Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jgrant85]

I'm trying to figure out if I'll be better for me to leave my debit and credit card in the USA so I don't get some huge surcharge for using them in Korea. I'm with Bank of America, and I've heard that they have offices in Korea, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to use them there without incurring a huge fee on my account. If anyone can help me out with this information I would greatly appreciate it.

[Drew345]

I tried calling the Bank of America office in Seoul. They say they are for corporate accounts only, they offer no services for individual depositors (they couldn't help me wire money from my BofA account in America). As far as you and I are concerned, BofA is not in Korea.
Yes, the fees for use of a BofA debit card overseas are sky high. I think it is $5.00 for use + 1% for foreign withdrawal and whatever else you loose in the exchange rate.
Your BofA credit card, on the other hand, should be fine to use. Credit cards usually get a decent exchange rate (on purchases), and should not have extra fees.
I would bring the cards, use the debit in an extreme emergency, use the credit card if you are short of won at the pub.

[jgrant85]

Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it. Do you (or anyone else out there) know of any American banks in Seoul that allow for individual depositors? I have a few bills here in the USA, and it'd save me a ton of money if I could deposit money there rather than pay the high cost of a wire transfer? Speaking of wire transfers, does anyone else know of any other way to safely transfer money to the USA, or would that be the best choice?

[Drew345]

Wire transfer is going to be your key. Some people have it down to a few keystrokes on an ATM for not much money. But I don't know those details.
If you want to do a nice search of Dave's using "google" (since Dave's search fails so much) you can use this page.
http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=006359271486458796786%3A_ooozypbm6u

[plays]

CITI bank and HSBC is here and available

[bbb0777]

Capital One is the only US credit card that's fee-free to use for making purchases not in US dollars.

As in: Purchase something for 50,000 KRW using a Capital One card and it will show up on your bill as *checking Google* $40.10 exactly, nothing extra. Other credit cards charge percentages for transactions in a foreign currency, usually totaling around 3%.

I don't know about BofA debit cards. Though you could always bring it and make a trial withdrawl then check your statement.

[bassist33]

Thanks to the advice of another poster I went with Charles Schwabb free investor checking. There are no fees for international atm usage and they reimburse you for charges by other banks. They also do not charge for international wire transfers. The checking account earns interest and is coupled with a brokerage account which is much better than a traditional savings account. Check it out..