many regions of VA, SC, and near Greeneville, SC)
- Associated Credit Union (membership is open to everyone)
- Kirtland Federal Credit Union (membership is tough here, you have to be affiliated with the military in Arizona, either on Kirtland AFB, Reserves, or NM National Guard)
- Reliant Credit Union (Monroe, Ontario and Wayne counties in New York)
- Aerospace Credit Union (you have to work for Aerospace Corporation, or on Los Angeles AFB)
- CoastHills Federal Credit Union (for residents of San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara counties in CA)
- Stanford Federal Credit Union (Anyone can join by donating $15-20 to one of two organizations)
- Pacific Oaks Federal Credit Union (Open to residents of Ventura County, California)
- Burbank Community Federal Credit Union (Open to residents of the City of Burbank, California)
- Elga Credit Union (Open to residents of the Michigan Counties of Genesee, Saginaw, Lapeer, Shiawassee, Oakland, or Livingston)
- Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union (Open to residents of parts of Houston, in the Cy-Fair ISD area)
- Taylor Model Basin Federal Credit Union
- Virginia Credit Union (Open to residents in many areas of Virginia)
- Apple Federal Credit Union (Open to those associated with many of the school systems in Northern Virginia)
- State Department Federal Credit Union (Anyone can join with a donation to the American Consumer Council)
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