When traveling overseas a debit card from Charles Schwab is quite useful:
- no fees for use of overseas ATMs
- refunds fees charged by the owner of the ATM
- withdraw in dollars and let Schwab do the currency exchange at a favorable rate
If you apply for a Schwab debit card, by default it will be tied to a checking account with Charles Schwab Bank. If you don't have a checking account Schwab will ask permission to set one up. This is fine for many people, but if you might at some point move overseas it is a problem. Schwab offers International Brokerage accounts for US citizens living overseas, but banking regulations mean that Charles Schwab Bank cannot do so and will close a checking account if they determine that the holder resides outside of the US.
However, one can also get a Schwab debit card with the same terms and conditions but attached directly to the brokerage account and not through Charles Schwab Bank at all. I had to call Schwab to make this happen, the web form didn't provide an obvious way to do so. A debit card attached to the brokerage account will still work if it later becomes a Schwab International Brokerage account.
The card looks similar but is issued by Charles Schwab Corporation not Charles Schwab Bank, and says "Schwab One brokerage" on it.
