i’ve mentioned before about why i like the fancy-named and fancy-featured, but definitely also for unfancy people like me, High Yield Investor Checking Account from Schwab.
to sum it up:
- all ATM fees reimbursed, including international ones
- no foreign transaction fees
- no minimum balance
- no fees
- other goodies like travel accident insurance, price protection, and purchase security, though i’ve never used these features
and now, they have a chip+signature debit card available (hat tip @travelpeon). no, it’s not chip+PIN, so you may still run into problems at vending machines (e.g., public transit ticketing) abroad, but at least you’ll be in a better position if you’re in a country where card swiping is not widespread and merchants are used to chip cards.
sidebar: using a chip card for those not familiar, if you are presented with a handheld credit card terminal, look for the slot, usually on the front, with a chip symbol on it. just stick your card in, chip up and facing away from you, into the reader, and follow the instructions on the screen. do not remove your card until the transaction is finished. remember, if you are asked if you want to be charged in dollars (or whatever your home currency is), SAY NO. it’s never a good deal — pay in the local currency.
of course, i’d recommend using a credit card over a debit card so you can earn miles or points, but this is a good backup to have. oh yeah, if you’re an existing customer, call 800-453-7875 or start up a chat with a representative when you’re logged in to the website to request a one (free!), or just wait until you are due for a new card and you’ll get one automatically. plus, it looks a lot better than the old one, no?
this new card still won’t solve all our problems when traveling abroad (like the one below), but it’s a step in the right direction.
Ah poor man. If only I'd arrived a couple minutes earlier I could have saved him from the money-eating ticket machine pic.twitter.com/mSWafZU0FA
— Jonathan Khoo (@jonk) February 22, 2014
p.s. is it true that the US will not get chip+PIN any time soon? even though we’re moving to EMV, it looks like they’re going to be chip+signature?
Do you get a hard credit pull for opening an account?
Hm that’s a good question. I don’t MS so I’m not up on all that. I don’t recall an explicit notification but it could have happened.
Hoping someone else can chime in!
The online chat representative said yes, a hard inquiry will result in a submission of an application.
Ahhh ok glad you found out!