Korean Job Discussion Forums

[swigs]

So I read some of the stickies from 2004 about credit cards. Some of the info in there was very helpful but I still have a general ( aka newb) question.

I will be going over to Korea in August and I am not sure if I will need a Korean credit card.

What are the advantages of having a Korean CC?

I am from the USA, thanks for any general info.

[toiletgod2000]

You don't really need a credit card, you can get a debit card, but I don't think they work outside of Korea. I got a credit card just for travel.

The major advantage in having a Korean card is paying your bill in won instead of transferring money to your home accounts to pay in dollars. Even if you have a lot of money saved in the US, chances are you're going to want to move money from here back home anyway. So why not avoid the transaction fees of changing money, possibly twice?

Apparently there used to be a 10,000,000 won/year limit on transfers home, but I've heard that has been raised to 50,000,000. Anyway, I don't think foreign credit card charges are monitored closely enough to be tied into any limit.

There are some kinds of loyalty point offers and discounts available certain places if you use your card. I went to Seoul Land once (terrible...don't go) and my gf used an LG card to save like 35%.

I got a Samsung Card about 10 months ago. No problems, and cheaper to get cash out of foreign ATMs than my American bank card. Once you get setup in Korea with an ID card and a bank account, their English number is 02-2000-8438.

[toiletgod2000]

Oh, if you're worried about right after you get off the plane, don't worry. You can use your foreign card everywhere (50 cent coffee included)...call them first to make sure they know you're moving though.

[swigs]

Thanks toiletgod2000, that was exactly the information I was looking for!

[Milwaukiedave]

I was able to get one through KEB Bank last fall. For the first four years I was in Korea I didn't have one, so you certainly can get by without one. It is nice if you get yourself in a bind to have as an emergency. The main reason I got one is because we had planned on traveling this summer and it would have made things easier (especially had we not had to cancel our trip).