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. A debit card attached to the brokerage account will still work if it later becomes a Schwab International Brokerage account. I had to call Schwab to make this happen, the web form didn't provide an obvious way to do so.
The card looks similar but is issued by Charles Schwab Corporation not Charles Schwab Bank, and says "Schwab One brokerage" on it.
