What’s the best way to give my son money in Israel?

amother

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 8:49 pm

Sending my first child to learn in Israel! Any and all advice is welcome!

Is there a fee charged on the exchange rate if I give him an American credit card or debit card to use there?

amother

Aqua

Fri, Apr 09 2021, 7:07 am

I opened a joint checking account at CapitalOne 360 online bank. My son used the debit card to pay for things in Israel and I could put money in easily.

amother

Wheat

Fri, Apr 09 2021, 7:15 am

Some cards have a foreign transaction fee. We opened a TD bank debit card for dc. We transfered money as needed. The first transfer took a while, but the next ones tooka day or two.

Midyear the bank started charging a foreign transaction fee. We did the math and decided not to bother with the hassle of opening a new card elsewhere.

Do your research. Dansdeals may be a good place to search.

Shuly

Fri, Apr 09 2021, 9:43 am

I second Capital One 360 card. There is no transaction fee if he takes money out of a bank’s ATM (private ATM’s do charge a fee).

If he will use a credit card, Capital One credit cards also don’t charge overseas transaction fees.

amother

Fri, Apr 09 2021, 10:10 am

Thank you!

How would I know if my credit cards charge a foreign fee, do I have to read all the fine print or call each one? Is it standard for there to be a fee?

I went to israel on a trip a few years ago and used my credit card for all purchases, didn’t notice any extra fees charged.

Thank you!

FranticFrummie

Fri, Apr 09 2021, 10:12 am

Shuly wrote:

How common are Capital One ATMs in Israel? Are they hard to find?

My US account is with Chase. They do charge transaction fees, and I have yet to find a Chase ATM anywhere.

Reality

Fri, Apr 09 2021, 11:26 am

My kids have american express cards in Israel and I'm not charged a foreign transaction fee. And you can set the monthly spending limit. Minimum $200 a month.

Mollie

Fri, Apr 09 2021, 2:27 pm

Credit cards have no transaction fee. My kids use them almost exclusively. For cash, to draw out at ATM is about an 8 dollar fee. As others have said, I think Capital One bank has no fee

amother

Ecru

Fri, Apr 09 2021, 2:40 pm

Mollie wrote:

Credit cards have no transaction fee. My kids use them almost exclusively. For cash, to draw out at ATM is about an 8 dollar fee. As others have said, I think Capital One bank has no fee

My credit card does charge a transaction fee. It's worth it for me because it's a small amount, but which credit card do you use that doesnt charge? We use Chase.

Mollie

Fri, Apr 09 2021, 2:41 pm

amother [ Ecru ] wrote:

My credit card does charge a transaction fee. It's worth it for me because it's a small amount, but which credit card do you use that doesnt charge? We use Chase.

Chase Visa and American Express.

amother

Ecru

Fri, Apr 09 2021, 2:43 pm

Mollie wrote:

Chase Visa and American Express.

My chase Visa does charge a transaction fee. It's like 1 percent so it's a tiny amount but it's there.

I'll look into american express.

Mollie

Fri, Apr 09 2021, 2:45 pm

amother [ Ecru ] wrote:

My chase Visa does charge a transaction fee. It's like 1 percent so it's a tiny amount but it's there.

I'll look into american express.

I have the Chase Reserve card, maybe that’s the difference

Smile1234

Sat, Apr 10 2021, 11:04 pm

There are a handful of credit cards that don’t charge a foreign transaction fee.

If you want him to use cash then the capital one 360 or Charles Schwab options are best probably
If you’re okay with him using a credit card for everything why don’t you start with telling us which credit cards you currently have and we may know if they have foreign transaction fees or not

Chase sapphire preferred and reserve both don’t have a foreign transaction fee
Costco citi card doesn’t either
Td and pnc each have cards that don’t have foreign transaction fees
Capital one does too

It’s a very simple question you can also just call your cc company and ask them instead of reading your fine print.

amother

Purple

Sat, Apr 10 2021, 11:55 pm

Ds uses my capital one credit card. He is an authorized user. No transaction fees. It’s a very good credit card. I used to have credit one but it’s not a good card snd they have a lot of restrictions. If he needs cash I sent it to him with Zelle or Apple Cash.

Shuly

Thu, Apr 15 2021, 7:23 pm

FranticFrummie wrote:

How common are Capital One ATMs in Israel? Are they hard to find?

My US account is with Chase. They do charge transaction fees, and I have yet to find a Chase ATM anywhere.

You don't need a Capital One ATM, just a real Israeli bank, not one of those private ATM's they have in stores.

For example, if you take money out of a Bank HaPoalim ATM, you won't be charged a fee with the Capital One 360 card.